Earth's temporary 'Mini Moon' may be a fragment of the moon

A small space rock, which briefly orbited near Earth last year and was dubbed the planet’s temporary “mini-moon,” may actually be a chunk from the Moon, scientists suggest.

The object, an asteroid known as 2024 PT5, is only about 33 feet in diameter and follows an orbit that nearly matches Earth's as it circles the Sun. However, its unusual path, which doesn’t directly orbit Earth, hints that it may have formed closer to our planet.

After analyzing new data, researchers believe that this asteroid could have originated from the Moon. They suspect it was ejected from the lunar surface following a massive impact thousands of years ago. The rock was then thrown into a trajectory around the Sun, coming close to Earth.

The asteroid could offer a unique opportunity to learn about the Moon's formation. Scientists found that 2024 PT5 contains silicate minerals, a key component of lunar rock samples, rather than the typical materials found in most asteroids. This discovery solidified the theory that it came from the Moon.

Teddy Kareta, an astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Arizona who led the study, commented, “While we suspected that this asteroid might be from the Moon, the confirmation came when we found its composition to match lunar rock, rather than that of common asteroids.”

Further investigations into how the asteroid reflects sunlight revealed that its materials closely resemble those of the Moon. Additionally, experts at NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) examined its orbit and found that the asteroid is much denser than typical space debris, which is influenced more by sunlight pressure.

NASA's Oscar Fuentes-Muñoz explained, “2024 PT5 doesn’t react like typical debris, which suggests it is far denser than human-made objects, which are often lighter.”

Unlike other known near-Earth asteroids, 2024 PT5 is a natural rock, with no signs of being man-made, as per recent NASA findings. Another near-Earth asteroid thought to have come from the Moon is 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, identified in 2016.

These findings could shed light on the history of lunar impacts and reveal more about the processes that shaped the Moon, as well as how these impacts affected the environment on Earth.