Thanks to new observations made using different telescopes, Uranus is now one moon richer. And Neptune even gets two more!
These are quite startling discoveries. For example, a new moon has been discovered around Uranus for the first time in 20 years. And one of the new moons spotted around Neptune will go down as the faintest moon discovered to date by ground-based telescopes.
Uranus
The moon found around Uranus has a diameter of only 8 kilometers. And that makes it probably the smallest moon that the ice giant has. It takes the moon 680 days to complete a circuit around Uranus. For now, the moon is referred to as S/2023 U1, but it will soon be given an official name. It is still unclear what this means. But it is certain that the moon will be named after a character from a play by Shakespeare or Alexander Pope; the other moons of Uranus are also named after characters invented by Shakespeare and Pope.
Neptune
And Neptune is also two moons richer. One moon has a diameter of about 23 kilometers and takes 9 years to complete a circuit around Neptune. This moon is tentatively referred to as S/2002 N5. The second moon is considerably smaller with a diameter of 14 kilometers. This moon – designated S/2021 N1 – is also much dimmer and takes almost 27 years to complete a circuit around Neptune. These two moons will also receive an official name at a later stage and – following the previously discovered moons of Neptune – will be named after sea nymphs from Greek mythology.
Observations
Many observations and research preceded the discovery of the three moons. For example, the two moons of Neptune were spotted for the first time in September 2021. However, follow-up observations with the Magellan telescopes in Chile – in 2021, 2022 and 2023 – were needed to confirm that the brighter of the two – S/2002 N5 – was actually orbiting Neptune. And to confirm the existence of the even fainter S/2021 N1, follow-up observations from the Very Large Telescope in Chile and the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii were necessary.
Uranus’ moon S/2023 U1 was first spotted in November last year. Follow-up observations in December allowed researchers to sharpen the moon’s orbit. And with that information they then managed to spot the moon on images taken in 2021 from the Magellan telescopes in Chile and the Subaru telescope in Hawaii.
Baanelementen
All three moons now discovered around Neptune and Uranus orbit their planet at a considerable distance. Also, their orbits are inclined and eccentric (not perfectly circular). It hints that they were captured by the ice giants’ gravity shortly after Uranus and Neptune were born, the researchers said.
Agreements
What is also striking is that both Uranus and Neptune have moons with similar orbital elements to the moons that have now been discovered. For example, S/2023 U1 has an orbit similar to that of Uranus’ moons Caliban and Stephano. While S/2021 N1 has an orbit similar to Neptune’s Psamathe and Neso. Meanwhile, S/2002 N4 again has an orbit very similar to that of Neptune’s moons Sao and Laomedeia. And that is no coincidence. It hints that these moons were once part of a larger celestial body that at some point broke apart, possibly due to collisions with other celestial bodies. Its fragments subsequently continued to orbit Uranus and Neptune in similar orbits. And thus, these groups of moons clearly testify to the fact that the early solar system was a fairly chaotic place where various objects were constantly moving and colliding with each other.
The young solar system
The latter also makes it immediately clear why the discovery of these three moons is so interesting; they give us more insight into the conditions in the young solar system. The researchers hope to learn more about these moons – and thus also about those early years of our solar system – during future missions to Neptune and Uranus.
With the discovery of the new moons, the total number of moons around Uranus now amounts to 28. Neptune – including the new finds – would now have 16 moons. Is there more to discover there? Doubtless! Researchers expect that they will have identified all moons with a diameter of 14 kilometers or larger around Neptune, while all moons with a diameter of 8 kilometers or larger around Uranus would have been discovered. Smaller specimens are a lot more difficult to see and are undoubtedly still waiting to be discovered.
DID YOU KNOW… …scientists recently discovered what Neptune and Uranus look like in real life? It resulted in quite a surprise, see for yourself!
2024-02-26 18:05:57
#moons #discovered #solar #system
