Starting this Sunday, Earth will welcome a temporary guest in its orbit.

On September 29, an asteroid known as 2024 PT5 will become a ‘mini-moon’, orbiting our planet for nearly two months before gravity pulls it back to the expansive region of space rocks called the Arjuna asteroid belt, which trails a similar path around the sun as Earth.

Scientists first spotted this asteroid on August 7 using the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System located in Sutherland, South Africa, during routine scans, according to a study published in the journal Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society.

What does mini-moon mean?

“Mini-moon” refers to phenomena where celestial objects like asteroids or fragments of space debris temporarily share Earth’s orbit, sometimes completing a full circuit.

To qualify as a mini-moon, an object must approach Earth within approximately 2.8 million miles (4.5 million kilometers) while traveling at a speed of about 2,200 mph (3,540 km/h), according to Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, a professor at Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

Previously, mini-moon events were recorded in 1981 and 2022, based on researchers’ findings.

Marcos stated to Space.com earlier this week that the asteroid will start its orbit around Earth at 15:54 ET on Sunday and will exit at 11:43 ET on November 25.

How can I view the mini-moon?

Given that 2024 PT5 measures only 37 feet across, it will likely be invisible to the general public without professional-grade telescopes.

“It’s too small and faint for standard amateur telescopes or binoculars. However, professional astronomers can track it with the right tools,” Marcos explained to Space.com. “To observe this asteroid, a telescope with a diameter of at least 30 inches plus a CCD or CMOS detector is necessary; simply looking through a 30-inch telescope won’t suffice.”