#moon #dwarfplanet #kuiperbelt #2007OR10 #HubbleTelescope #space
Scientists have discovered a new moon orbiting the dwarf planet 2007 OR10 in the Kuiper Belt using three space observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope. Most of the dwarf planets are larger than 965 kilometers in the Kuiper belt.
Kepler showed that the orbit of 2007 OR10 was 45 hours which was slower than most other rotations in the Kuiper belt, which were less than 24 hours. Scientists believed that this slow movement was caused due to a gravitational tug of a moon.
The astronomers spotted the moon in two separate Hubble observations spaced a year apart. The moon is between 240 to 400 kilometers in diameter, where as the dwarf planet is about 1,528 kilometers in diameter.
As the technology is becoming more efficient and enhanced, our chances of observing even the smallest space objects are improving. May be someday we will observe an alien or a perfect exoplanet.
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