Reports suggest that the Moon will have a temporary companion in the form of a small asteroid. This asteroid, known as 2024 PT5, will pass by Earth from September 29 to November 25, for two months.
The asteroid, which measures only 10 meters (33 feet) in diameter, will be within Earth’s gravitational influence. The presence of this asteroid has been reported by researchers Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
2024 PT5 was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), a NASA-funded project that monitors near-Earth objects for potential threats.
Similar events have occurred, with Earth’s gravitational field capturing small asteroids. In 1981, 2006, and 2022, similar phenomena were observed. Notably, in 2006, an asteroid captured by Earth’s gravity orbited our planet for a year.
