earth to Have Two Moons: NASA Confirms Presence of Quasi-Satellite 2025 PN7
A newly discovered celestial body, designated 2025 PN7, has led NASA to confirm that Earth is currently coexisting with two moons. This object is classified as a quasi-satellite, an asteroid that orbits the Sun but remains in a stable, close orbital relationship with Earth.
Discovered on August 29th by the Pan-STARRS observatory in Hawaii, 2025 PN7 is estimated to have been orbiting our solar system for decades. Details of the finding were published in the Research Notes of The American Astronomical society by Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, a researcher at the Complutense University of Madrid.
Currently, 2025 PN7 is approximately 384,400 kilometers from Earth, and during its closest approach, it comes within 186,000 miles.According to researchers, “It is a challenging object“ to observe, and can only be detected by currently available telescopes when it nears our planet, as it did this summer.
These types of objects are known as quasi-moons or mini-moons, and scientists believe they originate as fragments ejected from our primary moon. 2025 PN7 joins two previously identified similar bodies: 2024 PT5 and Kamo’oalewa.
In 2024, the mini-moon 2024 PT5 orbited Earth for two months. Analysis by researchers at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona revealed that it “was rich in silicate minerals, not the kind seen in asteroids, but those found in lunar rock samples,” strongly suggesting a lunar origin. Kamo’oalewa is also considered an ancient lunar fragment, possibly originating from the giordano Bruno crater on the far side of the Moon.
The discovery of 2025 PN7 reinforces the idea that the Solar System holds many surprises.As Marcos and his colleagues concluded, “The Solar System is full of surprises,” and the existence of 2025 PN7 suggests there may be no lower limit to the size of quasi-satellites orbiting Earth. The ongoing search for these objects continues to expand our understanding of the space surrounding our planet.