Earth will capture 'second moon' this weekend, scientists say...Earth to capture a 'second moon' this weekend, NASA says

"NASA scientists have calculated that Earth will capture a "second moon" on Sunday (Sept. 29). The "mini-moon" comes in the form of the tiny asteroid 2024 PT5, which usually orbits the sun as part of a small asteroid belt that follows Earth.

While Earth's primary companion, the moon, has lingered around our planet for around 4 billion years since its formation in the solar system's infancy, this asteroid will be a temporary fixture that won't even see the year out."
https://www.space.com/earth-will-capture-second-moon-sept-2024

"The new moon is actually a tiny asteroid dubbed 2024 PT5. It will start orbiting the planet in a horseshoe path and stick around for a little less than two months before escaping Earth's gravitational pull and going back to its regular orbit around the sun.

"According to the latest data available from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Horizons System, the temporary capture will start at 15:54 EDT (on Sunday) and will end at 11:43 EDT on November 25," mini-moon event expert and Universidad Complutense de Madrid professor Carlos de la Fuente Marcos told Space.com."
https://phys.org/news/2024-09-earth-capture-moon-weekend-nasa.html