The temporary mini-moon of Earth, which will orbit our planet for 53 days, will not be visible to the naked eye, confirmed Dr AK Anil Kumar, head of ISRO’s Network for Space Objects Tracking and Analysis (NETRA). The mini-moon, called 2024 PT5, is just 10 meters in diameter. It is 350,000 times smaller than the regular moon, which has a diameter of 3,476 kilometres, and hence, will be undetectable by the naked eye.
NETRA is closely tracking the movement of 2024 PT5 and has confirmed that the asteroid will not collide with Earth. The mini-moon will start orbiting the Earth for almost two months on September 29 before breaking away from the elliptical force of the Earth and heading back into the vastness of the solar system on November 25.
The asteroid, discovered on August 7 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), an automated system funded by NASA to monitor near-earth objects, also has a connection to the Hindu epic Mahabharata. In a report published in Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society (RNAAS), astronomers say that orbital properties of 2024 PT5 resemble that of asteroids that come from the Arjuna asteroid belt, “a sparsely resonant population of small NEOs.” Dr Anil Kumar of NETRA also confirms that 2024 PT5 is part of the Arjuna Asteroid grouping.
The ‘Arjuna’ is a unique group of asteroids in the solar system. The naming of this asteroid group can be traced back to 1991 when Astronomer Robert H. McNaught discovered an asteroid ‘1991 VG’ at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia on November 1 of that year. The name ‘Arjuna’ was chosen by him inspired by the character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. It was officially approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
In Hindu mythology, Arjuna is known for his bravery, unparalleled archery skills, and wisdom. The name reflects the asteroid’s swift passage through the solar system, like Arjuna’s swift arrows, and its unpredictable nature.
Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raul de la Fuente Marcos, the astronomers who authored the RNAAS report said, “near-Earth objects (NEOs) that follow horseshoe paths, and approach our planet at close range and low relative velocity, may undergo mini-moon events in which their geocentric energy becomes negative for hours, days or months, but without completing one revolution around Earth.”
They also said this is not the first time a mini-moon will appear around the Earth. Similar phenomena have happened earlier in 1997, 2013, and 2018.
