Britt Jones
NASA has confirmed the existence of a new second moon which will orbit Earth for quite some time.
If you’ve gotten used to only having the one moon, it’s time to adapt, because now that we’ve got two, you’re going to have to get used to people asking ‘which one’ when we talk about the bigger of the two.
This rare celestial object isn't technically a real moon, but it’ll orbit almost exactly in sync with Earth and orbit the Sun too.
The giant rock was discovered by researchers at the University of Hawaii, and is thought to be approximately 18 to 36 metres wide, which is significantly smaller than our 2159-mile long moon.
Advert
Known as a 'quasi-moon', it’s only going to be with us temporarily as we move around the Sun each year.
Scientifically, it’s known as 2025 PN7, and might not be such a stranger to us.
Researchers believe it may have been around for 60 years, and it could go on to stick with us for another 58 years until 2083 before breaking free. Because it has been pulled into our gravitational field, it varies how close it comes to Earth. It has been known to come within a shocking two and a half miles away, to then branching out to nearly 11 miles.
Advert
Sorry, but if it could back up, I’d be eternally grateful for that.
The reason the distance varies is that it’s being pulled by the gravity from the sun, and other planets, as per Geekspin.
You might be wondering why we’re only now noticing 2025 PN7 after 60 years of travelling alongside us.
That’s probably down to the fact that it’s a tiny spec in the vast world of space, and the fact that it was spotted at all is pretty crazy.
Advert
It was actually seen by chance during a routine telescope survey earlier this year.
What appeared to be a tiny speck floating around, after weeks of observations, they confirmed it was following Earth's route around the sun, leading to NASA confirming it as a quasi-moon.
Now, this isn’t the first to be spotted in our brief history on Earth.
Advert
In fact, there have been around eight seen so far by astronomers.
While there won’t be any coming to replace our big moon, it’s nice to know we get a little companion to orbit around the sun for a little while.
Sadly, even if you get out your stargazing kit, it's highly unlikely you'll be able to spot it yourself, unless you know where to look.