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Home » Note, Pa-pre: Mini-moon 2024 PT5

Note, Pa-pre: Mini-moon 2024 PT5

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You didn’t think a mini-moon (Temporarily-Captured Flyby, or TCF) would go by uncommented? I generally stay away from citing arXiv, since it’s basically uncontrolled. But the response time for Mini-Moon 2024 PT5 is too short for a refereed journal, so arXiv it is:

arxiv.org/abs/2411.08834 de la Fuente Marcos, R. de León, J. Serra-Ricart, M. et al. 2024 Basaltic mini-moon: Characterizing 2024 PT5 with the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias and the Two-meter Twin Telescope

For the most part, the TCF is described as its astronomical features- a dot. It’s a fast rotator (perhaps an hour’s period, perhaps less) with a mini-moon orbit now, perhaps a recurring mini-moon. There’s also a spectra, indicating an Sv-type mineralogy (rocky, silicaceous, perhaps pyroxene). Assuming Sv-spectra, the body is on the larger size for a mini-moon. Overall, de la Fuente Marcos’ group is quite excited for the future of asteroid study and exploration. So am I.

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