Una luna scura come il carbone ruota attorno a Makemake, uno dei cinque pianeti nani del Sistema Solare. A scoprire il satellite è stato Alex Parker, dell'Istituto di ricerca del Southwest di Boulder, in Colorado. Lo studioso ha reso noto la scoperta sulla rivista Minor Planet Electronic Circular, pubblicata dall'Unione Astronomica Internazionale (Iau).
Le immagini scattate dal telescopio spaziale Hubble rivelano che la piccola luna, ribattezzata Mk2, è grande all'incirca 160 chilometri di diametro e ha bisogno di 12 giorni per completare l''orbita intorno a Makemake (il dio che creò l'umanità secondo la mitologia dell'Isola di Pasqua), il terzo più grande dei pianeti nani, poco più piccolo di Plutone ed Eris.
La debole luminosità della luna, ben 1'300 volte più scura di Makemake, sarebbe dovuta alla sua scarsa forza di gravità che non le permetterebbe di trattenere le particelle di ghiaccio che sublimano (passando dallo stato solido al gassoso) quando la luce solare è più intensa.
ATS/M.Ang.
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