Earth’s Mini-Moon Mystery Solved: It’s a Chunk of the Moon

For a legal brief , but exciting , time last class , Earth had two moons . A small asteroid lingered near to our planet in its orbit around the Sun , temporarily caught by Earth ’s gravity to become a far outside miniskirt - Sun Myung Moon . A closer look at the space rock reveal a rather familiar origin : Earth ’s mini - moon might actually be a broken - off composition of our veritable Moon .

The small near - world target 2024 PT5 was first spotted on August 7 , 2024 by the the Asteroid Terrestrial - Impact Last Alert System ( ATLAS ) . The tiny asteroid measure a bare 33 foot ( 10 m ) across , and its compass around the Sun closely matched that of Earth , intimate that it may have originated nearby . In fact , the asteroid may be made up of sway that broke off from the Moon ’s surface and was ejected into space in the aftermath of a expectant shock , according a recent studypublishedin theAstrophysical Journal Letters .

“ We had a cosmopolitan estimate that this asteroid may have come from the Moon , but the smoking gun was when we found out that it was rich in silicate minerals — not the kind that are seen on asteroid but those that have been found in lunar rock sample distribution , ” Teddy Kareta , an astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Arizona , and guide author of the study , said in astatement .

The near-Earth object may have been ejected to space following an impact thousands of years ago.

The near-Earth object may have been ejected to space following an impact thousands of years ago.NASA/JPL-Caltech

asteroid generally spring up from the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter , but there is a little universe of space rock that were flung off the open of the Moon following a massive impact . “ This is a level about the Moon as tell by asteroid scientists , ” Kareta bring . “ It ’s a rare spot where we ’ve gone out to meditate an asteroid but then strayed into new territory in terms of the questions we can postulate of 2024 PT5 . ”

When it was first discovered , the spectrum of reflected sunlight from the mini - moon ’s surface did n’t match any other eccentric of asteroid , and alternatively tight matched rock from our Moon . That , in summation to how the target moves , moderate the scientist behind the report to conclude that the place rock sprung from our lifelike satellite .

Since it was n’t made from the same material as asteroids , the wandering scientists want to harness out that the mini - moon was a piece of space junk in an Earth - comparable scope ( In 2020 , Earth had another temporary mini - moonshine thatturned out to be an old rocket booster ) . The dispute between an asteroid and space junk is in how they move in outer space , as particles of light , or photon , from the Sun exert a tiny force on objects in space , speeding them up or slow them down .

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This force from solar radiation has a lesser upshot on the cause of natural objects , such as asteroids , in space . “ Human - made dust is unremarkably comparatively scant and gets press around by the pressure of sunlight , ” Oscar Fuentes - Muñoz , NASA postdoctoral fellow , and co - generator of the raw study , said in a statement . “ That 2024 PT5 does n’t move this way signal it is much denser than [ homo - made ] blank debris . ”

The scientists behind the study also observed a want of quad weathering on the airfoil of the mini - moonshine , suggesting that the encroachment behind its creation likely took place a few thousand yr ago .

The find of Moon - related asteroid could increase as telescopes become sensitive to recognise smaller infinite rock candy . If the lunar asteroids can be traced back to a specific impact crater on the Moon , it could aid scientist learn more about the cratering process of the lunar Earth’s surface , according to the study .

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