Occasionally, asteroids get caught in Earth’s orbit, temporarily becoming mini moons before continuing their cosmic paths.

Asteroid 2024 PT5, which almost became a temporary mini-moon to Earth, was recently found to be a broken-off part of the moon itself.

Before concluding that 2024 PT5 was a fragment of the Moon, scientists needed to rule out the possibility that it was simply space debris, such as an old rocket part or a piece of human-made material.

“The hypothesis that minimoons, or objects like 2024 PT5 on heliocentric orbits similar to Earth’s, could be chips off the moon is perfectly reasonable,” Jedicke said in an email.

Take 2024 PT5, a bus-sized asteroid that drifted near Earth last year. Recent research reveals this might not have been just another run-of-the-mill asteroid—it might be a chunk of the Moon ...

The small near-Earth object 2024 PT5 was first spotted on August 7, 2024 by the the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). The tiny asteroid measures a mere 33 feet (10 meters ...

An artist’s concept of an asteroid like the small near-Earth object 2024 PT5, whose orbit around the sun closely matches that of our planet and led to it being called a “mini-moon.” NASA/JPL ...

Departing on Monday (Nov. 25), Earth's recent "mini-moon" asteroid 2024 PT5 didn't stick around for Thanksgiving, but don't be sad. It will be back... but will it ever be a second moon again?

Scientists believe the so-called "mini moon" was once part of the Arjuna asteroid belt, a group of asteroids following a similar orbit to the Earth. Despite its moniker, 2024 PT5 never completed ...

Planet Earth is bidding farewell to a "mini moon," a harmless asteroid named 2024 PT5, which has been trailing Earth for two months and will leave on Monday, drawn away by the sun’s stronger ...

Known as 2024 PT5, the rock began to partially circle Earth in a horseshoe-shaped path in September. Scientists say it could possibly be a boulder that was blasted off the actual moon.

"Calling asteroid 2024 PT5 a moon depends on if you consider a brief capture enough to call it a moon—the asteroid will not quite complete an orbit around Earth before leaving again," Darren ...