Astronomers have discovered a third satellite that orbits the main belt asteroid Electra. Thus, it became the first "

The asteroid was discovered on February 17, 1873 by Christian Peters.. The diameter of the celestial body is 199 kilometers. Electra's first moon, S/2003 (130) 1, was found in 2003 and is six kilometers in diameter, orbiting the main body in 5.3 days, orbiting at a distance of 1,300 kilometers from it..

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The second satellite, S/2014 (130) 1, was discovered on December 6, 2014. Its diameter is estimated at two kilometers, it makes a revolution around Electra in 1.2 days, being at a distance of 500 kilometers.

Scientists have now discovered a third satellite, S/2014 (130) 2, in archival data collected in 2014.. The orbital period of a celestial body is estimated at 0.679 days, and its diameter is 1.6 kilometers.

At the same time, scientists admit that there are “still many inaccuracies” in the data on the orbit of the new asteroid..

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Earlier, scientists from the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences announced that a pair of asteroids that revolve around the Sun formed just 300 years ago.. This makes them the youngest of all asteroids known so far..