Earth’s Cosmic Family Just Got Bigger: Meet Its New Moon, Arjuna 2025 PN7!

A tiny asteroid called 2025 PN7 has been identified as Earth’s newest quasi-moon, or quasi-satellite, and is a new celestial companion.

A latest study titled “Meet Arjuna 2025 PN7” claims that this space rock has been performing a complicated orbital dance around Earth since the 1960s and will do so until the 2080s.

For the unversed, PN7 was found in 2025 and is a member of the Arjuna class, a unique class of asteroids that orbit the Sun in orbits that are strikingly similar to Earth’s. When viewed from a rotating reference frame, these asteroids appear to be orbiting Earth because of their looping paths, even though they are not gravitationally bound to our planet like true moons.

Quasi-moons like PN7 orbit the Sun in about a year, just like Earth, according to scientists. However, their slightly different orbits cause them to drift closer and farther away over time.

“They are like dance partners moving in step but never holding hands,” the paper noted.

The discovery of 1991 VG, the first asteroid discovered in an orbit similar to Earth, marked the beginning of the tale of these odd companions. Its near proximity at the time sparked wild speculation, such as the possibility that it was an extraterrestrial probe.

However, decades of study have since demonstrated that these bodies are naturally occurring, forming what scientists refer to as a secondary asteroid belt, or Arjuna population, close to Earth’s orbit.

According to the new study, 2025 PN7 has spent more than a century in a stable quasi-satellite state.

Quasi-moons remain close by without being drawn in, in contrast to mini-moons, which are momentarily caught by Earth’s gravity. They move in unison with the orbit of our planet around the Sun, maintaining a delicate gravitational balance.

Astronomers view 2025 PN7 as more than just another celestial rock. It is a quiet, looping traveler that has been observing us for decades and will continue to do so for the majority of this century, demonstrating how dynamic Earth’s cosmic neighborhood really is.