Posted on 04/27/2016 6:41:16 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Astronomers will now try to learn more about the moon’s orbit so they can calculate a mass for the system and learn more about how it formed.
“The discovery … has given us an opportunity to study Makemake in far greater detail than we ever would have been able to without the companion,” Parker said.
Preliminary estimates indicate that if the moon is in a circular orbit, it completes a circuit around Makemake in 12 days or longer.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.discovery.com ...
Did they let Whoppi Goldberg name this one?
...Wait...it has a moon? I thought it wasn’t a planet??? It can be a whatever and have a moon??
Thanks BenLurkin. [singing] Makemake one moon, oh-ohh... [/singing]
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Thanks BenLurkin, extra to APoD.
Astronomers will now try to learn more about the moon’s orbit so they can calculate a mass for the system and learn more about how it formed.
How it formed: God made it. HOW He made it is interesting, though.
Fascinating, Captain ^-^
The only thing that determines whether it can have a moon or not is the laws of gravity, and gravity doesn’t pay attention to whether we call it a “planet” or not.
Well, that’s how they used to think that the solar system formed (that hypothesis has been all but invalidated by recent observations of many other solar systems with planets that can’t fit that model).
However, here they are talking about the planetary system, not the solar system. In other words, they want to determine if the moon was a chunk knocked loose from the planet, or a passing object that got captured, etc.
Asteroids can have moons too. Ida and Dactyl, for example. A moon doesn’t necessarily have to orbit a planet.
However, here they are talking about the planetary system, not the solar system. In other words, they want to determine if the moon was a chunk knocked loose from the planet, or a passing object that got captured, etc.
:)
Hey man, astronomers gotta eat too, let em ponder silly questions like this. Better than them pontificating about global warming or such nonsense.
The moon has a moon........................
Pluto has five known moons. The dwarf planet Eris (the largest of the group) has one, and Haumea has two.
Better than them pontificating about global warming or such nonsense.
Although here’s a better job for them: Looking for candidate asteroids for possible collisions with our own dear home.
Meaning it can use whatever bathroom it feels like using?
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