Question

Earth will get a second moon for two months

Comments

This source is missing critical information like, the object's size, details about its composition, information about its origin, an explanation of how it was discovered and some mention of the uncertainty in the calculations.

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This is a very vague response following a misleading argument. The article talks about an object that will orbit the country for a little while but is nothing close to a moon.

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Your fact check on the asteroid 2024 PT5 is mostly accurate, but it could be clearer. You mentioned that the asteroid will appear as if Earth has a second moon, which is misleading. According to NASA and ATLAS, 2024 PT5 will not be captured by Earth’s gravity and will remain about nine times farther away from Earth than the Moon. This means it won’t have the same properties or appearance as Earth’s moon. It would be helpful to clarify this distinction to avoid misconceptions. Additionally, while you did a good job referencing ATLAS and NASA, it would strengthen your argument to include specific data or quotes from these sources. For example, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory provides detailed information about the asteroid’s orbit around the Sun, which supports your point that it won’t orbit Earth. Including this information would make your fact check more robust and informative. Overall, your fact check is well-researched, but adding these details would improve its clarity and accuracy.

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Mini-Moons Are Temporary:

Earth’s "mini-moon" or "temporary satellite" is not a permanent addition to the planet's orbit. These objects are small asteroids or debris that are captured by Earth’s gravity for a brief period before they either escape or collide with Earth. These mini-moons usually last a few months or a few years, not indefinitely.
Not a New Phenomenon:

Earth has had several "mini-moons" before. They come and go, so calling it the "second mini-moon" may be misleading or too simplistic. The article may overlook previous similar events, as Earth frequently interacts with small space objects in this way.

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Your comment does a great job of articulating what is missing from the article and how it can be misleading without full context. Not knowing this information can lead to people spreading misinformation or not fully factual information. Nice job.

Answer 1

The CBS article claims that “Earth will get a second “mini-moon” for 2 months this year”. When examining the origin, the author Caitlin O’Kane seems to be a reliable author who has written numerous articles for well-established news outlets and works as a senior manager of content and production at CBS. When searching CBS News on Media Bias Fact Check, the outlet is reported as highly factual, with proper sourcing and no recorded failed fact checks for over the past five years. However, the term “mini-moon” is misleading, as the object is identified by NASA to be an asteroid, named 2024 PT5. While the asteroid will orbit the Earth for a projected 56.6 days, this does not make it a moon. The terminology used by CBS, while it is in quotations in the title, is still misleading and inaccurate to the scientific truth. Though CBS News reports verified facts about 2024 PT5, citing NASA, a highly credible source for space research, the use of the term mini-moon is misleading. When searching for NASA information about the asteroid, outlets such as the NASA blog never referred to 2024 PT5 as a mini-moon, maintaining strictly scientifically accurate terminology. However, when copying the CBS News title into the search bar, many similar articles appeared that also referred to the asteroid as a mini-moon. Outlets such as Live Science, USA Today, Phys.org, and BBC all used the term mini-moon in their titles, only clarifying that the subject mentioned is an asteroid further into the article. Therefore, the CBS News article, and other similar articles, are misleading their audiences by purposefully misusing scientific terms. The difference between news reporting outlets and scientific records such as NASA pages highlights how popular news is often more exaggerated and upheld to less strict standards on its adherence to scientific accuracy. 

Caitlin O'Kane - CBS News

CBS News - Bias and Credibility - Media Bias/Fact Check

Earth will get a second "mini-moon" for 2 months this year - CBS News

NASA to Track Asteroid 2024 PT5 on Next Close Pass, January 2025 – Planetary Defense

Earth's new 'mini-moon' will orbit our planet for the next 2 months | Live Science

'Mini-moon' to join Earth's orbit for nearly 2 months, study finds

Earth to have new mini-moon for two months

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3dvxgrmk95o

Answer 2

Your claim that Earth will get a second moon is misleading. While it is true that is true earth temporarily caught a second moon an astroid called 2024 pt5 this "moon" will be in orbit  starting from September,29,2024 and end on November 25th.

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

Answer 3

Unfortunately, the claim "Earth will get a second moon for two months" is very exaggerated and misleading. In the CBS article itself, it refers to this "mini-moon" as an asteroid multiple times. Furthermore, in an article published by Northeastern Global News, assistant professor of physics Jaqueline McCleary states, "'[...] it will be captured by the Earth’s gravitational potential,' she adds. 'But instead of doing a complete orbit like a regular moon, it’s more going to be deflected and then come back in and then kicked back out again and return to more or less its previous orbit around the sun.'" In other words, this "mini-moon" is not even close to being an actual moon, as it doesn't share the same characteristics (even though the title makes the public think otherwise).

https://news.northeastern.edu/2024/10/04/mini-moon-earth-explanation/ 

Answer 4

The claim is misleading but partly true. Additionally, this event has already happened. According to NASA scientists, Earth's gravitational pull captured an asteroid on 9/29/24. The asteroid remained in Earth's gravitational pull until 11/25/24. The asteroid was only 37 feet wide. Our actual moon has a diameter of around 2,159 miles. Our moon has been in Earth's orbit for a lot longer, and the asteroid only temporarily got pulled in. It didn't complete a full orbit around Earth. So while the asteroid did get pulled into our gravitational pull it wouldn't be considered a moon but it would be considered a mini moon which is when a small asteroid temporarily gets captured by a planet's gravitational pull. In conclusion, the title "Earth will get a second moon for two months" is misleading but somewhat factual as the Earth had a moon and a mini-moon orbiting at the same time for a short period.

Articles:

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

https://news.northeastern.edu/2024/10/04/mini-moon-earth-explanation/

Answer 5

Using this claim is very missleading. What actually happened was an asteroid from the Ajuna asteroid belt was passing by Earth and got pulled in by Earth's gravity. This asteroid is called 2024 PT5 and will only be in Earth's orbit for 56.5 days. CBS news said that when an object has entered Earth's gravitational pull and complete a full revolution around Earth, they become so called 'mini-moons'. So based on that, I can conclude that this claim is exaggerated.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/ad781f

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/earth-second-mini-moon-2024/

Answer 6

Earth will get a second moon - News Detective

Earth will get a second "mini-moon" for 2 months this year - CBS News

This article claims Earth will get a second moon/ mini moon for two months. After doing some research on what a moon actually is: I have concluded that a moon is a consistent satellite that orbits Earth/ plant(s). The asteroid being called the “mini-moon” cannot be considered a moon but, an asteroid caught in Earth's gravitational pull for a brief moment. Here is a great explanation of the difference between a moon and an asteroid: “Moon is a natural satellite orbiting Earth with a stable trajectory and visible phases, whereas asteroids are smaller rocky bodies primarily found in the asteroid belt, with irregular orbits.”-Moon vs. Asteroid — What’s the Difference?