This is the first Neptunian moon to be discovered in more than a decade, and its existence poses a bit of a mystery. According to our current understanding of the formation of Neptune's moons, such a small object should have been swept up by one of the larger moons.

Neptune has a new moon, and its existence is an enigma. The object, known for now as S/2004 N1, is the first Neptunian moon to be found in a decade. Its diminutive size raises questions as to how it survived the chaos thought to have created the giant planet's other moons.

The faint moon was discovered in archived images from the Hubble Space Telescope. Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, was poring over pictures of Neptune taken in 2009 to study segments of its rings.

The rings around our outermost planet are dn23873-1_300.jpgtoo faint to see without taking very long-exposure pictures. However, the rings orbit so fast that taking one long shot would smear them across the frame. Showalter and colleagues gathered multiple shorter-exposure images and developed a technique to digitally rewind the orbits to the same point in time. Then they could stack several images on top of each other to reveal details of the rings.

"I got nice pictures of the arcs, which was my main purpose, but I also got this little extra dot that I was not expecting to see," says Showalter.

Stacking eight to 10 images together allowed the moon to show up plain as day, he says. When he went back and repeated the process using Hubble pictures taken in 2004, the moon was still there and moving as expected.

"How you can have a 20-kilometre object around Neptune is a little bit of a puzzle," says Showalter. "It's far enough away that its orbit is stable. Once you put it there it will stay there. The question is, how did it get there?"

Full article:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23873-neptunes-strange-new-moon-is-first-found-in-a-decade.html#.UeUmKm2PkUC

You need to be a member of Ashtar Command - Spiritual Community to add comments!

Join Ashtar Command - Spiritual Community

Email me when people reply –

Topics by Tags

Monthly Archives

Latest Activity

AlternateEarth left a comment on Comment Wall
"Quantum teleportation is a fascinating process that allows the transfer of quantum information from one location to another—without physically moving the object itself.
Anybody want to elaborate on this, besides the co-pilot."
6 hours ago
AlternateEarth left a comment on Comment Wall
"Quantum entanglement is the key to making a quantum internet possible. Unlike classical communication, which relies on transmitting bits (0s and 1s), quantum networks use qubits that can exist in multiple states simultaneously. Entanglement allows…"
7 hours ago
AlternateEarth left a comment on Comment Wall
"I though commercial application of quantum computing was years away;
The quantum internet network has been successfully demonstrated across three cities, marking a major step toward ultra-secure communication. Researchers created quantum-entangled…"
7 hours ago
Drekx Omega left a comment on Comment Wall
"Ever since 1689, the monarch simply rubber stamps legislation....We fought a civil war to strip political power away from kings and queens...1640-45....The English Commonwealth set up by Oliver Cromwell...and in 1689/90, the constitutional monarchy…"
12 hours ago
AlternateEarth left a comment on Comment Wall
"Exclusive: Evidence Mounts that the Reported Minnesota Assassin Vance Luther Boelter is a Patsy Who is Being Framed to Cover Up a Larger False Flag Deep State Operation
https://www.infowars.com/posts/exclusive-evidence-mounts-that-the-r..."
12 hours ago
AlternateEarth left a comment on Comment Wall
"A constitutional monarchy as is Britian where King Charles reviews recent legislation from the parliament to make sure it abides by the constitution-does King Charles actually do the reviewing or his office does and he approves or discards, or sends…"
12 hours ago
Drekx Omega left a comment on Comment Wall
"I bless Israel, jewish and Israeli arabs, as that nation stands up to barbarianism, on our behalf..Now we need to support their efforts, militarily....Not to provoke WW3, but to prevent it, by nipping this Iranian nuclear fiasco, in the bud...🇬🇧🇺🇸🇮🇱…"
13 hours ago
Drekx Omega left a comment on Comment Wall
"It's their coverup that always exposes evil doers, in the END.....The whole nation sees a corrupt and self-serving establishment in Britain, now....Only moral opposition politicians, campaigners, brave victims and Baroness Louise Casey, will have…"
14 hours ago
More…

 

   

                                                                                           Chapter XXXII

                                                                                   THE DIVINE TRINITY

The…

Read more…
Views: 12
Comments: 0