Earth’s Mini-Moon Mystery Solved: It’s a Chunk of the Moon
For a brief, but exciting, time last year, Earth had two moons. A small asteroid lingered close to our planet in its orbit around the Sun, temporarily caught by Earth’s gravity to become a far away mini-moon. A closer look at the space rock reveals a rather familiar origin: Earth’s mini-moon might actually be a broken-off piece of our regular Moon.
Earth's recent asteroid visitor might've been a piece of the moon
2024 PT5 is the second near-Earth asteroid scientists suspect was ejected from the moon's surface, the first being 469219 Kamo'oalewa, which a different team of scientists have traced to an old impact crater on the far side of the moon.
Is Earth's 'Mini Moon' Part Of Our Moon? Here's What The New Study Says
A small asteroid named 2024 PT5, once hailed as Earth's temporary second moon, might have originated from our very own Moon. This discovery not only captivates space enthusiasts but also reshapes our understanding of lunar material dispersal in our solar system.
Earth’s Mini-Moon Was Probably a Piece of Its Real Moon
Scientists think a small rock discovered near Earth last August was hurled into space by an ancient impact on the lunar surface.
Did Earth’s fleeting mini-moon break off from the actual moon?
PT5, initially believed to be a tiny asteroid, likely originated from the Moon. Discovered in 2024, PT5's reflectance and composition closely match lu
NASA: Near-Earth Asteroid Likely Came from the Moon
Last year, astronomers on the hunt for potentially dangerous near-Earth asteroids spotted something unusual. A space rock, now dubbed 2024 PT5 made several close passes by Earth, not quite orbiting our planet,
'NASA finds a mini-moon': Agency finds a 10-meter lunar fragment hiding in plain sight
PT5, a 10-meter asteroid traced to the Moon, offering rare insights into lunar impacts, geology, and Earth-Moon dynamics ...
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Earth Had a Tiny Second Moon for a Few Months. It Might Be A Chunk of the Moon
For a few months, Earth had a second moon — a tiny asteroid that may have been a piece of our own Moon ...
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An asteroid known as a 'mini-moon' will join Earth's orbit for 2 months starting Sunday
On September 29, an asteroid dubbed 2024 PT5 will become a "mini-moon" of sorts, temporarily entering Earth's orbit for almost two months before the forces of gravity return it to a vast field of ...
Earth's temporary moon might have come from the moon
NASA has plans to track it with radar and undoubtedly others will be studying it to understand more about this "mini-moon." ...
NASA to Brief Media on Asteroid Sample Mission Findings
NASA will brief media at 11 a.m. EST Wednesday, Jan. 29, to provide an update on science results from NASA's OSIRIS-REx ...
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Earth may be gaining a temporary moon
so I'm not sure I would classify it as a mini-moon," said Lance Benner, the principal investigator of the asteroid radar research program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, to the Times. This is also ...