The newly discovered asteroid 2024 PT5 will be temporarily captured by Earth's gravity, orbiting our planet from Sept. 29 to Nov. 25, according to astronomers.
About 55 to 65 feet in size, the Chelyabinsk asteroid exploded in the air, releasing 20 to 30 times more energy than that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
Astronomers first spotted the asteroid on Aug. 7 using the South Africa-based observatory of the NASA-funded ATLAS. The asteroid is likely about 37 feet in diameter.
But as a mini-moon, Asteroid 2024 PT5 isn't in any danger of colliding with Earth now or over the next few decades, de la Fuente Marcos said.
Collection
[
|
...
]