Earth Will Get a Second 'Mini-Moon' For 2 Months This Year 32
A small asteroid, 2024 PT5, will temporarily become a mini-moon for Earth, orbiting in a horseshoe shape from September 29 to November 25, 2024. CBS News reports: Researchers at the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, an asteroid monitoring system funded by NASA, spotted the asteroid using an instrument in Sutherland, South Africa and labeled it 2024 PT5. Scientists from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid have tracked the asteroid's orbit for 21 days and determined its future path. 2024 PT5 is from the Arjuna asteroid belt, which orbits the sun, according to their study published in Research Notes of the AAs. But Earth's gravitational pull will draw 2024 PT5 towards it and, much like our moon, it will orbit our planet -- but only for 56.6 days. 2024 PT5, which is larger than some of the other mini-moons, will also return to Earth's orbit -- in 2055. [...]
The study's lead author Carlos de la Fuente Marcos told Space.com the mini-moon will be too small to see with amateur telescopes or binoculars but professional astronomers with stronger tools will be able to spot it.
The study's lead author Carlos de la Fuente Marcos told Space.com the mini-moon will be too small to see with amateur telescopes or binoculars but professional astronomers with stronger tools will be able to spot it.
Obligatory quote (Score:5, Funny)
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Re: Obligatory quote (Score:1)
Sordid (Score:4, Funny)
I get it, PT5 is hot. But do we really need to do this to the moon, after all she's done for us?
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But do we really need to do this to the moon, after all she's done for us?
All she's done for us? Werewolves, Tidal Waves, and no aliens when we finally get up there? Pfffppppt. That bitch had it coming.
Verne Troyer (Score:2)
Too bad we can't get Verne Troyer to play Mini Moon anymore.
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Came here looking for a Troyer reference. Was not disappointed. Thank you.
If a moon falls in the forest ... (Score:2)
The study's lead author Carlos de la Fuente Marcos told Space.com the mini-moon will be too small to see with amateur telescopes or binoculars but professional astronomers with stronger tools will be able to spot it.
Oh ... so for me personally, it's no different than if somebody just made up some fake photos/videos and showed them to me and just told me it was happening.
When I saw the headline I was hoping we could just look up and see a two moon sky, lol
Inquiring minds want to know (Score:1)
How visible will this be from our back yard?
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It doesnt exactly say. Technically I cannot see the space station from my back yard yet its the 2nd brightest object in my sky. I can see the light reflecting off the panels but no telescope has let me actually see the station itself. Im curious if this will be similar.
Laser-schmaser! (Score:5, Funny)
Please don't make me tap the Poe's Law sign.
Re: Laser-schmaser! (Score:3)
You may have something there. How convenient that it shows up weeks before the election and then disappears before a House select committee can investigate it.
Hmmm...
Re:Laser-schmaser! (Score:5, Funny)
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How mini? (Score:5, Informative)
A quick google says 10 meters big, so very mini.
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There are obviously man-made moons of a larger size in full orbit right now rather than an incomplete one but I wonder if there not be several actual natural moons within this size constraint already? It doesn't feel implausible to me at all that at least some space rock of that size is orbiting the earth, perhaps even at a far further distance than Luna.
Free space ship? (Score:1)
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How do you plan to get on it? Let me know how the physics of that works.
Second mini-moon? (Score:3)
How is it that nobody told me about the FIRST mini-moon? It would have been cool to see that one before the second one came along - now I feel SO out of the loop!
Wait - what's that? The title of TFS should have been "Earth Will Get a 'Mini Second Moon' For 2 Months This Year"? Whew - for a moment there I thought I had missed out on something other than atrocious grammar.
Re:Second mini-moon? (Score:5, Interesting)
Title is correct. Earth already has a second moon. [wikipedia.org]
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Title is correct. Earth already has a second moon. [wikipedia.org]
The Wiki says: "Cruithne is sometimes called "Earth's second moon".[10] However, it does not orbit Earth and is not a moon.[11]"
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It's co-orbiting with the Earth. It's a moon. Wiki-editors are dumb.
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It's co-orbiting with the Earth. It's a moon. Wiki-editors are dumb.
AFAICT, Cruithne orbits the Sun, not the Earth. Doesn't that mean that it's not a moon of Earth?
Less-obvious obligatory quote: (Score:2)
..and I call it, 'Mini-Moon'
(paraphrased from 'Austin Powers, The Spy Who Shagged Me')
obviously (Score:1)
H. G. Wells (Score:2)
I'm reminded of the Wells story "the star", although it doesn't totally fit.
I've played too much Kerbal Space Program (Score:2)
My first thought after reading the summary was "That means it would take very little delta-V to stabilize the orbit and make it permanent! Are there any asteroid capture contracts available?".