Earth’s only natural satellite, the Moon, typically orbits at a distance of about 239,000 miles, regulating everything from tides to climate patterns. In autumn 2024, the Moon will gain a tiny companion— a "mini-moon" named 2024 PT5. This mini-moon will follow a horseshoe-shaped orbit around Earth from September 29 to November 25, according to CBS News. Researchers published the details of 2024 PT5 in the journal Research Notes of the AAS.
Representative Image Source: Nature reserve of the Sierra Mariola in Bocairent, Valencian Community, Spain, Europe. (Getty Images)
Earth’s primary moon has orbited it for roughly 4 billion years, since the solar system formed. During that formation, leftover debris became asteroids. When asteroids approach Earth, they either flit past the planet or leave a dent in Earth’s crust, per Forbes. But in some cases, these asteroids are captured by Earth’s gravitational pull, which causes them to orbit around the planet, becoming “mini-moons,” for short timeframes. The upcoming mini-moon, roughly the size of a city bus, will be trapped by Earth’s gravity for about two months. Researchers proposed that this asteroid belongs to the Arjuna asteroid belt which orbits the Sun.
Representative Image Source: Asteroid belt consisting of many orbiting meteor rocks around rocky planet. (Getty Images)
"The object that is going to pay us a visit belongs to the Arjuna asteroid belt, a secondary asteroid belt made of space rocks that follow orbits very similar to that of Earth at an average distance to the sun of about 93 million miles," the research's lead author and a professor at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, told Space.com. "Objects in the Arjuna asteroid belt are part of the near-Earth object population of asteroids and comets." The asteroid was first discovered by researchers at Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, an asteroid monitoring system funded by NASA.
Representative Image Source: The photograph is prepared using 3D rendering and Gaussian noise distribution in image processing software and coding. (Getty Images)
Marcos added that when objects in the Arjuna asteroid belt approach Earth within a range of 2.8 million miles at low velocities of around 2,200 miles per hour, they become mini-moons. Their geocentric energy becomes negative, and the object may become a temporary moon of the Earth, just like the "2024 PT5." Once it has completed its two-month rotation in Earth’s orbit, it will break free from Earth’s gravity and return to the Arjuna asteroid belt in the heliocentric orbit of the Sun. But even after it leaves Earth’s orbit, it will remain in proximity for a few more months, making another approach in January 2025, according to CBS News. Soon enough, it will be directed back to its own path where it will orbit for the next 30 years.
Unfortunately, skywatchers won’t be able to see 2024 PT5 with the naked eye due to its small size. "The object is too small and dim for typical amateur telescopes and binoculars. However, the object is well within the brightness range of typical telescopes used by professional astronomers," Marcos told Space.com. "A telescope with a diameter of at least 30 inches plus a CCD or CMOS detector is needed to observe this object, a 30-inch telescope and a human eye behind it will not be enough." Another surprising fact that this study has revealed is that this mini-moon could possibly be a piece ejected from an impact on the original Earth’s moon, and hence could be a piece of the Moon itself, per the New York Times. This is not the first mini-moon to be discovered. The researchers noted in the paper that two mini-moon events had occurred in 1981 and 2022.
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President Donald J. Trump and photo of a forest.
Public united and adamantly opposes Trump’s plan to roll back the Roadless Rule
There doesn't seem to be much agreement happening in the U.S. right now. Differing moral belief systems, economic disparity, and political divide have made a country with so many positives sometimes feel a little lost. Everyone desperately seeks a niche, a connection, or a strong sense of community to which they can feel a "part of," rather than just "apart."
But there seems to be one thing that the country strongly unites over, and that's the "Roadless Rule." With the Trump Administration attempting to roll back conservation policies that protect U.S. National Forests, Americans are saying in harmony an emphatic "No." A nonpartisan conservation and advocacy organization, the Center for Western Priorities, reviewed a comment analysis on the subject. After receiving 223,862 submissions, a staggering 99 percent are opposed to the president's plan of repeal.
What is the 'Roadless Rule' policy implemented in 2001?
The Roadless Rule has a direct impact on nearly 60 million acres of national forests and grasslands. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the rule prohibits road construction and timber harvests. Enacted in 2001, it is a conservation rule that protects some of the least developed portions of our forests. It's considered to be one of the most important conservation wins in U.S. history.
America's national forests and grasslands are diverse ecosystems, timeless landscapes, and living treasures. They sustain the country with clean water and the wood products necessary to build our communities. The National Parks protected under their umbrella offer incredible recreational retreats and outdoor adventure.
Why does the administration want to roll it back?
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins told the Department of Agriculture in a 2025 press release, “We are one step closer to common sense management of our national forest lands. Today marks a critical step forward in President Trump’s commitment to restoring local decision-making to federal land managers to empower them to do what’s necessary to protect America’s forests and communities from devastating destruction from fires." Rollins continued, “This administration is dedicated to removing burdensome, outdated, one-size-fits-all regulations that not only put people and livelihoods at risk but also stifle economic growth in rural America. It is vital that we properly manage our federal lands to create healthy, resilient, and productive forests for generations to come. We look forward to hearing directly from the people and communities we serve as we work together to implement productive and commonsense policy for forest land management.”
Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz explained the Roadless Rule frustrated land management and acts as a challenging barrier to action. It prohibits road construction needed to navigate wildfire suppression and properly maintain the forest. Schultz said, “The forests we know today are not the same as the forests of 2001. They are dangerously overstocked and increasingly threatened by drought, mortality, insect-borne disease, and wildfire. It’s time to return land management decisions where they belong – with local Forest Service experts who best understand their forests and communities."
Why are people adamantly opposed to the proposed rollback?
A 2025 article in Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization, expressed its concern over the protection of national forests covering 36 states and Puerto Rico. A rescinded rule allows increased logging, extractive development, and oil and gas drilling in previously undisturbed backcountry. Here is what some community leaders had to say about it:
President Gloria Burns, Ketchikan Indian Community, said, "You cannot separate us from the land. We depend on Congress to update the outdated and predatory, antiquated laws that allow other countries and outside sources to extract our resource wealth. This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless. We are not willing to risk the destruction of our homelands when no effort has been made to ensure our future is the one our ancestors envisioned for us. Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”
Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, stated, "Roadbuilding damaged salmon streams in the past — with 240 miles of salmon habitat still blocked by failed road culverts. The Roadless Rule protects our fishing economy and more than 10,000 jobs provided by commercial fishing in Southeast Alaska.”
The Sierra Club's Forest Campaign Manager Alex Craven seemed quite upset, saying, "The Forest Service followed sound science, economic common sense, and overwhelming public support when they adopted such an important and visionary policy more than 20 years ago. Donald Trump is making it crystal clear he is willing to pollute our clean air and drinking water, destroy prized habitat for species, and even increase the risk of devastating wildfires, if it means padding the bottom lines of timber and mining companies.”
The 2025 recession proposal would apply to nearly 45 million acres of the national forests. With so many people writing in opposition to the consensus, the public has determined they don't want it to happen.
Tongass National Forest is at the center of the Trump administration's intention to roll back the 2001 Roadless Rule. You can watch an Alaska Nature Documentary about the wild salmon of Tongass National Forrest here:
- YouTube www.youtube.com
The simple truth is we elect our public officials to make decisions. The hope is they do this for all of our well-being, although often it seems they do not. Even though we don't have much power to control what government officials do, voicing our opinions strongly enough often forces them to alter their present course of action. With a unanimous public voice saying, "No!" maybe this time they will course correct as the public wishes.