Earth is set to gain a temporary "mini-moon" later this year, as an asteroid will enter our planet's orbit.
The celestial visitor, named 2024 PT5, is roughly the size of a double-decker bus and will circle Earth from around 29 September to 25 November 2024.
Discovered on August 7 by Nasa's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in South Africa, 2024 PT5 belongs to the Arjuna asteroid belt, a group of space rocks that follow orbits similar to Earth's.
It will come within 2.8 million miles of our planet, about seven times further than the moon.
Travelling at approximately 2,200 mph, the asteroid's relatively low velocity makes it susceptible to Earth's gravitational pull, allowing it to become a temporary satellite.
Earth to adopt bus-sized 'mini-moon' for TWO MONTHS in rare astronomical eventWikiCommonsProfessor Carlos de la Fuente Marcos from the University Complutense Madrid explained to Space.com: "The object that is going to pay us a visit belongs to the Arjuna asteroid belt, a secondary asteroid belt made of space rocks that follow orbits very similar to that of Earth at an average distance to the sun of about 93 million miles."
He added: "Under these conditions, the geocentric energy of the object may grow negative, and the object may become a temporary moon of Earth."
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The phenomenon of "mini-moons" is rare, with only five others ever detected orbiting Earth.
Unlike our permanent moon, these temporary satellites are typically captured for short periods before escaping back into space.
The asteroid will come within 2.8 million miles of our planet, about seven times further than the Moon
GettyProfessor Marcos further elaborated on 2024 PT5's unique orbit: "This particular object will undergo this process starting next week and for about two months. It will not follow a full orbit around Earth."
He added a colourful analogy: "You may say that if a true satellite is like a customer buying goods inside a store, objects like 2024 PT5 are window shoppers."
Unfortunately, the mini-moon will likely be too dim for amateur astronomers to spot but professional telescopes should be able to track its journey.
While 2024 PT5's visit is exciting for astronomers, there's no cause for concern among the public
GETTYWhile 2024 PT5's visit is exciting for astronomers, there's no cause for concern among the public.
At its current size, even if it were to enter Earth's atmosphere, it would likely burn up before reaching the ground.
The asteroid is expected to return to Earth's orbit in 2055, offering another opportunity for scientific observation.
Astrophysicist Adam Frank from the University of Rochester told ABC News: "Astronomers are spending a lot of time trying to catalogue these classes of asteroids to make sure that we understand where all of them are, because if any were to get close enough to the Earth, we thought there was a possibility of hitting us, we'd have to figure out how to divert it or do something to it to keep it from striking the Earth."