Earth's Mini-Moon: A Homegrown Mystery in Orbit
Astronomers have identified a mini-moon, 2024 PT5, temporarily captured by Earth's gravity, which may have originated from the Moon. This bus-sized object shares a composition similar to lunar samples, suggesting it was ejected from the Moon within the last million years. The discovery highlights the dynamic interactions between Earth, the Moon, and near-Earth objects, and suggests potential links between the Arjuna asteroid belt and lunar material. Future observations in 2025 aim to confirm its lunar origin and explore implications for our understanding of the Earth-Moon system.
