Telescopes discover 2 new moons orbiting Neptune, Uranus

With telescopes in Hawaii and Chile, astronomers have discovered two moons orbiting Neptune, as well as a small satellite orbiting Uranus.

The International Astronomical Union announced that with the new discoveries, Neptune's number of moons has risen to 16 and Uranus to 28.

Astronomer Scott Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C., said the small satellite takes about 27 years to circle Neptune, the farthest icy planet from the sun.

Sheppard also said that there may be many small satellites that have not yet been discovered.

The new satellite orbiting Uranus, with an estimated diameter of 8 kilometers (4.97 miles), is likely to be the smallest of the planet's moons.

Source: Newsroom & Anadolu Agency