Question

Earth will get a second moon for two months

Comments

I agree that it wasn't totally inaccurate but definitely could have been phrased better for clarity. Also, the NASA article is a great source and they explain why it would not affect Earth like a "real" moon and that it is an asteroid that will join our orbit temporarily.

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The fact check seems slightly misleading. There is no information in the article about this "second moon", for a more accurate statement I would have suggested explaining the tiny astroid that will be floating around the moon rather than calling said astroid a "tiny moon".

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According to phys.org, the new moon is actually a tiny asteroid. They say it is going to orbit the planet and stick around for a little less than two months. I understand how this could be perceived as a new moon, but I'm unsure if that's technically true.

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I agree with your comment. The claim is too vague to even remotely agree with it. The moon as we know is earths only natural satellite, is it possible to get another yes, but it wont be similar to the moon we know. Scientists state that it will be an asteroid that will go into our orbit for a little period of time before leaving.

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I think that this claim is not necessarily false, but misleading in a way. After my owmn research, I found that there will be a "mini moon" that will orbit for a month or two , but saying we are getting a second moon is quite misleading.

Answer 1

The title of "Earth will get a second moon" is technically true. As a moon is defined as "the large round object that circles the Earth and that shines at night by reflecting light from the sun." (Webster Dictionary). Since the asteroid is revolving around earth, and reflecting light off from the sun, it can be classified as a moon. On the other hand, it is misleading, because it will be too small to see with a telescope or binoculars.

Answer 2

By looking at these three articles relating to the claim, multiple of these articles discuss the same thing with the dates being all the same and talking about earth getting a temporary second moon being of any tiny asteroid.  This claim is consistent with the facts being the same making this not misinformation the one thing I will say they could been a little more specific with the tiny moon being asteroid but overall everything else is accurate and each article backs up each claim. 

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/21/earth-to-get-a-mini-moon-for-two-months-but-what-is-i

www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2024/09/19/temporary-mini-moon-will-begin-orbit-around-earth-next-week-what-to-know/.

www.space.com/earth-mini-moon-asteroid-2024-pt5.

Answer 3

The claim that Earth will get a second moon is very exaggerated. To add context the article states that an asteroid which is being labeled as a "mini moon" will orbit around for 2 months. Already the evidence you used shows that this claim is exaggerated as asteroids have many distinctions to moons. The asteroid is called "2024 PT5" and the event that will occur is temporary so this will not result in Earth gaining a "second moon." Simply the name "mini-moon" is just a nickname for this asteroid which caused the misconception of using "second moon" in your claim.

Sources:

https://www.npr.org/2024/09/21/nx-s1-5121914/mini-moon-earth-asteroid

Answer 4

The claim "The Earth will get a second moon for two months" is an inaccurate and misleading statement. The article by CBS news explains the notable phenomenon of an asteroid sought to circle the moon. After doing further research into NASA's direct message they explain the how the asteroid will orbit earth for a very short period of time. the main claim made by the CBS article is misleading and inaccurate the Earth will not be getting a second moon. This authors of the article use true facts within the meat of the article but the main claim and title is false.

https://science.nasa.gov/planetary-defense/Links

Answer 5

2. The CBS News' notion that Earth would have a "second moon" is untrue. Using the term "second moon" to describe 2024 PT5 creates an overly dramatic idea of its importance. Although tiny asteroids like 2024 PT5 have the potential to resemble "mini moons momentarily," they are not at all like our real Moon. These asteroids, which are frequently tiny, only briefly orbit the Earth before reverting to their solar orbits. It would be more accurate to refer to 2024 PT5 as a temporarily captured object. After passing through Earth's gravitational pull, these asteroids begin a brief orbit that is frequently asymmetrical (such as a "horseshoe" orbit). They are usually too small to be seen without strong telescopes and lack the qualities of a stable, natural satellite like our Moon. 

Therefore, referring to 2024 PT5 as a "second moon" is incorrect and exaggerates its significance, even if it will technically orbit Earth. 

Sources: https://www.space.com/earth-will-capture-second-moon-sept-2024# 

Answer 6

The title of the article is a bit misleading because of the expectations it sets, but it's not untrue. NASA's definition of a moon is "Naturally-formed bodies that orbit planets". It is projected to orbit our planet for two months. Additionally, the American Astronomical Society also uses the language of "mini-moon" in their article about 2024 PT5. 

Here are the sources I fact-checked their information with:
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/moons/
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/ad781f
https://blogs.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/2024/10/02/nasa-to-track-asteroid-2024-pt5-on-next-close-pass-january-2025/