Meet New Quasi-Moon Discovered Around Earth, Remained Unnoticed For 60 Years Due To…

Earth has a new quasi-moon, named 2025 PN7, which scientists say has been orbiting near our planet for about 60 years without being noticed. According to a recent study, this tiny asteroid is the smallest and least stable among Earth’s seven known quasi-moons. The research was led by Carlos de la Fuente Marcos from the Complutense University of Madrid and published in the journal Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society on September 2.

Unlike regular moons, quasi-moons do not orbit Earth directly. Instead, they follow an orbit around the Sun that is synced with Earth’s orbit. This makes it appear as if they are traveling alongside our planet.

2025 PN7 is very small, measuring about 62 feet (19 metres) across. Its size and faintness made it hard to detect for decades. Only high-quality telescopes can spot it. The asteroid follows a path around the Sun similar to Earth’s orbit, staying at distances between 2.8 million and 37 million miles from our planet.

De la Fuente Marcos explained that the quasi-moon’s faintness and limited visibility were key reasons it remained unnoticed for so long. “It is small, faint, and its visibility windows from Earth are rather unfavorable, so it is not surprising that it went unnoticed for that long,” he said.

The asteroid was first reported on August 30 by French journalist Adrien Coffinet. Posting on the Minor Planet Mailing List, Coffinet wrote that 2025 PN7 appears to be a quasi-satellite of Earth for the next 60 years.

Scientists expect it to continue following its current orbit pattern for about six more decades before any significant changes occur.

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