Amateur astronomer discovers new moon orbiting Jupiter

With constant news from parts of our solar system currently being mapped, tracked, and even visited, it would be understandable to think that it is impossible to discover something like a brand new moon. Fortunately, our stellar neighborhood is huge beyond imagination. So, it is indeed possible! Amateur astronomer Kai Ly proved this to be the case with their recent discovery of a new moon orbiting Jupiter.

Just cowardly

As reported by Space.com, Ly was able to make the discovery by browsing the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope images (below) captured in 2003. They analyzed images of Jovian moons recently discovered by astronomers. As Ly examined the investigative footage, they found three potential moons that they were able to observe and follow for several nights. Over time, two of the objects disappeared, confirming that they were not orbiting Jupiter. One, however, continued to appear over and over again, over the next 15 years.

Robert linsdell

“From there, the orbit… was decent enough that I started looking for sightings beyond 2003,” Ly told Sky & Telescope. And, indeed, as Ly watched, they continued to find the moon where they expected it to be; until 2018. Which, in the astronomical community, is irrefutable proof.

“It would be nearly impossible for the artifacts to adapt to a jovicentric orbit on so many different nights using different cameras,” David Tholen, astronomer at the University of Hawaii, told Sky & Telescope. Overall, Ly captured images of the moon 76 times. And observed it from three different observatories.

NASA / JPL / IPAC

As for how Ly feels about the discovery, they seem excited but humble. “I am proud to say that this is the first planetary moon discovered by an amateur astronomer! they said. They added, however, that this is “just a typical member” of the Carme group, however. (The Carme group is a group of moons that orbit Jupiter. Its largest moon, Carme, can be found in the GIF above.)

Hopefully Ly and others like them will continue to discover many more celestial bodies. After all, the solar system is big enough that everyone can find something new.

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