Astronomers suggest that the recently observed asteroid, named 2024 PT5 and dubbed a "mini-moon," could actually be a fragment broken off from the Moon.
2024 PT5, described as a 33-foot (10-meter) object moving in a solar orbit, is believed to have an orbital structure similar to Earth's, potentially indicating it originated from our sky region. First observed on August 7 by the ATLAS telescope system, it could be a piece detached from the Moon thousands of years ago.
Dr. Teddy Kareta and his team, using the Lowell Discovery Telescope and NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility in Hawaii, noted that the asteroid resembles rocks collected from the Moon's surface. Kareta stated, "2024 PT5 matches the silicate minerals from the Moon and appears to be only a few thousand years old." This finding sheds light on a rare yet growing population of asteroids detached from the Moon.
Researchers confirmed that the asteroid is not space debris by carefully examining its movements. NASA experts verified that 2024 PT5's density and behavior align with asteroid movement patterns.
The study also indicates that lunar impacts can send pieces from the Moon into orbits close to Earth. 2024 PT5 becomes the second object with such a trajectory, following the 2016 discovery of 469219 Kamo'oalewa, which shares a similar story.
This discovery may encourage further research into understanding asteroids broken off from the Moon and offer more insight into the Moon's surface structure.
