• @[email protected]
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    432 months ago

    I’ve read like eight of these articles about this Moon just trying to find out if we can see it without a telescope.

    I’m assuming we can’t see it, but none of the articles I’ve read mention it. it seems crazy that none of them mention its visibility.

    Will we be able to see the second moon?

    • @GildorInglorion
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      272 months ago

      The posted article says no, not even with an amateur telescope

    • @[email protected]
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      142 months ago

      The closest approach is about 600,000 Km away. That’s more than twice the distance to the moon. At that distance, to be (just barely) visible to the naked eye, it would have to be about 170km across, which would put it among the largest asteroids in the solar system. In fact, 2024 PT5 is only about 11m across (~36ft). You would need quite a powerful telescope, indeed, to see an object that small at that distance.

  • @vegetaOP
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    252 months ago

    That’s no moon…

  • lettruthout
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    112 months ago

    Was wondering about its size: 11 meters (36 ft) in diameter per wikipedia

      • @[email protected]
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        92 months ago

        If we send rocket(s) up and can fiddle with its velocity enough, we could keep it.

        I feel like if you capture a new moon, you should also get to name it.

        If McDonalds will sponsor it, we could have Luna and 98 Big Macs.

  • @[email protected]
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    52 months ago

    spinning around Earth in a horseshoe shape for about two months

    what? what kind of orbit is that?

  • @[email protected]
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    32 months ago

    An asteroid called 2020 CD3 was bound to Earth for several years before leaving the planet’s orbit in 2020

    How can something that’s in an orbit for years then just leave again?
    Is the orbit so big it crosses other planets’ sphere of influence?
    Or is its apoapsis far enough away for the sun to snatch it away?

    • @[email protected]
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      42 months ago

      Gravitational interactions between Earth, Moon, Sun leading to the orbit never really being stable, probably. The asteroid decided Earth orbit wasn’t its’ forever home.

      • bbbbbbbbbbb
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        32 months ago

        Its also very hard to get an object into the perfect orbit that it wont float away. Our moon is slowly drifting farther and farther from us

  • @[email protected]
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    22 months ago

    So if I’m doing the math right… that’s 3 total moons:

    Moon

    Mini moon 1

    The second mini moon

    Science is fun.