According to a paper published in the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society this month, the 2024 PT5 asteroid will then be in the grasp of Earth's gravity, following a horseshoe-like path around our planet until November 25, when it will return to an orbit around the sun. The lead author compares it to a window shopper because it's not truly a satellite.
This mini-moon is nothing like our real moon. It's super mini and according to Dan Bartlett, the California astrophotographer, it's faint enough to be well beyond the limits of most amateur telescopes.
From his dark-skies vantage point in the middle of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Bartlett thinks he might be able to catch the asteroid by imaging all night long with his sophisticated telescope equipment. He admits, "The image probably won't look like much but you never know until you try."
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