WASHINGTON. Astronomers have identified three previously unseen moons within our solar system – two encircling Neptune and one orbiting Uranus.
The unveiling of these distant celestial bodies was made possible through the utilization of advanced land-based telescopes located in Hawaii and Chile. The announcement came on Friday courtesy of the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center.
With this revelation, Neptune’s moon count climbs to 16, while Uranus now boasts a total of 28 moons in its retinue.
Among the newfound lunar companions, one of Neptune’s moons stands out for its exceptionally elongated orbit. This outermost moon takes approximately 27 years to complete a single revolution around Neptune, as described by Scott Sheppard, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, who played a pivotal role in the discovery.
The diminutive moon orbiting Uranus, estimated to measure a mere 5 miles (8 kilometers) in diameter, is presumed to be the smallest among the planet’s lunar family.
“We suspect that there may be many more smaller moons” awaiting discovery, remarked Sheppard, hinting at the possibility of further revelations in the future.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
