UPDATE:  SOLVED by Dwight at 12:05 CDT

Bonjour!  Are we all ready to play riddle today?  I have a nice, easy, relaxing one for you.  It’s been a long week for me, so I’m ready to relax and play a little.

Today’s riddle subject is in the real world.  It is an object.  That’s it for the preliminaries, now for the clues:

A beauty in black and white, found on PhotoBucket

We mostly think of this in the singular, although it is made of many parts.

Although today’s subject is a modern discovery, something else like it has been known for centuries.

While we think of this as a “thing”, it is really more of a system, or aggregate, of many things together.

A collection of cuties

Probably hundreds of millions of years ago, this thing was at least one companion to a giant.

This thing’s “parent” has a distinction of its own.

There is good reason to believe that although this thing is considered a modern discovery, it may have been seen long ago.

Ah, my favorite color; shiny

Not all parts of this thing are visible at all times.

Although we know of other, like systems, today’s riddle answer is unique.
Today’s answer may be fairly close to you, but it’s difficult to see… like a mirage.

Nation Portrait Gallery, London - You know this man

Okay, there you are.  Get ready, get set, get it solved!  You know where to find me…