NASA'S Hubble Discovers Another Moon Around Pluto



Source: NASA RELEASE: 2011-234  

Excerpt: Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope discovered a fourth moon orbiting the icy dwarf planet Pluto. The tiny, new satellite, temporarily designated P4, was uncovered in a Hubble survey searching for rings around the dwarf planet. The new moon is the smallest discovered around Pluto. It has an estimated diameter of 8 to 21 miles (13 to 34 km). By comparison, Charon, Pluto's largest moon, is 648 miles (1,043 km) across, and the other moons, Nix and Hydra, are in the range of 20 to 70 miles in diameter (32 to 113 km). ...The dwarf planet's entire moon system is believed to have formed by a collision between Pluto and another planet-sized body early in the history of the solar system.  …For images and more information about Hubble, visit:www.nasa.gov/hubble and http://hubblesite.org/news/2011/23   

www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/jul/HQ_11-234_HST_Pluto_Moon.html

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