She was the companion of one of the planets.
The Hubble telescope has taken scientists from NASA’s new images of the dwarf planet, Makemake, which scientists have discovered a dark companion.
A dwarf planet, Makemake is located on the outskirts of the Solar system and previously, scientists believed that she is the only one of its kind, because they do not have satellites. The new data allowed to establish that Makemake has its own moon, it’s ten times more than the satellites of Mars and practically does not reflect light.
New space object received the designation S/2015 (136472) 1 and own the MK 2 name. The diameter of the black moon, Makemake is about 160 kilometers.
“The discovery of this moon gives us the chance to learn, Makemake much more than we would have succeeded if she hadn’t had the satellite,” said Alex Parker – one of the scientists involved in this project.
While the properties of the moon MK 2 almost nothing is known, except for its size, unusual orbit, and that its surface almost does not reflect light.
Scientists believe that the black moon will help in the study of Makemake.
