Three new moons around Uranus and Neptune
April 12 , 2024
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- Astronomers have discovered three new moons around Uranus and Neptune, the most distant planets in our solar system.
- The find includes one moon spotted orbiting Uranus- the first discovery of its kind in more than 20 years, and two detected in Neptune’s orbit.
- 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.
- The bright S/2002 N5 moon is 14 miles (23 kilometers) in diameter and takes nearly nine years to complete an orbit of Neptune.
- While faint S/2021 N1 is about 8.7 miles (14 kilometers) across and has a lengthy orbit of about 27 years.
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