Earth’s New ‘Mini-Moon’ Will Be Visible in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, & Elsewhere

Last week, NASA made an announcement that is going to make science and space nerds freak out: the Earth will be getting a second moon.

Don’t get too excited, though.  Our interplanetary visitor will only be around for a few months.

According to an article on the Local 12 WKRC website, a ‘min-moon’ will enter Earth space on September 29^th.  It will orbit our planet until November 25^th.  At that point, the object will leave Earth's orbit and travel back to the asteroid belt.

The object, which has been named 2024 PT5, was first spotted in August.  Scientists say that it is about 33 feet across, making it about the size of a bus.

READ MORE: This is One of the Best Places to See the Stars in New England

The orbital plot put together by researchers shows that the object will make almost one complete orbit of our planet before it zooms off into deep space.  The orbit will be highly eccentric, meaning that it will be more of an oval than a circle.

You can see an animation of the path the rock will take around the Earth HERE.

NASA researchers say that 2024 PT5 will not be visible to the naked eye.  However, it should be possible to see it using a good telescope.

We have your chance to Win Cash!  You could win up to $30,000 for listening to the radio on the job.  Just download our app and listen on weekdays for the codes we give out on-air.  The more codes you enter through our app, the better your chances of winning.