Astronomers think that a celestial body called the mini moon observed near the Earth can be a part of the Moon.
A small celestial body, which was discovered near the Earth last year and called a 2024 PT5, attracted the attention of scientists. This is about 10 meters in diameter “mini moon”It could be a piece that has broken from the Moon and wandered through space for thousands of years. The astronomers say that the object moves in a very close orbit to Earth, but does not carry the risk of impact. 2024 PT5 moved to a remote orbit after moving at a very close distance to Earth for two months.
Is the Origin of the Mini Moon Moon?
The 2024 PT5 was first discovered by NASA’s asteroid terrestrial-empact Alert System (Atlas) observation on August 7 in South Africa. The orbit of the object around the Sun is similar to the orbit of the Earth, which strengthens the possibility that it might have broken from the Moon. One of the scientists who conducted the research. Teddy Kareta said that the light reflected from the surface of the object has similar characteristics with the rock pieces taken from the moon samples. Especially rich in silicate minerals, the 2024 PT5 is quite similar to other examples from the Moon.
Kareta said, “We have strong evidence that this object may be broken from the Moon. As a result of a collision on the surface of the moon, it is thought to have jumped into space and have been in orbit for thousands of years, ”he said. In addition, the analysis on the object shows that it has spent only a few thousand years in space. This supports the idea that mini months can break away from the Moon and create a population of celestial bodies circulating around the world.
Researchers took advantage of NASA’s powerful observations such as Infrared Telescope Facility and Lowell Discovery Telescope to verify that the 2024 PT5 is not only a space rock but also a part of the Moon. In addition, the response to sunlight pressure to prove that the object was not a spacewedt was examined. While human -made wrecks were usually lighter, the 2024 PT5 was resistant to this effect.
Scientists say that the presence of 2024 PT5 is an important step to explore other potential mini months that break away from the Moon. With the introduction of more sensitive telescopes, the number of such celestial bodies may increase and new information about the past of the Moon can be revealed.