Sept. 29 to November 25, 2024 expect to
see a second moon orbiting our planet Earth.
This second moon is nothing more than a small asteroid about 10 meters long. This asteroid, Asteroid 2024 PT5, is
from the Arjuna asteroid belt.
Earth’s gravitational pull – and the pull of neighboring planets – has attracted the asteroid but it will eventually leave orbit after 56.5 days. According to Forbes official website, Asteroid 2024 PT5 could potentially be a piece of our moon that broke off during an impact early in Earth’s history.
This asteroid is one of the largest “mini-moons” we’ve ever seen in our orbit. However, it is still too small and dim to be visible by the naked eye. In order to view the asteroid, one would need a professional telescope with a diameter of at least 30 inches. The asteroid will be in Earth’s orbit for two months, but it is predicted to return again in 2055.
Asteroid 2024 PT5 isn’t the only “mini-moon” the Earth has. There was one orbiting Earth , but it left in 2020. Another, 2022 NX1, was our “mini
moon” in 1981 and 2022, will return in 2051. “Minimoons” are a recurring cosmological phenomena.
Hurricane Helene
Hurricane season has returned. Hurricane Helene is expected to make its way up to the United States from the east side
of the Gulf of Mexico.
Flash floods and mudslides already hit the Caribbeans and other locations such as Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Nicaragua. The southern U.S. is projected to receive flooding rainfall and heavy winds. Approximately 12 inches of rainfall and major flooding is expected.
While it remains in the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Helene is predicted to be a Category 4 hurricane with winds up to 130-156 miles per hour.
It is projected to be a Category 3 hurricane with winds going up to 129 miles per hour by the time it touches down in the U.S.
A storm surge of up to 20 feet is expected near the Big Bend region of Florida and local officials are warning citizens to avoid affected areas.
Taylor County Sheriff Wayne Padgett told NBC News that citizens in the low-lying coastal areas are most at risk.“
That’s a death threat because they’re calling for an 18- or 20-foot storm surge,” he said.
“We’ve never had a storm surge like this in this county. These old houses, some of them on this coast, have been there for years and years and years, and they’re just not going to stand up to it. The water — you can kind of hide from the wind — but you can’t hide from that water.”