"For the last 4.5 billion years our planet has had a reliable celestial companion - the moon. Its orbit around the Earth has a profound effect on life here, from influencing the tides to stabilising our seasons. But astronomers have now discovered another sidekick that may have been following our planet around for some time. Experts at the Pan-STARRS observatory in Hawaii have spotted a quasi-moon, called '2025 PN7', that has been tagging along after Earth since the 1960s."
"The astronomers made the discovery after analysing orbital data from the asteroid, which is just 19 metres (62ft) wide. They determined it has been in a quasi-orbit for around 60 years and would likely be nearby for another 60 years or so before departing. It joins the six other known quasi-moons in Earth-like orbits - but boasts the title of the 'smallest and the least stable'."
"'Over three decades later, it is now widely accepted that such objects are natural and constitute a secondary asteroid belt that occupies the region in which the Earth-moon system orbits around the sun,' the researchers wrote. Unlike our moon, which can usually been seen with the naked eye, this quasi-moon is only visible through good telescopes. And although it may appear to be orbiting Earth it is not gravitationally bound to our planet."
A 19-metre asteroid designated 2025 PN7 occupies a quasi-orbit around the Sun that tracks Earth and has done so since the 1960s. The object follows an Earth-like trajectory rather than being gravitationally bound to Earth, making it a quasi-moon or quasi-satellite. Orbital analysis indicates it has remained in this configuration for about 60 years and is expected to remain nearby for roughly another 60 years before departing. It is the smallest and least stable of seven known Earth quasi-moons and is part of the Arjuna class of near-Earth objects that co-orbit with the planet. The object is only visible through good telescopes.
Read at Mail Online
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