Moon
A small satellite named Dactyl orbits Ida. Dactyl, officially (243) Ida I Dactyl (/ˈdæktɨl/ DAK-til) was discovered in images taken by the Galileo spacecraft during its flyby in 1993. These images provided the first direct confirmation of an asteroid moon. At the time, it was separated from Ida by a distance of 90 kilometres (56 mi), moving in a prograde orbit. Dactyl is heavily cratered, like Ida, and consists of similar materials. Its origin is uncertain, but evidence from the flyby suggests that it originated as a fragment of the Koronis parent body.
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Famous quotes containing the word moon:
“The moon is full tonight
And hurts the eyes,
It is so definite and bright.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“The moon is my mother. She is not sweet like Mary.
Her blue garments unloose small bats and owls.”
—Sylvia Plath (1932–1963)
“It becomes the moralist, too, to inquire what man might do to improve and beautify the system; what to make the stars shine more brightly, the sun more cheery and joyous, the moon more placid and content.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)