Astronomers have discovered three previously unknown moons around Uranus and Neptune, the most distant planets in our solar system
“The three newly discovered moons are the faintest ever found around these two ice giant planets using ground-based telescopes,” said Scott S. Sheppard, astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science, in a statement. “It took special image processing to reveal such faint objects.”
The revelations will be helpful for missions that may be planned to explore Uranus and Neptune more closely in the future, a priority for astronomers since the ice planets were only observed in detail with Voyager 2 in the 1980s.
The three moons were announced on February 23 by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center.
The newfound Uranian moon is the 28th to be observed orbiting the ice giant and is also likely the smallest, measuring 5 miles (8 kilometers) across. The moon, called S/2023 U1, takes 680 Earth days to complete one orbit around the planet. In the future, the tiny satellite will be named after a Shakespearean character, in keeping with the tradition of Uranus’ moons bearing literary names.
CNN
