Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




OUTER PLANETS
NASA finds new moon on Neptune
by Staff Writers
Washington, District Of Columbia (AFP) July 15, 2013


A tiny new moon has been spotted circling Neptune -- the 14th known to be orbiting the faraway planet, the US space agency said on Monday.

The moon is the smallest ever glimpsed around Neptune and measures just about 12 miles (19 kilometers) across, based on observations from the Hubble Space telescope, NASA said.

Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun, and NASA said the moon, named S/2004 N1, is about 100 million times fainter than the dimmest star that can be seen with the naked eye.

Astronomers found the moon by tracking a white dot that appeared repeatedly in more than 150 photos taken by Hubble from 2004 to 2009.

Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, found the moon July 1 while studying the faint arcs around Neptune, NASA said.

"The moons and arcs orbit very quickly, so we had to devise a way to follow their motion in order to bring out the details of the system," he said.

"It's the same reason a sports photographer tracks a running athlete -- the athlete stays in focus, but the background blurs."

The moon is believed to circle Neptune once every 23 hours.

.


Related Links
The million outer planets of a star called Sol






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








OUTER PLANETS
A Giant Moon for the Ninth Planet
Boulder CO (SPX) Jul 10, 2013
This week the New Horizons mission team is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the discovery of Pluto's largest and "first" moon, Charon. This discovery was made in 1978 by U.S. Naval Observatory astronomers James Christy and Robert Harrington, working in Flagstaff, Ariz., and Washington, D.C. Charon, whose discovery was first announced on July 7, 1978, orbits about 19,400 kilometers (12,5 ... read more


OUTER PLANETS
Scientist says Earth may once have been orbited by two moons

Dust hazard for Moon missions: scientists

NASA Seeks Information on Commercial Robotic Lunar Lander Capabilities

Orbiting astronaut controls robot on Earth, testing feasibility of CU-Boulder project on far side of the moon

OUTER PLANETS
DNA-sequencing chip could be sent to Mars to search for signs of life

Opportunity Making Progress Toward Solander Point

Mars Rover Curiosity Begins Trek Toward Mount Sharp

Science Team Outlines Goals for NASA's 2020 Mars Rover

OUTER PLANETS
NASA Selects Seven Projects for 2014 X-Hab Innovation Challenge

Space seeds could "benefit" traditional Chinese medicines

Kennedy Facilities Key to NASA's Transition

Voyager 1 Explores Final Frontier Of Our Solar Bubble

OUTER PLANETS
China's space tracking ship Yuanwang-5 berths at Jakarta for replenishment

China plans to launch Tiangong-2 space lab around 2015

Twilight for Tiangong

China calls for international cooperation in manned space program

OUTER PLANETS
Station Astronauts Complete First of Two July Spacewalks

Russia to go ahead with space freighter launch

ISS technology to 'hear' potential leaks

Russian cosmonauts conduct space station tasks in spacewalk

OUTER PLANETS
Special group to be set up for inspecting production of Proton-M carrier rockets

Two Rockets Launched From Wallops

Specialists unrelated to Khrunichev to check Proton-M rocket production

Proton Rocket to Stay in Demand Despite Accidents

OUTER PLANETS
Hubble Finds a Cobalt Blue Planet

Gaps in dust around stars may not indicate planets as many believe

Hubble Telescope reveals variation between hot extrasolar planet atmospheres

UCSB Astronomer Uncovers The Hidden Identity Of An Exoplanet

OUTER PLANETS
Cool it, quick: Rapid cooling leads to stronger alloys

Bioengineers Use Adhesion to Combine Silicones and Organic Materials

NASA's OPALS to Beam Data From Space Via Laser

Experts row over 'earliest' Chinese inscriptions find




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement