(Story written by Noah Haswell of Beaver County Radio, Published on September 30, 2024 at 9:26 A.M.)

(Pennsylvania) The moon will temporarily have a next-door neighbor called a “mini moon.” This moon is actually an asteroid called 2024 PT5 that started orbiting Earth on Sunday and will do so for about 57 days, even though it will not complete a full orbit. Astronomers at Complutense University of Madrid used a telescope from Sutherland, South Africa to find the asteroid, which is about the size of a school bus, in August. 2020 was the last time one of these “mini moons” was spotted, and will leave Earth to travel through space on November 25, and will not pass by Earth again until 2055. 

Source for Photo: FILE – Impact craters cover the surface of the moon, seen from Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. The moon is about to get walloped by 3 tons of space junk, a punch that will carve out a crater that could fit several semitractor-trailers. A leftover rocket is expected to smash into the far side of the moon at 5,800 mph (9,300 kph) on Friday, March 4, 2022, away from telescopes’ prying eyes. It may take weeks, even months, to confirm the impact through satellite images. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)