Rediscover the missing moon of Neptune

A small moon revolving around the "missing" Neptune star over 20 years ago, was seen back in photos taken by Hubble Space Telescope, UPI news agency quoted scientists as saying. 10/10.

Researchers at the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute) saw Naiad , the satellite in the innermost of Neptune.

Naiad Moon (in white circle) on the left of Neptune has just been rediscovered after more than 20 years - (Photo: SETI Institute)

This small object, nearly 100km wide, was last observed by the Voyager 2 spacecraft camera of the US Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), which was also discovered in 1989.

Using technology to remove Neptune's glare, the planet is 2 million times brighter than Naiad, making it difficult for observation from Earth to Naiad, SETI scientists have traced of the tiny Naiad satellite in a series of eight photographs taken by Hubble in 2004.

"Since the Voyager ship left the Hai Vuong planet system, Naiad is an elusive target," SETI scientist Mark Showalter said in a report on the discovery at the annual meeting of planetary scientists. belongs to the American Astronomical Society this week.

It is known that Neptune is the 8th planet and farthest away from the sun, discovered in 1846. In the solar system, it is the 4th largest planet in diameter and the third largest in volume.

In mid-July this year, NASA announced the discovery of its 14th moon thanks to images recorded by Hubble glasses. This moon is named S / 2004 N 1 , with an estimated width of 19.3 km, the smallest moon in the Neptune system.