That’s No Moon: Earth Welcomes New Quasi-Moon
Earth will have a new travelling companion in orbit for the next few decades.
As interstellar object 3I/ATLAS disappears from observable sight behind the Sun, NASA has confirmed that an asteroid named 2025 PN7 has become a quasi-moon to Earth.
In a rare cosmic occurrence, the asteroid will share the planet’s orbit until 2083. 2025 PN7 was first observed by the Pan-STARRS telescope at the Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii at the end of August.
2025 PN7 is estimated to be 18-36 metres wide, and older data indicates it has been tagging along with Earth for around six decades. More than ten times further away than the Moon, scientists report it will have no impact on Earth’s tides or gravity, nor will it outshine the Moon.
The object is extremely dim with a magnitude of just 26. Average magnitude for a full moon is -12.74 and for the Sun around -26.7, meaning 2025 PN7 will not be able to be observed without a powerful telescope. Its orbit will change over the next several decades into a horseshoe trajectory that will eventually take 2025 PN7 out into open space by 2083.
Unlike actual moons, quasi-moons don’t orbit Earth, rather they orbit the Sun like typical asteroids on similar trajectories to Earth.
2025 PN7’s current orbit is oval-shaped, taking it closer to the Sun than Earth, then further away. It travels faster than Earth when it is closer to the Sun and slows down when further away, crossing over Earth’s trajectory and making it appear to orbit Earth.
Though extremely rare, it’s not the first time Earth has had a travel buddy, joined by a ‘mini-moon’ in 2024 for about two months, while six other temporary or quasi-moons have been recorded near Earth, according to astrophysicists at Northeastern University.
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2025 PN7 is among a handful of significant astronomical discoveries in recent years, aided by technological developments and large scale survey projects. In particular, the launch of the James Webb Telescope in 2021 allowed researchers to study previously unchartered regions of the Solar System as well as the far reaches of the galaxy.
As Earth’s companion for the next several decades, 2025 PN7 will provide researchers a unique opportunity to observe and study a cosmic object like never before. While we here on Earth won’t see two moons in the sky, we will be witness to what scientists discover about it and other cosmic visitors we encounter.
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