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New Quasi-Moon Discovered in Earth's Orbit Since 1960s

9/10/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Scientists identified a new quasi-moon, 2025 PN7, in Earth's orbit since the 1960s.
The Pan-STARRS observatory in Hawaii detected it on August 2, 2025, using archival images from 2014.
2025 PN7 measures about 62 feet wide and orbits between 2.8 million and 37.2 million miles from Earth.
It functions as a quasi-satellite, moving in sync with Earth while orbiting the Sun.
China's Tianwen-2 mission plans to collect samples from the larger quasi-moon Kamo‘oalewa by 2027.

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Story summary

Scientists identified a new quasi-moon, 2025 PN7, in Earth's orbit since the 1960s.
The Pan-STARRS observatory in Hawaii detected it on August 2, 2025, using archival images from 2014.
2025 PN7 measures about 62 feet wide and orbits between 2.8 million and 37.2 million miles from Earth.
It functions as a quasi-satellite, moving in sync with Earth while orbiting the Sun.
China's Tianwen-2 mission plans to collect samples from the larger quasi-moon Kamo‘oalewa by 2027.