Was 'mini-moon' asteroid once part of our Moon? NASA will try to find out when it returns

Astronomers are gearing up to study an asteroid that will revisit Earth in 2025. It is about 33 feet wide and will come quite close to the planet. However, it will not pose any threat to us but is of special interest to scientists watching out for asteroids. In fact, this is the same asteroid that acted as Earth's mini-moon from Sep 29 to Nov 25 this year.

The near-Earth asteroid has been named 2024 PT5 and was first observed on Aug 7, 2024. Sutherland, the South Africa telescope of the University of Hawaii’s Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), spotted it. 

Asteroids routinely fly by Earth without causing any damage, and most of them aren't looked at keenly by astronomers. However, 2024 PT5 is an exception. The asteroid will pass us by, but after its close approach, it will continue to linger around for a while. It will be at a distance of about nine times that of where the Moon is from Earth.

This is because 2024 PT5 has a similar motion to Earth’s around the Sun, which will keep it near us for a few months. Its prospect of a prolonged stay has fascinated scientists who are planning on studying it when it is at its closest point to our planet in January 2025.

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This distance will be about five times as far from Earth as the Moon.  

The Goldstone Solar System Radar, near Barstow in California, which is a part of NASA’s Deep Space Network, would track the space rock. 

Scientists suspect that asteroid 2024 PT5 is actually a part of the Moon. NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) thinks that it got detached from the lunar surface because of an asteroid impact years ago. 

When the asteroid was discovered, there was a possibility that it was likely a man-made object since they also have a similar motion. However, upon investigation, it was found to be a naturally occurring space body. 

Can it become a mini-moon?

The asteroid might stay around for some time, but it would never come close enough to get caught in Earth's gravity. It was our mini-moon for about two months this year, but the same is not expected to happen again.