20 Sep 2024

A visit from a wee mini moon

From Afternoons, 1:26 pm on 20 September 2024

We've been to the moon. Now a moon is coming to us. For the next couple of months we're set to become a two moon planet. A 10m wide asteroid - officially known as 2024PT - will begin orbiting the earth...

To answer all of your mini-moon questions Mark Leishman talks to University of Auckland Astrophysicist Professor Nick Rattenbury.

The asteroid, known as 2023 DW, is nearly 50 metres in diameter and could arrive on Valentine's Day in 2046, according to NASA calculations.

The asteroid, known as 2023 DW, is nearly 50 metres in diameter and could arrive on Valentine's Day in 2046, according to NASA calculations. Photo: NASA