Earth to get mini-moon for 2 months

Move aside moon, there’s a new sheriff in town.

Rather, a deputy sheriff, in the form of a mini-moon. The Earth’s gravity is in the process of capturing an asteroid that will pirouette around the planet from September 29 to November 25, according to the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society.

Asteroids that fail to escape Earth’s gravity and end up orbiting the planet for a short period of time are termed as mini-moons. The asteroid in question, 2024 PT5, is just 33 feet long. It will complete a loop around the planet, before breaking free of its orbit and disappearing into the vast vacuum of space.