Earth 'mini-moon' is getting closer and clearer

Multimedia

23-09-2024, 20:30

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INA - SOURCES

After astronomers discovered that Earth's large, ever-looming moon is about to get company, a 'mini-moon' is getting closer and clearer.

The planet will capture an asteroid sailing nearby, drawing it in for one loop around Earth before making its exit on Nov. 25th. When it leaves, it will continue its trajectory around the sun. The two-month visit puts this space rock in the class of so-called "mini-moons."

The asteroid getting its proverbial 15 minutes of fame, was discovered with the help of a NASA-funded asteroid detection system and a South African observatory in August.

It's only 33 feet wide — about the length of a Greyhound bus — and not bright enough to view with the naked eye or an amateur telescope.

Earth has captured asteroids and pulled them into orbit with its gravity before, but often these space rocks fly by without completing a full circuit around the planet.

Compared to mini-moons of the recent past, this 'mini-moon' is a short-timer.