Two moons will be seen in the sky from the night of September 29?
September 26, 20242 Mins Read

Science and Engineering Desk: Many people have heard the famous Bengali film song, 'Akashete Laksh Tara Chand But Ektere'. Looking at the sky at night, only one moon can be seen. However, from September 29, another new moon will be seen on Earth, astronomers said. The new moon is essentially a small asteroid. The name is '2024 PT5'. The second moon will be seen from September 29 to November 25. But not with the naked eye, the moon can be seen through a powerful telescope of at least 30 inches in diameter.

moon

According to astronomers, the small new moon belongs to the Arjuna asteroid belt. And the Arjuna asteroid belt is located at a distance of about 93 million miles from Earth. As a result, it will follow the Earth from far away and orbit the Sun. After that, Arjuna will return to the asteroid belt. It will be visible in Earth's sky like the moon for only two months before going back.

About the sighting of the second moon in the sky of the Earth, astronomer Carlos Marcos said that the asteroid in the Arjuna asteroid belt can come at a minimum distance of 2.8 million miles from the Earth. In this situation, the geocentric force becomes weak and the asteroid can become a temporary moon of the Earth. However, the asteroid will not follow a complete orbit around the Earth. The asteroid will pass much like peering through a window.

Astronomers call this new tiny moon a mini-moon event. According to them, 'for a short period of time such asteroids can orbit our Earth. Any asteroid would have to come within about 2.8 million miles of Earth to become a mini-moon. In this state, the object is temporarily bound by the Earth's attraction.

Sources: Space.com, Forbes.com