ZME Science
  • Science News
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Economics
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • Environment
    • Animals
    • Climate
    • Renewable Energy
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
      • Culture & Society
      • Bizarre Stories
      • Lifestyle
      • Art and Music
      • Gaming
      • Books
      • Movies and Shows
    • Resources
      • How To
      • Science Careers
      • Metascience
      • Fringe Science
      • Science Experiments
      • School and Study
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Research → Discoveries

New moon discovered around Pluto – the fifth

Tibi PuiubyTibi Puiu
July 11, 2012
in Discoveries, Space
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A

New pluto moon

Astronomers have discovered a new moon orbiting the dwarf planet of Pluto – its fifth – only a year after the former planet’s forth satellite was discovered.

In the past decade alone, four out of Pluto’s five moons known thus far have been discovered. The latest addition, provisionally titled S/2012 (134340) 1 or P5, is only between 6 and 15 miles (10 to 24 kilometers) in diameter, orbiting a mere 29,000 miles (47,000 km) away from Pluto and posses an irregular shape. P5 is believed to have formed, like the rest of Pluto’s moons, after a large body in the Kuiper belt collided with the dwarf planet. Because of its tiny size, the moon retained an irregular shape, since its gravity was too small to shape it into a sphere.

Pluto’s other satellites are Charon, discovered in 1978, Nix and Hydra discovered in 2005, and P4 first sighted in 2011. Charon was first imaged by the United States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station in Arizona, while the rest, including P5, were observed by the ever-resourceful Hubble Space Telescope.

New Pluto moon startles NASA officials

The discovery is slated to spark concern over the expected fly-by around Pluto of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft in 2015. The detection of P5, coupled with that of P4 last year, makes the surrounding area a lot more crowded than initially thought and warrants a re-trajectory if an unfortunate collision is to be 100% averted.

“We’re finding more and more, so our concern about hazards is going up,” New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern, of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo.

At this rate, there’s no telling how many more moons will be discovered in the future; people need to keep in mind that the Solar System is extremely vast. If the solar system were to be a truck, the sun, which is ~110 times the diameter of Earth across and can fit 1.3 million Earths in its volume, would represent a tiny dot on its surface. There’s still much to be discovered; much more.

What should we call P5?

The International Astronomical Union, which oversees the naming of celestial bodies, stipulates  that objects in Pluto’s vicinity must be named according to underworld mythology. Hence Pluto, Charon, Nix and Hydra. P4 and P5 have yet to be named. My picks would be Cerberus, Acheron or Tartarus.

Leave your suggestions for a name fit of Pluto’s new moon in the comment section below. This should be interesting. 

source: Hubble Site

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Tags: new horizonsP5plutosolar system

ADVERTISEMENT
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2023 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Economics
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • Environment
    • Animals
    • Climate
    • Renewable Energy
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
      • Culture & Society
      • Bizarre Stories
      • Lifestyle
      • Art and Music
      • Gaming
      • Books
      • Movies and Shows
    • Resources
      • How To
      • Science Careers
      • Metascience
      • Fringe Science
      • Science Experiments
      • School and Study
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2023 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.