Der dreilappige Asteroid ist eine Welt wie keine andere

An international team of astronomers has uncovered striking new evidence that (44) Nysa, one of the brightest and largest known asteroids populating the main belt between Mars and Jupiter, possesses an extraordinary three-lobed structure and is accompanied by a small moon. 

The discovery provides a rare glimpse into the complex history of one of the solar system’s most enigmatic asteroids. The findings are based on high-resolution adaptive optics imaging from some of the world’s most advanced telescopes, including the [Large Binocular Telescope](https://www.lbto.org/) on Mount Graham in Southeastern Arizona, which is managed by the University of Arizona. The LBT observations were made possible by a high-contrast optical imaging instrument, dubbed SHARK-VIS, and a new adaptive optics system, which compensates for the blurring induced by atmospheric turbulence. 

I wonder how long they’ve known about this thing and why I’m just hearing about it now.