Fifth Pluto Moon Discovered

Hey Space Placers!

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has made another solar system discover - a fifth moon for Pluto:



S/2012 (134340) 1, ("P5" in the photo) as it is now called until it gets an official name from the International Astronomical Union (IAU) was discovered in a series of HST images with the last being takken on July 9, 2012. The moon is estimated to be 6 to 15 miles across and irregular in shape, orbiting Pluto at about 58,000 miles. P4 was found by HST in 2011.

The New Horizons spacecragt will tell us more about all of Pluto's moons as well as the dwarf planet. HST's successor, the James Webb Telescope, will observe the Pluto system also.


Sky Guy in VA

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