While planets like Jupiter and Saturn might be known for having an extreme number of moons, with 95 and 146 orbiting each respectively. Uranus and Neptune’s numbers of natural satellites are increasing as well.
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00:00While planets like Jupiter and Saturn might be known for having an extreme number of moons,
00:08with 95 and 146 orbiting each respectively, Uranus and Neptune's numbers of natural satellites
00:15are increasing as well. Astronomers have recently identified two new moons orbiting
00:19our solar system's most distant planet, Neptune, and one new one orbiting Uranus.
00:24They were discovered rather conventionally using ground-based telescopes. However,
00:27it required special image processing after the fact. This is all part of our astronomical tools
00:32becoming more robust as humanity continues its obsession with space exploration. And experts
00:37say they think this is just the beginning, and that these two planets could be involved in the
00:42next big wave of moon discoveries. The new moon orbiting Uranus is called S-2023U1, and it's the
00:48first moon discovered around the planet in over two decades. It's only around five miles across,
00:53meaning it's one of the smallest in the entire solar system as well, moving around Uranus once
00:58every 680 days. Meanwhile, the new moons discovered around Neptune are 14.3 and 8.7
01:05miles in diameter. Astronomers say these newly discovered orbiters are situated similarly to
01:10Saturn's and Jupiter's, meaning there may yet be many more hiding out there in the far reaches
01:15of our solar system.