Overview

• Pan-STARRS in Hawai‘i detected 2025 PN7 on August 2, with the discovery detailed in Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society.
• Archival images dating to 2014 and JPL Horizons simulations indicate the object has followed Earth since the 1960s and is likely to persist for about 60 more years.
• Estimates put its size at roughly 15–19 meters, with a current range of about 2.8 million to 37.2 million miles from Earth in the constellation Piscis Austrinus.
• The asteroid is part of the Arjuna class and joins a small cohort of about seven known Earth quasi-satellites, including Kamoʻoalewa.
• Scientists emphasize no threat to Earth and highlight these slow, nearby objects as accessible mission targets, exemplified by China’s Tianwen‑2 mission to Kamoʻoalewa.