NASA suspects that asteroid 2024 PT5 is a piece of lunar soil

Oct. 3 () –

NASA suspects that the small nearby asteroid 2024 PT5 may be a large chunk of rock ejected from the surface of the Moon after an asteroid impact a long time ago.

Because 2025 PT5 has Earth-like motion around the Sun, the asteroid will remain as a distant companion of our planet for a few months at a distance about nine times farther from Earth than the Moon. During this time, the object –-about 10 meters– It will never be captured by Earth’s gravity. Therefore, while it is not exactly a “minimoon”, 2024 PT5 is an interesting object and NASA has plans to track it with planetary radar, the agency says. in a statement.

First observed on August 7, 2024 by the Sutherland, South Africa telescope of the University of Hawaii’s Asteroid Terrestrial Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), it is estimated to be about 10 meters wide, so it does not represent a danger to the Earth.

The Goldstone Solar System Radar, part of NASA’s deep space network and located in California, will track the object during its next close pass by our planet, in January 2025which will still be five times farther from Earth than the Moon. The asteroid will then leave the vicinity of Earth as it continues its orbit around the Sun.

Given the similarity between the movement of asteroid 2024 PT5 and that of our planet, scientists at the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) NASA suspect the object could be “a large chunk of rock ejected from the Moon’s surface after an asteroid impact long ago.”

Rocket bodies from historical launches can also be found in Earth-like orbits, but after analysis of the motion of this object, It has been determined that 2024 PT5 is more likely to be of natural origin.