Waspie_Dwarf Posted July 15, 2013 #1 Share Posted July 15, 2013 NASA Hubble Finds New Neptune Moon NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has discovered a new moon orbiting the distant blue-green planet Neptune, the 14th known to be circling the giant planet.The moon, designated S/2004 N 1, is estimated to be no more than 12 miles across, making it the smallest known moon in the Neptunian system. It is so small and dim that it is roughly 100 million times fainter than the faintest star that can be seen with the naked eye. It even escaped detection by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft, which flew past Neptune in 1989 and surveyed the planet's system of moons and rings. Read more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatureBoff Posted July 15, 2013 #2 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Fascinating stuff. There's still so much we don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spacenut56 Posted July 15, 2013 #3 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Seems like now a days, just about each day we are finding either new planets or new moons on planets we didn't know they had! Just amazing how fast we are finding stuff now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithisco Posted July 16, 2013 #4 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Dont expect to see this new moon with the naked eye... "The Hubble space telescope has discovered a new moon orbiting Neptune, Nasa has confirmed. Designated S/2004 N 1, this is the 14th known moon to circle the giant planet. It also appears to be the smallest moon in the Neptunian system, measuring just 20 km (12 miles) across, completing one revolution around Neptune every 23 hours. US astronomer Mark Showalter spotted the tiny dot while studying segments of rings around Neptune. Nasa said the moon was roughly 100 million times dimmer than the faintest star visible to the naked eye". Link (courtesy BBC): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23318301 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bison Posted July 17, 2013 #5 Share Posted July 17, 2013 The newly discovered little moon is an enigma. So small, it should have been swept up into a larger nearby moon during the episode of Triton's capture by Neptune, and the resultant break up and reforming of Neptune's moons. It's unlikely that it was captured later, after the chaos settled down. It has a nearly circular orbit. Captured objects are expected to have eccentric orbits. A pity the object is so distant, it bears closer examination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MainerMikeBrown Posted July 17, 2013 #6 Share Posted July 17, 2013 The fact that the sunlight is so dim out by Neptune makes it so hard for us humans to discover new worlds such as this moon, which is so far away. But nowadays, we're discovering them nonetheless. I think it's exciting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spacenut56 Posted July 18, 2013 #7 Share Posted July 18, 2013 The fact that the sunlight is so dim out by Neptune makes it so hard for us humans to discover new worlds such as this moon, which is so far away. But nowadays, we're discovering them nonetheless. I think it's exciting! I agree. I just wonder how many more moons may be out there in both Jupiters and Saturns orbits? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woopypooky Posted July 19, 2013 #8 Share Posted July 19, 2013 doubt the discovery is anything useful. even the moon itself is anything useful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bison Posted July 19, 2013 #9 Share Posted July 19, 2013 (edited) We might use it to learn how a tiny moon can defy the odds heavily against its survival, under the conditions this one is believed to have endured. Failing that, we might use this object to learn that it is not possible for a wholly natural object to have survived under these circumstances. Edited July 19, 2013 by bison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted July 19, 2013 Author #10 Share Posted July 19, 2013 We might use it to learn how a tiny moon can defy the odds heavily against its survival, under the conditions this one is believed to have endured.Probably. Failing that, we might use this object to learn that it is not possible for a wholly natural object to have survived under these circumstances. We might learn that "we don't fully understand therefore it must be artificial alien artefact" is an illogical jump, but most of us know that already. If you want to suggest an alien origin for this moon please don't spend weeks slowly hijacking this topic, start a new one in the appropriate forum. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatureBoff Posted July 19, 2013 #11 Share Posted July 19, 2013 The newly discovered little moon is an enigma. So small, it should have been swept up into a larger nearby moon during the episode of Triton's capture by Neptune, and the resultant break up and reforming of Neptune's moons. It's unlikely that it was captured later, after the chaos settled down. It has a nearly circular orbit. Captured objects are expected to have eccentric orbits. A pity the object is so distant, it bears closer examination. There's a general enigma I believe in that 'shepherding moons' give a "gravitational kick" to one another and surrounding dust rings. Just from memory and a Prof Brian Cox programme of course. He didn't explain where the "extra" came from though.