Asteroid will soon enter Earth's orbit as temporary 'mini moon'

A school-bus-sized asteroid is expected to spend about two months orbiting Earth as a "mini moon" as it gets temporarily caught by Earth’s gravity.

Earth is set to play host to a visiting “mini-moon.”

An asteroid is expected to swing by Earth next week, then spend about two months orbiting the planet as it gets temporarily caught by Earth’s gravity, according to two astronomers in Spain who reported the discovery.

The asteroid, dubbed 2024 PT5, is 33 feet long — roughly equivalent to a standard school bus. The space rock does not pose a threat to Earth, and it is not expected to stick around for long before it swings back out into space on a path around the sun.

“It will not complete one orbit around Earth, just part of it,” said Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, who co-authored a study about the asteroid published this month in the journal Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society.

The asteroid is expected to enter Earth’s orbit Sunday and lurk there until Nov. 25, just over 56 days, Marcos said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/mini-moon-asteroid-to-orbit-earth-temporarily-rcna172264

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