Newly Discovered Asteroid 2025 PN7 Orbits Earth as ‘Quasi-Moon’ after Decades Undetected
Astronomers have confirmed that a small asteroid, designated 2025 PN7, is currently orbiting the Sun alongside earth in a complex orbital dance, qualifying it as a “quasi-moon.” The discovery, initially made by the Pan-STARRS observatory in Hawaii on August 29th, was only recently confirmed through analysis of decades of archived astronomical data.
This celestial companion, estimated to be around 19 meters in diameter, has remained largely unnoticed due to its small size and faintness. Its orbit isn’t stable like the Moon’s, but rather a looping path that brings it close to Earth before continuing its yearly circulation around the sun. The existence of 2025 PN7 challenges previous assumptions about the minimum size for quasi-moons and highlights the potential for numerous, yet-to-be-discovered objects sharing our planet’s orbital space.
“Quasimoons have escaped attention for so long because they are small and faint,” explained researcher Carlos de la Fuente Marcos in a recent article published in Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society. He added, “The existence of 2025 PN7 proves that the lower limit for the size of the quasi-moon may not exist.”
2025 PN7 joins a small group of known quasi-moons orbiting near Earth, including Kamoʻoalewa, believed to be a fragment of the Moon itself. Astronomers are continuing to study 2025 PN7 to refine its size and orbital characteristics, offering a unique possibility to learn more about the dynamics of the inner solar system and the potential for other hidden companions.
