Posted in: 25/08/2022 – 10:54
Astronomers are likely to have discovered a “small moon” in our solar system, which may be one of the smallest moons ever discovered, orbiting a small asteroid near Jupiter.
If it is confirmed that this rocky body, which is the size of the American city of Manhattan, is an actual moon, it will be one of the smallest moons ever observed.
This tiny moon was discovered thanks to scientists working on NASA’s Lucy mission, which sends a space probe to study the Trojan asteroids, which are two huge groups of space rocks on both sides of Jupiter in its orbit around the sun.
The Lucy probe was launched on October 16, 2021, and is scheduled to reach the Trojan asteroids in late 2027, after a quick stop in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
The newly discovered satellite has a diameter of about 5 km and is separated from the asteroid that orbits “Polymele” by a distance of about 201 km.
The term “moon” can refer to any solid object orbiting a planet, asteroid, or dwarf star. More than 200 moons have been identified in the solar system (not including asteroid moons), but the actual number is likely much higher, according to NASA.