Space & Astronomy
Fifth moon of Pluto discovered
By
T.K. RandallJuly 14, 2012 ·
27 comments
Image Credit: NASA
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have discovered a new moon orbiting Pluto.
Known as 'P5', the small moon is only between 6 and 15 miles across and has been found just one year after Pluto's fourth moon. The discovery has helped boost intrigue in the icy world and its moons ahead of the arrival of NASA's New Horizons spacecraft which is due to reach Pluto in 2015 after a trip that will have taken nine years.
"We're finding more and more, so our concern about hazards is going up," said Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder. "Every new satellite is a debris producer."
The discovery of another moon around Pluto is exciting news for planetary science, but it's also likely causing some anxiety for the team in charge of New Horizons, a spacecraft set to be the first probe ever to visit the dwarf planet.
Source:
MSNBC |
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