Since we have been in a relationship with THE moon for approximately 4.6 billion years, she should not feel too threatened.
But because we rarely have an extra space rock partner, the newcomer, an asteroid scheduled to be "caught" by our planet's gravity on September 29, is drawing interest.
With a length of just 10 meters, 2024 PT5 is minuscule in comparison to the moon.
On November 25, it will make a quick lap around the sun before reentering space after spending 56.6 days with us.
According to the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society, the new little companion "may suffer mini-moon events in which their geocentric energy turns negative for hours, days, or months" when near-Earth objects (NEOs) approach at close range.
Occasionally, they even begin to momentarily orbit the planet; this happened with the extra moon we had from July 2006 to July 2007.
There is some disagreement about whether the moon that is approaching this month is actually a mini-moon because it is not anticipated to complete a full orbit around the planet.
To add even more confusion, it is possible that the asteroid was once a component of our moon.
Its previous motion suggests that it is "probably a fragment of ejecta from an impact on the moon," according to Paul Chodas, head of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Center for Near Earth Object Studies, who made this statement to the New York Times.
Adding to the moon chain, a popular explanation explains how our moon got to be there: it was formerly a part of Earth, but a "huge impact" with another small planet knocked off a significant portion of it.
If that were the case, 2024 PT5's arrival might be seen as a short family get-together.
Unfortunately, the asteroid will be too small for humans to view with the unaided eye, so our only chance to catch a look will be through powerful telescopes.
However, it is expected to return in 2055, and perhaps by then, we will be able to view it using AR glasses or smartphones.