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Two More Moons Discovered Orbiting Pluto

Two small moons have been discovered orbiting Pluto, bringing the planet’s retinue of known satellites to three. The new moons orbit about 27,000 miles (44,000 kilometers) from Pluto, more than twice as far as Charon, Pluto’s other satellite. They are 5,000 times dimmer than Charon. The new moons are between 30 and 100 miles (45 to 160 kilometers) in diameter while Pluto is 1,430 miles wide and Charon’s diameter is about 730 miles.

Preliminary observations suggest they are in circular orbits around Pluto and in the same plane as Charon.

The moons are catalogued as S/2005 P1 and S/2005 P2 for now. Once they are confirmed, the discoverers will suggest names, to be approved by the International Astronomical Union.

The moons were found using the Hubble Space Telescope.

posted by: kyawoo at 21:19 | link | comments |
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