Overview
- University of Hawaii’s Pan-STARRS survey identified 2025 PN7 on August 29, 2025, with archival images indicating it has paced Earth since the late 1950s or 1960s.
- NASA says the asteroid has been co-orbiting with Earth for roughly 60 years and is expected to remain in this configuration until around 2083 before drifting away.
- Estimated at about 18–36 meters across, the object is extremely faint, not visible to the naked eye, and poses no threat to Earth.
- The body is not a true moon; it orbits the Sun on a path very similar to Earth’s, making it appear to follow our planet as a quasi-satellite.
- Following viral “second moon” claims, NASA and astronomers stressed the quasi-moon classification, and noted that published closest-approach distances conflict pending authoritative orbital details.