Posted on 08/25/2022 10:31:11 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Astronomers may have detected a previously undiscovered "mini-moon" in the solar system: a rocky object orbiting a small asteroid near Jupiter. If the rocky satellite, which is just a little wider than the width of Manhattan, is confirmed to be a proper moon, it would be one of the smallest moons ever spotted.
The tiny satellite was discovered by scientists working on NASA's Lucy mission, which is sending a space probe to study some of the Trojan asteroids, two massive groups of space rocks that are located on each side of Jupiter on its orbit around the sun.
The Lucy probe was launched on Oct. 16, 2021, and will arrive at the Trojan asteroids in late 2027, after making a quick stop in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Until then, Lucy mission scientists are trying to learn more about some of these mysterious rocks to help identify where the probe can be most useful.
On March 27, the smallest of Lucy's Trojan targets, known as Polymele, passed in front of a distant star, allowing mission scientists to accurately measure the space rock's size by observing how much of the star's light the asteroid blocked out as it whizzed past. However, the team also observed an unexpected subsequent, smaller blip as a second asteroid followed in Polymele's wake.
After reviewing the data, the team concluded that the second blip "had to be a satellite," lead researcher Marc Buie, an astronomer at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, said in a NASA statement.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Thats ok, the crew is focused on diversity and transgender training, so its no threat to us.
Jupiter is hogging all the moons. How many do we have? Like, one?
Even Mars has two!
But is it also longer than the length of Manhattan?
Regards,
You beat me to it. “That’s no moon”.
Never mind. It was an image of bobby reich.
And btw, these Trojan asteroids are only 99% effective. Thanks BenLurkin.
Does this mean Vader and the Troopers will be ‘frolicking’?
What do they mean, “making a quick stop in the Asteroid Belt?” These kind of spacecraft have to keep moving to reach their destination. To investigate anything on the way, it will have to be a fly-by approach.
Yeah, probably more like a quick loop through a few big 'uns, then off again. :^)
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