Astronomers have spotted a space object following our planet. The newly discovered quasi-moon, named 2025 PN7, has gone unnoticed for decades even though it moves in an orbit similar to Earth’s.
The Pan-STARRS observatory in Hawaii spotted the object on August 29, and analysis of archival data revealed that it has been moving in an almost identical orbit to Earth for about 60 years. The reason it has remained undetected for so long is its small size and faint brightness, which is why it is only visible when it comes very close to our planet. According to the researchers, such opportunities for observation are rare, which makes it a challenging object to study.
Although it’s called a “second moon,” 2025 PN7 doesn’t actually orbit Earth. It’s a quasi-satellite, a type of asteroid that orbits the Sun, but its orbit is so close to Earth’s that it remains our constant companion. Like our world, it takes about a year to complete its orbit around the Sun, creating the illusion that it’s gravitationally bound to us.
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