Two new moons that were discovered last year orbiting the planet Pluto were given official designations last month by the IAU. The two moons are now officially dubbed Nix and Hydra. In Greek mythology, Nix was the Goddess of the Night, and the mother to Charon the ferryman (who shuttled the dead souls over to the underworld). Hyrdra was a mythological creature that guarded the way into the underworld. Both objects join Charon as known moons of Pluto. There may actually be more orbiting the tiny planet, but we probably won't know until the New Horizons space probe arrives in the Plutonian system in 2015.
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1 comment:
I've been listening to the recent debates on whether or not Pluto is even a planet. It's an intersting debate. My husband and I discussed it on our commute this morning (we carpool on Comic Book Day). We were wondering what Pluto would be called if it were not a planet, and how they might tighten up the definition of planet. Very interesting topic!
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