Uranus, Neptune gain 3 new moons, International Astronomical Union says

Based in Paris, the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center revealed three new moons orbiting the distant ice giants, Uranus and Neptune

The Minor Planet Center of the Paris-based International Astronomical Union announced Wednesday the discovery of three new moons orbiting the solar system’s ice giants, Uranus and Neptune.

Multiple observations and “special image-processing techniques” are crucial in confirming the existence of these “faint and distant” moons, Carnegie Science said in a statement issued last week, citing Astronomer Scott Sheppard from the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, who played a leading role in utilizing the Magellan telescopes in Chile and collaborating with colleagues from NASA and universities.

Both will be given Greek mythological names, similar to the existing Neptunian moons.

Their orbits and positions suggest that they may be fragments of larger moons shattered by collisions in the solar system’s early days.

These discoveries add to the evidence of similar moon groupings around all four giant planets, supporting the theory of collisions shaping the solar system’s evolution.

Source: AA

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