Second-Look Moon

A second look at 150 Hubble Space Telescope images of Neptune has revealed the planet’s 14th moon, provisionally designated S/2004 N1. SETI Institute scientist Mark Showalter discovered the moon in July after detecting a tiny white dot in the pictures. His analysis showed that the dot was a moon no more than 12 miles (20 km) in diameter that orbits Neptune once every 23 hours. It is embedded inside the giant planet’s rings, which made it difficult to find. This composite image shows Neptune in the center, flanked by an image of several of its moons and rings. [NASA/ESA/M. Showalter (SETI Institute)]