What is a ‘mini-moon’?

Mini-moon are asteroids that fail to escape Earth’s gravity and end up orbiting the planet for some time.

What is a ‘mini-moon’?

About Mini-moon:

  • Mini-moons are asteroids that fail to escape Earth’s gravity and end up orbiting the planet for some time.
  • They are usually very small and hard to detect — only four mini-moons of Earth have ever been discovered, and none are still orbiting Earth.
  • These events are relatively frequent, with similar occurrences happening every few decades.
  • How does Earth capture Mini Moons?
    • Mini moons are captured from the Near-Earth Object (NEO) population, which consists of asteroids and other celestial bodies that pass close to Earth.
    • NASA classifies any space object that comes within 120 million miles (190 million kilometers) of our planet as a near-Earth object, while objects within 4.7 million miles (7.5 million kilometers) are considered potentially hazardous.

Key facts about 2024 PT5

  • It is an Apollo-class NEO, which follows an orbit similar to that of previous mini moons like 2022 NX1.
  • The asteroid was discovered with the help of the NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS).
  • It is estimated to be just 33 feet long and is too small to be visible to the naked eye or through typical amateur telescopes.
  • It is within the brightness range of telescopes used by professional astronomers.
  • Significance: The observations of 2024 PT5 will help scientists expand the knowledge of asteroids that pass close to the Earth and those that sometimes collide with it.

Q1; What are Asteroids?

Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. The current known asteroid count is at least 1,351,400. Most of this ancient space rubble can be found orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter within the main asteroid belt.

Source: Why Earth will temporarily get a ‘mini-moon’ in September

Latest UPSC Exam 2025 Updates

Last updated on June, 2025

UPSC Notification 2025 was released on 22nd January 2025.

UPSC Prelims Result 2025 is out now for the CSE held on 25 May 2025.

UPSC Prelims Question Paper 2025 and Unofficial Prelims Answer Key 2025  are available now.

UPSC Calendar 2026 is released on 15th May, 2025.

→ The UPSC Vacancy 2025 were released 1129, out of which 979 were for UPSC CSE and remaining 150 are for UPSC IFoS.

UPSC Mains 2025 will be conducted on 22nd August 2025.

UPSC Prelims 2026 will be conducted on 24th May, 2026 & UPSC Mains 2026 will be conducted on 21st August 2026.

→ The UPSC Selection Process is of 3 stages-Prelims, Mains and Interview.

UPSC Result 2024 is released with latest UPSC Marksheet 2024. Check Now!

UPSC Toppers List 2024 is released now. Shakti Dubey is UPSC AIR 1 2024 Topper.

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