September 27, 2024: We're covering a mini moon's arrival, irrational thinking about rare diseases, and our science fiction faves. —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | | Around 4pm Eastern on Sunday, September 29, a tiny asteroid will enter orbit around Earth, yielding a temporary "mini moon" to accompany our glorious long-term satellite, aka "the moon," reports Scientific American editor Lee Billings. The 10-meter-wide object, 2024 PT5, is an ordinary space rock from the "Arjuna" family of asteroids that flit around the sun at the same orbital distance as Earth. The mini moon won't complete a full orbit around Earth and can only be seen with a telescope at least 30 inches in diameters, but it's still sensational.
Why this is cool: The incoming object was reported late this summer by Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos, astronomers and brothers. They noted that four other mini moons have been reported by researchers, two of which were also "flyby" moons that didn't complete a full orbit around Earth. Such flyby moons likely occur several times a decade, but most have gone undetected, Billings writes. It's now thought that 2024 PT5 was a mini moon in 1960 and that it will return again in 2055.
What the experts say: Mini moons are attractive targets for exploratory space missions, Billings writes. He adds: "Perhaps someday 2024 PT5 or one of its fellow mini-moon interlopers will be able to be seen by everyone up close, via images beamed back by a visiting spacecraft." | | | An artist's concept of a small asteroid in deep space. When such objects approach within a few million kilometers of Earth moving at sufficiently slow speed with respect to our planet, they can be captured as satellites. NASA/JPL-Caltech | | | Hurricane Helene raced up the southern Appalachian region of the U.S. last night and today, resulting in floods in Tampa Bay, Atlanta and Lake Lure Dam in North Carolina, among other regions. Beyond the property damage that floods cause, the debris, potential sewage and microbial material caught up in floodwaters can pose health risks, reports Scientific American senior science writer Meghan Bartels in a story she updated for Helene. Contents can include bacteria, viruses, and downed power lines that can electrify floodwaters, as well as snakes, rats, alligators and "floating masses" of stinging fire ants, Bartels reports. Overwhelmed sewers can pollute floodwaters, which also might carry motor oil, cleaning chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers, tree limbs, property wreckage, and " flesh-eating," "wound-infecting" Vibrio bacteria, among many other concerning materials.
Why it matters: As climate change progresses, floods are becoming more frequent, bringing the planet's life into more frequent and longer-lasting contact with more toxic floodwaters, posing health risks.
What the experts say: "Floodwaters can appear somewhat clear of debris, but some of the pathogens and chemicals they carry are tiny or invisible. "The problems are things that, many of them, you don't see," says Henry Briceño, a geologist who studies water.
| | | • People's perceptions of rare medical risks can be influenced by whether or not they've experienced such a condition, writes Scientific American graphics editor Amanda Montañez, who had to weigh how to respond to a positive test for a rare, risky liver condition during a pregnancy. Rare diseases are defined as those that affect less than 1 percent of the population. But collectively, about one in 10 Americans has any rare disease, about 30 million people in total, as the graphic below illustrates. "Rare diseases as a group, it turns out, are not rare at all," Montañez writes. | 5 min read
| | | Amanda Montañez; Source: National Organization for Rare Disorders | | | • Do you know the answer to the first question of today's science quiz? Also, don't miss today's Spellements, and if you spot any science words that are missing from the puzzle, email them to games@sciam.com. In recent days, readers Leo, Seren of New York City, Sherrie of St. Louis, MO, and Annette of Canberra, all found vagal. And Bill of Acton, MA., found ceil, relict, recycler, reticle and tierce. Nice work, everyone. | | | MOST POPULAR STORIES OF THE WEEK | | | • Mystery of Deep-Ocean 'Biotwang' Sound Has Finally Been Solved | 4 min read | • Stunning Bird Photographs Showcase Incredible Views of Life on the Wing | 5 min read | • Millions of Joro Spiders Are Moving Up the East Coast. Here's What to Expect. | 4 min read | • Hybrid Chickadees Reveal How Species Boundaries Can Shift and Blur. | 12 min read | | | • In May 2022, humanity's search for new ways to fill free time, especially activities that were uplifting and rational, was in full effect. That might have inspired Scientific American digital art director Ryan Reid to share his review of an album, The Sound of Science, featuring beautiful science-themed music, accessible to children while also appealing to adults. The piece links to the full album at Bandcamp as well as a YouTube player where you can listen to Reid's top pick, "Gravity," from the album. | 3 min read | | | Conversations about the ways that science fiction inspires scientific efforts, and vice versa, inspired Scientific American's Brianne Kane to ask our editorial staff and contributors to briefly review their favorite sci-fi books. So many titles were submitted that Kane broke the list down into the following categories: top-shelf recommendations (the most-reviewed titles), series and short stories, ghastly thrillers, dastardly dystopias, "all's fair in love, war and time travel," and fantastical space operas. FWIW, the first science-fiction book that held my attention was Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. And the one I keep returning to is Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. | —Robin Lloyd, Contributing Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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