Astronomers reveal the secrets of the "second moon" of the Earth

Scientists have discovered the origin of a space rock that hovered in the outskirts of our orbit for two months. Asteroid 2024 PT5 has been called Earth's temporary "second moon" because of its considerable size and prolonged presence so close to our planet.

Astronomers collected data about the asteroid as it orbited the Earth and discovered that it could be a piece of our Moon that broke off during one of the collisions. That's why the lunar surface is filled with craters, DailyMail writes.

According to scientists, the leading theory of the Moon's formation is the "giant collision hypothesis," which states that this satellite is actually a huge piece of the Earth. According to this theory, our planet collided with a Mars-sized planet about four billion years ago. As a result of this explosive "kiss," a piece broke off from the Earth, which flew into space and condensed to form the Moon.

If the giant collision hypothesis and the analysis of the origin of asteroid 2024 PT5 are correct, it means that our real Moon is the father of this mini-moon, and the Earth is its grandmother.

On November 25, a "second moon" flew away from Earth when it was pulled into space by the Sun's gravitational force, Space.com reports.

"There is some evidence that this asteroid may be of lunar origin. Current research suggests it is scrolling rapidly with a rotation period of less than one hour. This is possible if 2024 PT5 is a large boulder from the lunar surface or a fragment of a larger object," said Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, lead author of the study and professor at Complutense University of Madrid.

While traveling around the outer edge of Earth's orbit, astrophysicists used telescopes in the Canary Islands of Spain to collect hundreds of observations of the asteroid.

Carlos and his brother Raul de la Fuente Marcos analyzed the range of electromagnetic wavelengths emitted by the asteroid. These data showed that the chemical composition of the asteroid coincides with the lunar material previously brought to Earth.

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