The Sound Of Pluto. Researchers Discovered Complex Hydrocarbon Molecules on Pluto's Surface | Astronomy. A U.S. team of researchers has discovered the evidence of complex hydrocarbon and/or nitrile molecules lying on the Pluto’s surface. Artist’s impression of the Pluto's surface, and Charon and the Sun in the sky (ESO/L. Calçada) Researchers from Nebraska Wesleyan University and Southwest Research Institute observed the mid-UV spectra of both Pluto and its large satellite, Charon, using the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. During the observations they found a strong ultraviolet-wavelength absorber on Pluto’s surface. This finding, published in the Astronomical Journal, confirms the presence of complex hydrocarbon and/or nitrile molecules on the surface of the dwarf planet. Such molecules can be produced by the interaction of sunlight or cosmic rays with methane, carbon monoxide and nitrogen.
Laurel's Pluto Blog. NSSDC - Spacecraft - Details. Spaceopedia. Pluto on the Eve of Exploration by New Horizons: Small moons, dust, surfaces, interiors. Index of 8 intriguing images of Pluto and beyond. New Horizons Web Site. The computer-generated images below are simulated views of New Horizons' location in the solar system. The images were created using the Satellite Tool Kit (STK) software, which was developed by Analytical Graphics, Inc. Images are updated every hour. Click here to follow New Horizons as it passes each planet's orbit, starting with our own Moon.
Full Trajectory: Overhead View This image shows New Horizons' current position along its full planned trajectory. Full Trajectory - Side View This image shows New Horizons' current position along its full planned trajectory. "Vulcan" has big lead in bid to name Pluto's newly discovered moons. Hubble discovers a fifth moon orbiting Pluto. A team of astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is reporting the discovery of another moon orbiting the icy dwarf planet Pluto.
The moon is estimated to be irregular in shape and 6 to 15 miles across. It is in a 58,000-mile-diameter circular orbit around Pluto that is assumed to be co-planar with the other satellites in the system. "The moons form a series of neatly nested orbits, a bit like Russian dolls," said team lead Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif. The discovery increases the number of known moons orbiting Pluto to five. The Pluto team is intrigued that such a small planet can have such a complex collection of satellites. The new detection will help scientists navigate NASA's New Horizons spacecraft through the Pluto system in 2015, when it makes an historic and long-awaited high-speed flyby of the distant world.
The team is using Hubble's powerful vision to scour the Pluto system to uncover potential hazards to the New Horizons spacecraft. Kerberos and Styx: Pluto’s Two Recently Discovered Moons Get Official Names | Space Exploration. The International Astronomical Union announced yesterday that the names Kerberos and Styx have officially been recognized for the fourth and fifth moons of Pluto, previously referred to as P4 and P5. This Hubble image shows five moons orbiting Pluto (NASA / ESA / M. Showalter, SETI Institute) P4 and P5 were discovered in 2011 and 2012, during observations of the Pluto system made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Kerberos lies between the orbits of Nix and Hydra, two bigger moons discovered by Hubble in 2005, and Styx lies between Charon, the innermost and biggest moon, and Nix. Both have circular orbits assumed to be in the plane of the other satellites in the system. Kerberos has an estimated diameter of 8 to 21 miles (13 – 34 km), and Styx is thought to be irregular in shape and is 6 to 16 miles (10 – 25 km) across.
After the discovery, Dr Mark Showalter of SETI Institute, the leader of the research team, decided to call for a public vote to suggest names for P4 and P5.