S/2011 (134340) 1
 Hubble Space Telescope discovery images of S/2011 P 1. |
|
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Showalter M. R. and others[1] |
| Discovery date | June 28, 2011[1] (verified July 20, 2011)[2] |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Satellite of | Pluto[1] |
S/2011 (134340) 1[3] (also called P4) is a small moon of the dwarf planet Pluto. The present 'name' is a lemma, a temporary label to use before it gets officially named.
The satellite was discovered in June 2011.[1] It is the fourth moon of Pluto to be discovered.[1][4] The others are Charon, discovered in 1978, Nix and Hydra, which were discovered in 2005, and S/2012 (134340) 1, discovered in 2012.[1]
Discovery [change]
The moon was discovered by a Hubble Space Telescope observing team led by Mark Showalter,[2] while they were trying to find out if Pluto had any rings.[1] S/2011 P 1 was first seen in a photo taken with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, on June 28, 2011.[1][3] More photos were taken on July 3 and July 18,[1][3] 2011, to confirm that it exists.[1] The moon was officially verified and announced on July 20, 2011.[2][4] S/2011 P 1 was not seen in earlier Hubble photos because the exposure times were shorter.[1] The moon may have appeared as a very faint smudge in photos taken in 2006,[1][3] but was ignored because it was not clear.[1] S/2011 P 1 is possibly also visible in images taken in 2010.[3]
Structure [change]
S/2011 P 1 has an estimated diameter of 13–34 km (8–21 miles).[1][2][5][6] S/2011 P 1 and Pluto's other moons are thought to have been created by a cosmic collision between the dwarf planet and another celestial body early in the Solar System's history.[7]
References [change]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 "NASA's Hubble Discovers Another Moon Around Pluto". NASA. 2011-07-20. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/pluto-moon.html. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Fourth Moon Adds to Pluto's Appeal". http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/news_center/news/20110720.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NewHorizonsHeadlines+%28New+Horizons+News+Feed%29. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "NEW SATELLITE OF (134340) PLUTO: S/2011 (134340) 1". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 2011-07-20. http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/cbet/cbet002769.txt. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wall, Mike (2011-07-20). "New Pluto Moon Foreshadows More Surprises for NASA Probe En Route". space.com. http://www.space.com/12372-pluto-fourth-moon-nasa-spacecraft.html. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
- ↑ "Welcome to the solar system, P4", New Scientist (Reed Business Information) (2823): 14, 2011-07-30
- ↑ Harvey, Samantha (2011-07-20). "Solar System Exploration: Planets: Dwarf Planets: Pluto: Read More". NASA. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Pluto&Display=OverviewLong. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
- ↑ Boyle, Alan (2011-07-20). "Scientists spot Pluto's fourth moon". msnbc.com. http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/07/20/7119984-scientists-spot-plutos-fourth-moon. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
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