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Earth’s mini-moon
Context
Earth has got a rare second moon. The 2024 PT5 asteroid, which zipped past Earth recently, is set to orbit the planet for nearly two months.
What is Earth’s mini-moon?
- The term ‘mini-moon’ refers to asteroid 2024 PT5, which was first detected by Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS).
- ATLAS is an automated system funded by NASA. ATLAS is designed to monitor near-Earth asteroids that could pose a threat or offer scientific insights.
- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is also involved in monitoring this mini moon through its Network for Space Objects Tracking and Analysis (NETRA).
- In general, asteroids that fail to escape Earth’s gravity, momentarily alter their trajectory and end up orbiting the planet for a time. These asteroids are referred to as mini-moons.
- These small, fast-moving asteroids are difficult to detect and identify.
- The 2024 PT5 asteroid, though small has a diameter of about 10 metres (33 feet).
- During its 53-day orbit around Earth, the aestroid will not complete a full revolution but instead perform a horseshoe loop before drifting away from Earth’s gravitational influence.
- The ‘mini-moon’ belongs to a group of asteroids named after the warrior,
Fact Box:Mini-moon
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