Asteroid 130 Electra has been found to have three moons, not two, making it the center of the first four-asteroid system ever discovered.
First discovered asteroid with three moons
The asteroid has as many moons as all four inner planets in our solar system combined.
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This is a big discovery, since the asteroid itself is smaller than 47 US states, writes iflscience.
Electra is a main belt asteroid with an orbital period of 5.5 years. With a diameter of 200 kilometers, it is not a giant.
However, it is large enough to noticed in 1873 and have been tracking ever since. Its first moon was discovered in 2003, and its second companion in 2014.
Now a team of scientists from the National Institute of Astronomical Research of Thailand announced the presence of a third moon.
All three satellites of the Electra system orbit close to their parent body, and two even have overlapping orbits.
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Source: Segodnya
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