NASA has confirmed the discovery of a new “quasi-moon” orbiting alongside Earth, expected to remain in our planet’s vicinity until 2083.
NASA has confirmed that Earth has a second moon — a small asteroid that will accompany our planet until at least 2083.
The object, named 2025 PN7, was first detected by scientists at the Pan-STARRS observatory in Hawaii. Though dubbed a “moon,” it is actually a 19-metre-wide asteroid orbiting the sun on a path similar to Earth’s since the 1960s. Researchers described it as the “smallest and least stable” of six known quasi-moons.
“It is now widely accepted that such objects are natural and constitute a secondary asteroid belt that occupies the region in which the Earth–moon system orbits around the sun,” the team said.
While not gravitationally bound to Earth, 2025 PN7 will remain nearby for decades before drifting away. The finding, published in Research Notes of the AAS, deepens understanding of Earth’s orbital companions and their cosmic origins.