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bison Posted July 19, 2013 #12 Share Posted July 19, 2013 (edited) There's a general enigma I believe in that 'shepherding moons' give a "gravitational kick" to one another and surrounding dust rings. Just from memory and a Prof Brian Cox programme of course. He didn't explain where the "extra" came from though.. S/2004 N 1 is at about twice the distance from Neptune that it rings are, so is not a shepherding moon. it is quite close to being in orbital resonances with its neighboring moons, Larissa and Proteus. Edited July 19, 2013 by bison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperdyer Posted July 19, 2013 #13 Share Posted July 19, 2013 I got this in an email today. Not pertaining to neptune, but interesting. May be worth posting. Something I don't think I can do. http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/07/snow-falling-infant-solar-system?et_cid=3376286&et_rid=375680011&type=cta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted July 19, 2013 Author #14 Share Posted July 19, 2013 I got this in an email today. Not pertaining to neptune, but interesting. So why post it in a thread about Neptune? May be worth posting. It is, which is why there is already a thread about it: Snow in an Infant Planetary System Something I don't think I can do. http://www.laborator...680011&type=cta You don't think you can post it despite the fact that you posted it. That has me more than a little puzzled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bendy Demon Posted July 19, 2013 #15 Share Posted July 19, 2013 It is amazing that bit by bit our knowledge of our solar system is being slowly rewritten as we discover more. THIS is what I like seeing our resources channeled towards. Discovering things, not more wars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperdyer Posted July 19, 2013 #16 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Waspie - I meant posting the story as a thread. I know I can post a link. Like the Neptune thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted July 19, 2013 Author #17 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Waspie - I meant posting the story as a thread. I know I can post a link. Like the Neptune thread. You should be able to do that, but nor whilst you are in another topic. Simply go to the relevant forum and towards the top of the page there should be a black button that says "Start new topic". Then post exactly as you would in an existing topic. The only real difference is that you have to fill in the topic title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatureBoff Posted July 20, 2013 #18 Share Posted July 20, 2013 (edited) S/2004 N 1 is at about twice the distance from Neptune that it rings are, so is not a shepherding moon. it is quite close to being in orbital resonances with its neighboring moons, Larissa and Proteus. Have you heard the phrase "gravitational kick" before in reference to shepherding moons? If so, can you please explain it to me please. Edited July 20, 2013 by NatureBoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolguy Posted July 20, 2013 #19 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Very cool find. The Hubble is the greatest thing ever made 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merc14 Posted July 20, 2013 #20 Share Posted July 20, 2013 It is amazing that bit by bit our knowledge of our solar system is being slowly rewritten as we discover more. THIS is what I like seeing our resources channeled towards. Discovering things, not more wars. It is truly amazing what our probes, that so many have complained about since they aren't manned, are baring so much fruit. Personally, as a man born in the 50's, I am in awe of the discoveries we have made with the incredible instruments NASA has put into space. If the Webb makes it, it will change everything. I guarantee that. Hubble is amazing and the rescue mission was an absolute heroic achievement at the the time. Curiosity on Mars kept me up until 3Am and I knew she had made it. What a mission and she has already exceeded her mission objectives, achieved all her goals and is now motoring on. When the Webb goes operational we will see a whole new universe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienDan Posted July 20, 2013 #21 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Found a better pic of it: That's no moon... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Surfer Posted July 20, 2013 #22 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Very cool find. The Hubble is the greatest thing ever made Totally Agree... Check out this doco if you haven't and see how it was very nearly a huge disaster! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzuwiYDwkms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bison Posted July 20, 2013 #23 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Have you heard the phrase "gravitational kick" before in reference to shepherding moons? If so, can you please explain it to me please. The linked article briefly explains the concept, in the context of the Saturn system. Most of this is applicable to shepherding moons in general. In brief, momentum is conserved. It can be transferred from a shepherding moon to ring particles, or to another nearby shepherding moon, when they pass each other in their orbits. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/display.cfm?News_ID=3451 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now