Earth is believed to have been surrounded by the moon around 4.5 billion years ago. Scientists believe that an object the size of the planet Mars collided with the earth and debris from this collision formed a moon. But since last week the Earth has been surrounded by two moons.
Earth's second moon is 2024 PT5 which has been trapped in Earth's gravity since September 29. It is an asteroid that is on its way to orbit the Sun and will be Earth's only moon until November 25, 2024. Astronomers Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos from Ciudad Universitaria Madrid are the two scientists who discovered the moon which is only 11 meters wide.
After November 25, 2024 PT5 will continue its journey to orbit the sun and will only return to visit the earth in 2055. This is not the first time that the earth has received a temporary moon.
The first time it was detected was in September 2006 when 2006 RH120 with it orbited the earth for 281 days. Then in 2016, 2020 CD3 became a temporary month for 752 days. These two temporary moons are only 1.8-2.7 meters wide.
Scientists believe this phenomenon. happens quite often, but so far observational instruments are not sensitive enough to detect their presence. A telescope with a 30″ CMOS or CCD sensor is required because the small size of the temporary moon makes it difficult to detect with the naked eye.