Earth will have a second moon – level 3
27-09-2024 15:00
According to a study in Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society, Earth will have a second mini-moon from late September to late November.
This mini-moon is a small asteroid, about 10 meters in length, pulled into orbit by Earth’s gravity. Although mini-moons are rare, they have occurred before, notably in 1981 and 2022. Astronomers have named this mini-moon 2024 PT5, and it won’t be visible without a telescope. These mini-moons are temporary visitors to Earth’s orbit and eventually move away after a few months or up to two years.
The asteroid will resume its orbit around the Sun after leaving Earth’s gravitational pull. Mini-moons are difficult to observe due to their small size and dim light compared to the vast darkness of space. This asteroid won’t return until the year 2055.
Difficult words: resume (to end), gravitational pull (the force that pulls objects toward each other), dim (not shining brightly or clearly).
You can watch the video news lower on this page.
What is the estimated size of the mini-moon 2024 PT5 and how long is it expected to stay in Earth's orbit?
LEARN 3000 WORDS with NEWS IN LEVELS
News in Levels is designed to teach you 3000 words in English. Please follow the instructions
below.
How to improve your English with News in Levels:
Test
- Do the test at Test Languages.
- Go to your level. Go to Level 1 if you know 1-1000 words. Go to Level 2 if you know 1000-2000 words. Go to Level 3 if you know 2000-3000 words.
Reading
- Read two news articles every day.
- Read the news articles from the day before and check if you remember all new words.
Listening
- Listen to the news from today and read the text at the same time.
- Listen to the news from today without reading the text.
Writing
- Answer the question under today’s news and write the answer in the comments.
Speaking
- Choose one person from the Skype section.
- Talk with this person. You can answer questions from Speak in Levels.
Stock images by Depositphotos
