First triple asteroid system found

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One of the thousands of asteroids orbiting the sun has been found to have a mini planetary system of its own.

Photograph of the asteroid 87 Sylvia, recorded Aug. 9, 2004 (Courtesy Franck Marchis/UC Berkeley and VLT)
University of California, Berkeley, assistant research astronomer Franck Marchis and his colleagues at the Observatoire de Paris have discovered the first triple asteroid system - two small asteroids orbiting a larger one known since 1866 as 87 Sylvia.



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All News summaries for August 10, 2005

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