Scientists Intrigued by Mysterious Object Floating Near Earth

"In a published in the journal Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society, astronomers report the discovery of a mysterious object that appears to be a "quasi-moon," or a small asteroid that orbits the Sun, but in an arc that puts it near our planet for an extended period of time. Think of it as a cosmic situationship; though it's been following us for around 60 years, the object isn't gravitationally bound to Earth."

"The object is tiny. While exact dimensions are hard to pin down, de la Fuente Marcos suspects it could be around 98 feet across, though in the study it's estimated to be as small as 62 feet across, . According to de la Fuente Marcos, it's currently the smallest known quasi-moon that's orbited near our planet. Intriguingly, 2025 PN7 comes from a family of near-Earth objects called the Arjuna asteroids that all exhibit unusually Earth-like orbits despite the fact they don't actually orbit our planet."

The object designated 2025 PN7 behaves as a quasi-moon: a small asteroid on a Sun-centered orbit that keeps it near Earth for extended periods without being gravitationally bound. The object has followed Earth for about 60 years and is expected to leave that configuration in roughly another 60 years. Size estimates range from about 62 to 98 feet across, making it the smallest known quasi-moon observed near Earth. 2025 PN7 belongs to the Arjuna class of near-Earth objects with unusually Earth-like orbits. The origin may be a main-belt asteroid, though some quasi-moons have been traced to lunar ejecta.

Read at Futurism