**Earth Set to Capture Tiny Asteroid, Creating a Temporary "Second Moon"**

NASA scientists have announced that Earth is on the verge of capturing a second moon—albeit a miniature one. The asteroid, named 2024 PT5, will begin its short-lived orbit around our planet this week.

The celestial event is set to commence at 15:54 EDT on Sunday, according to data from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Horizons System. It will continue until November 25 at 11:43 EDT. During this period, the asteroid will follow a horseshoe path around Earth before resuming its regular orbit around the sun.

Professor Carlos de la Fuente Marcos from Universidad Complutense de Madrid, a mini-moon event expert, explained that 2024 PT5 is part of the Arjuna asteroid belt. This belt consists of space rocks that follow similar orbits to Earth, maintaining an average distance of about 93 million miles from the sun.

Measuring just 37 feet in width, 2024 PT5 will be traveling at a speed of approximately 2,200 miles per hour while remaining around 2.8 million miles away from Earth. To put this in perspective, our permanent moon is about 2,159 miles in diameter and orbits at an average distance of 238,855 miles from Earth.

Due to its diminutive size, 2024 PT5 will not be visible to the casual stargazer. The asteroid was first detected on August 7 by NASA's Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System. This discovery is a testament to the dynamic nature of our solar system and the many celestial objects that have yet to be discovered.

This isn't the first time Earth has been accompanied by a temporary mini-moon. Asteroids like 2022 NX1 have previously entered Earth's orbit, occurring in both 1981 and 2022. Astronomer and podcaster Dr. Jennifer Millard emphasized the significance of such discoveries, noting that they reveal just how much is still unknown about our solar system.