The Earth Gets a Mini Moon

The Earth has a new moon! When I first heard this news, I was filled with a sense of excitement. But then, a wave of curiosity washed over me. What kind of moon is this, and where did it come from? Moons don’t just pop into existence, do they? Our Earth’s moon has been a constant companion for over 4 billion years. As far as I know, there hasn't been another moon in our gravitational pull.  

My mind was abuzz with possibilities. Could this new 'moon' be an observational object from another galaxy spying on Earth? But then, I reined in my thoughts. Without the guiding hand of research, I knew my imagination could lead me astray. So, I embarked on a journey of discovery, knowing that scientific research, our beacon of truth, would illuminate the reality behind this fascinating phenomenon.

From my research, I learned that it is not a moon but an asteroid. It comes from the Arjuna asteroid belt, a secondary belt made of space rocks that follow orbits similar to the Earth's at a distance of 93 million miles from the sun. 

According to Carlos de la Fuente Marcos from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, it is the belt where asteroids and comets come from.   These objects from Arjuna can approach Earth at a close range of 2.8 million miles at a low velocity of 2,200 miles per hour.  Because of this condition, the geocentric energy of the object may grow negative and become a temporary moon on Earth.  This particular asteroid will be captured in the earth’s gravitational pull for two months, and then it will “return to its asteroid belt trailing our planet and orbiting the earth.” 

I had some questions for the experts. What makes this asteroid a moon? Will it have a magnetic field? How will it impact the satellites in space? Why hasn’t it happened in 4 billion years? Why now?

It was spotted on August 7th, 2024. The asteroid is 33 feet wide and 19 feet tall, about the size of a city bus. It will enter the Earth's gravitational pull on September 29 for 56.6 days. It travels in a horseshoe shape and does not have a stable orbit. This unpredictability, due to the constant pulling forward and backward by the gravity of the Earth, is truly a marvel of nature. It is not visible to the naked eye or backyard telescopes. It is a bit disappointing but still a wonder to behold.

What is this mini moon? It is an asteroid pulled by the Earth’s gravity into orbit around the planet. It remains there until it becomes dislodged and moves away, depending on its speed and trajectory as it approaches the Earth. These things are rare, but recently, they have appeared more often.  They are rocky bodies of metallic substances, carbon, clay, and silicate material.    

Okay, I understand, but what makes it a moon and not an asteroid?  The moon is much larger than an asteroid and is composed of oxygen, silicon, magnesium, iron, calcium, aluminum, chromium, titanium, and manganese. 

The composition of an asteroid depends on its distance from the sun. It may be made of carbon or silicate rock. The big difference is that the moon revolves around a planet, and an asteroid revolves around a star.

Asteroids may exhibit some electromagnetic phenomena upon entering the Earth’s atmosphere, but they cannot sustain their fields. They have a magnetic field, but it is weak. A small asteroid has a small but distinct magnetic field caused by the bulk remnant magnetization. Still, they are not usually magnetically polarized because they do not have swirling dynamos at their cores and lack the molten metallic core to generate planetary magnetic fields.

2024 PT5, as it is known, is not expected to significantly impact the satellites because it is too small and at a safe distance.

These answers did satisfy my overactive imagination, but I still have questions. Does NASA plan to land a robot on the mini-moon to gather information?   No, they have not made any announcements. 

There you have it, boys and girls. I still like my vivid imagination. They are space travelers, scoping the earth for resources. They are spies from another galaxy. They are spies from China. It is the end of life as we know it. It is a destroyer coming to the end of the battle between the Republicans and the Democrats. The mind is a trouble thing to waste.