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44 Nysa - An Asteroid Now With Its Own Moon
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Science 2.0
Asteroid (44) Nysa, discovered in 1857 by astronomer Hermann Goldschmidt, has gotten a lot of study in the last 170 years but a recent analysis of data reveals it has its own moon.
Asteroid (44) Nysa, discovered in 1857 by astronomer Hermann Goldschmidt, has gotten a lot of study in the last 170 years but a recent analysis of data reveals it has its own moon.
ImageThe tiny moon S/2026 (44) 1, marked with a pink arrow, around asteroid (44) Nysa.
The previously unknown moon, designated S/2026 (44) 1, has been independently identified during two separate campaigns using high-contrast imaging to distinguish it from the brightness of the primary asteroid.
Speculation is that the asteroid (44) Nysamay have formed through low-velocity reaccumulation of remnants torn away during a collision before it reached its current location in the asteroid belt.