It would seem that our solar system has long been well studied, and it is time to go to the study of other worlds.But there it was!It turns out that near the Earth can also find some interesting surprises.Proof of this is the recent discovery of Canadian astronomers from the University located in Vancouver, British Columbia.They discovered a unique of its kind "Trojan" moon of the planet Uranus, which later was named 2011 QF99.By the way, in 2010 near the Earth also it was found the first asteroid of this type.Its name - 2010 TK7, and the diameter of three hundred meters.
The interesting "Trojan" asteroids
This kind of celestial bodies got its name because its representatives have a curious feature: they are situated on the same orbit as the planets themselves, are directly in their vicinity, and the probability ofcollisions are virtually zero.Such resistance is associated with a particular arrangement of orbits "Trojans": they will pass through the Lagrangian point, where the gravitational forces balance each other mutually.
It should be noted that the open Canadian satellite of Uranus is the only one of its kind, because until that time many astrophysicists thought that Uranus near the cosmic bodies of this kind can not be in principle.In their view, the gravity of other space objects in this region of our solar system will inevitably push out "Trojan" from their orbits.Nevertheless, the new moon of Uranus is not going to leave its current location.Adding the diameter of the object in the cross section is 60 km, and the major components - such ice and rock, which often occur in comets.
other "companions" azure giant
Each satellite of Uranus, and indeed the planet itself rotates in an orbit nearly perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic.Their Uranus is not so little.To date, astrophysicists have discovered five large and about a dozen small satellites of the planet.The lightest of these is Ariel.His opposite - Umbriel, on the contrary, darker than all its neighbors.Titania, as you might guess from the name, - the largest satellite of Uranus.On its surface are many valleys and faults and an infinite number of craters.The diameter of the satellite is 1580 km.Miranda - the most mysterious cosmic "fellow traveler."Last many surprises with its structure: it seems as if it consists of four or three giant boulders.The top five Oberon - the second mass and the largest moon of Uranus.About these space objects scholar was known before the first images were obtained with the "Voyager 2".With this device people have learned about the other ten satellites, two of which serve as a kind of "shepherds" for the rings, just as it does with Saturn.But recent studies have allowed scientists to identify other small space objects orbiting Uranus.To date, the number of open satellite begins to handle for the second dozen, making the azure giant leader of our system according to the number of its celestial "fellow travelers."
