Astronomers Discover New Earth’s Quasi-Satellite ‘2025 PN7’, an Arjuna-Class Asteroid.

In September 2025, astronomers confirmed the discovery of a new near-Earth asteroid, ‘2025 PN7’, classified as an Arjuna-class asteroid and named after Mahabharata’s Arjuna. It acts as Earth’s quasi-satellite, orbiting the Sun while staying close to Earth, and is expected to remain in this state for around 128 years.

      - The asteroid 2025 PN7 was first detected in August 2025 by the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System (PAN-STARRS) observatory located on the Haleakala volcano in Hawaii, USA. The findings were later published in September 2025 in the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society.

      - With this discovery, the total number of known quasi-satellites of Earth has increased to seven, joining 164207 Cardea (2004 GU9), 469219 Kamoʻoalewa (2016 HO3), 277810 (2006 FV35), 2013 LX28, 2014 OL339, and 2023 FW13.

Main Point :-   (i) The asteroid is relatively small, measuring about 19 meters (62 feet) in diameter, and due to its faint nature, it can only be observed using powerful telescopes. This makes it difficult to track with standard observational instruments.

      (ii) Similar to Earth, 2025 PN7 completes one orbit around the Sun in one year. It swings as close as 186,000 miles (299,337 km) from Earth but averages around 238,855 miles (384,400 km), comparable to the distance of the Moon’s orbit.

(iii) The discovery of 2025 PN7 adds significant value to planetary science, helping astronomers better understand Earth’s co-orbital companions and the long-term dynamics of near-Earth asteroids.