The term 'mini moon' was invented by my former supervisor Robert Jedicke, and it refers to temporary objects that get caught in Earth’s gravity.
Five temporary mini moons have been recognized so far, with the first, 2006 RH120, being the size of a small car and circling Earth multiple times.
Mini moons like 2024 PT5 have chaotic orbits influenced by the Moon, leading to eventual ejection from the Earth-Moon system.
The ATLAS project, led by John Tonry, uses a unique global telescope system to constantly observe the sky for near-Earth objects.
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