Fleeing The Orbit Of The Sun, An Asteroid Now Turns Into'second Month' For Earth

Illustration of'second month' for Earth (photo: dock. NASA)

JAKARTA A number of NASA scientists say that Earth has its second month today. Although referred to as the moon, this object is actually a small asteroid called 2024 PT5 which also orbits the sun.

2024 PT5 was captured by Earth as its second month on September 30. According to scientists' observations, this mini-month will not last until the end of the year. Most likely, the asteroid will stop orbiting at the end of November.

"According to the latest available data from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Horizons system, temporary arrests will begin at 15:54 EDT (02.54 WIB) and will end at 11:43 EDT (10.43 WIB) on November 25," said Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, a Mini Moon Incident Expert. quoted from Space.

Marcos explained that 2024 PT5 is part of the Arjuna asteroid belt, one of the regions in the solar system whose objects often approach Earth. That way, 2024 PT5 is not the first'second month' phenomenon ever happened on Earth.

Some objects in the Arjuna asteroid belt can approach Earth in a distance of 4.5 million kilometers at low speed, which is about 3,540 kilometers per hour. Although referred to as the moon in the next few weeks, 2024 PT5 does not orbit Earth completely.

"The 2024 asteroid PT5 will not describe the full orbit around Earth. You can say that if a true satellite like a customer who buys goods in a shop, an object like 2024 PT5 is a visitor who only looks around," Marcos explained.

After circling Earth for several weeks, 2024 PT5 will return to its home to orbit the Sun. During its orbital period, 2024 PT5 cannot be observed by sky observers because its object will not replace the role of the Moon.