2024-02-24 03:29:51
WASHINGTON — Astronomers have discovered three previously unknown moons in our solar system: two additional moons surrounding Neptune and one around Uranus.
The tiny, distant moons were spotted using powerful ground-based telescopes in Hawaii and Chile, and made public Friday by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center.
The latest count places Neptune at 16 known moons and Uranus at 28.
One of Neptune’s new moons has the longest orbital journey known to date. It takes regarding 27 years for the small outer moon to orbit Neptune, the vast icy planet furthest from the sun, said Scott Sheppard, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, who contributed to the discovery.
The new moon orbiting Uranus, with an estimated diameter of just 8 kilometers, is likely the smallest of the planet’s moons.
The astronomer also says that scientists suspect there may be many more small moons yet to be discovered.
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