Astronomers have discovered a ‘mini moon’ during NASA’s Lucy mission. They stated that this mini moon was previously unknown. This mini moon orbits a minor asteroid close to Jupiter. Once proven, this rocky satellite, is going to be one of the tiniest moon to be ever discovered.
NASA’s Lucy mission went to explore some of the Trojan asteroids. They are two enormous groups of space rocks that lies on each side of the Jupiter’s circle around the Sun.
NASA deployed Lucy on 1 October 2021. It is meant to return in the later part of 2027, after stopping for a short period in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Researchers on a quest to discover more about these intriguing rocks so that they can determine where it will be most valuable to gather information.
Polymele, one of the tiniest of Lucy’s Trojan targets crossed ahead of a distant star on March 27. This enabled mission scientists to make precise calculation about the space rock’s size by analyzing the amount of star’s light the asteroid covered while flying pass its route. They also noticed a second asteroid trailing behind Polymele’s path.
On further investigation, researchers determined that the trailing disturbance had to be a satellite.
A naturally existing solid body that revolves around a planet, dwarf planet, or asteroid is referred to as a “moon”. According to current Statistics, astronomers have identified more than 200 moon in the Solar System. However the true count is much more higher than it.
