Two new moons found orbiting Jupiter
Baku, February 15 (AZERTAC). Two new moons have been found orbiting Jupiter, astronomers revealed this week.
Currently known as S/2011 J1 and S/2011 J2, the new moons were first identified in images acquired with the Magellan-Baade Telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile on September 27, 2011.
The objects are among the smallest moons yet discovered in the solar system, each measuring only about a kilometer wide.
Unlike Jupiter's four large Galilean moons, which are visible from Earth with even small backyard telescopes, both new moons are dim and very distant from the planet, taking about 580 and 726 days to complete their orbits.
Scientists had previously discovered new Jovian satellites in 2010, and astronomers think there may be more - lots more.
Retrograde satellites are moons that orbit "backward" - in the opposite direction of a planet's axial rotation. Including the two new moons, the Jupiter
Like most of Jupiter's other retrograde satellites, S/2011 J1 and J2 are also classified as irregular moons, because they orbit far from the planet and have highly eccentric and inclined orbits.
Due to their odd orbits, the moons are likely asteroid or comet pieces that were long ago captured by Jupiter's gravity rather than developing in place during the formation of the planet itself.
As far as more imaginative names are concerned, that will require more time and more data.
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