Tiny asteroid will be pulled in by gravity between Sep. 29 and Nov. 25, however will not be discernible via basic telescopes; celestial object expected to return only in 2055 The post Asteroid set to temporarily become Earth’s ‘second moon’ appeared first on The Times of Israel.

The bus-size asteroid, which was discovered on August 7 by the NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), will be sucked in by Earth’s gravitational pull from September 29 to November 25, USA Today reported. During this interstellar layover, the space rock will likely become a “temporary mini-moon,” per Marcos.

Asteroid PT5 was discovered on August 7 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System and was observed by a team in South Africa. According to the article, PT5 will reach its closest approach to Earth again on January 9, 2025 before it leaves "the neighborhood of Earth shortly afterwards," and will return again in 2055.