The asteroid was found on August 7 (Representational)
The non permanent mini-moon of Earth, which can orbit our planet for 53 days, is not going to be seen to the bare eye, confirmed Dr AK Anil Kumar, head of ISRO’s Community for Area Objects Monitoring and Evaluation (NETRA). The mini-moon, known as 2024 PT5, is simply 10 meters in diameter. It’s 350,000 instances smaller than the common moon, which has a diameter of three,476 kilometres, and therefore, might be undetectable by the bare eye.
NETRA is monitoring the motion of 2024 PT5 and has confirmed that the asteroid is not going to collide with Earth. The mini-moon will begin orbiting the Earth for nearly two months on September 29 earlier than breaking away from the elliptical power of the Earth and heading again into the vastness of the photo voltaic system on November 25.
The asteroid, found on August 7 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Final Alert System (ATLAS), an automatic system funded by NASA to observe near-earth objects, additionally has a connection to the Hindu epic Mahabharata. In a report revealed in Analysis 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 inhabitants of small NEOs.” Dr Anil Kumar of NETRA additionally confirms that 2024 PT5 is a part of the Arjuna Asteroid grouping.
The ‘Arjuna’ is a singular group of asteroids within the photo voltaic system. The naming of this asteroid group might be traced again to 1991 when Astronomer Robert H. McNaught found an asteroid ‘1991 VG’ on the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia on November 1 of that yr. The title ‘Arjuna’ was chosen by him impressed by the character within the Hindu epic Mahabharata. It was formally authorized by the Worldwide Astronomical Union (IAU).
In Hindu mythology, Arjuna is thought for his bravery, unparalleled archery abilities, and knowledge. The title displays the asteroid’s swift passage by means of the photo voltaic 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 stated, “near-Earth objects (NEOs) that observe horseshoe paths, and method our planet at shut vary and low relative velocity, might bear mini-moon occasions during which their geocentric vitality turns into adverse for hours, days or months, however with out finishing one revolution round Earth.”
In addition they stated this isn’t the primary time a mini-moon will seem across the Earth. Related phenomena have occurred earlier in 1997, 2013, and 2018.
