Earth to Host Temporary ‘Mini Moon’ This Autumn

This autumn, Earth will briefly welcome a second moon, as a small asteroid is set to be captured by the planet’s gravitational pull, The Guardian reported today.

The asteroid, approximately 10 meters long, will orbit Earth from September 29 to November 25 before returning to the Arjuna asteroid belt. Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, a professor at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, explained that the asteroid’s slow velocity, around 2,200 mph, allows it to be more strongly influenced by Earth’s gravity, making it a temporary moon.

Discovered on August 7 by NASA’s Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System, this mini moon will be too dim for amateur telescopes but detectable by professional equipment. Researchers anticipate that this asteroid will return to Earth’s orbit again in 2055. Notably, Earth has experienced similar mini moon events in 1981 and 2022.