Pluto is a tiny planet of the solar system. It was opened by Clyde Tombo from the USA in 1930. Subsequently, the satellites of Pluto were also discovered and studied. The average distance from the planet to the Sun is slightly less than 40 AU
Pluto is a 15-star magnitude. This means that it is 4, 000 times weaker than the stars that are in sight with the naked eye. This celestial body rotates extremely slowly and makes one revolution in orbit for 247.7 years. Pluto approaches the Sun much closer than Neptune. Nevertheless, the planet is still quite far away, so studying it is extremely difficult.
How Pluto got its name
The right to come up with a name for the new planet went to the director of the Lovell Observatory V.M. Slifer. Initially, his widow proposed to name the discovery of “Zeus” and then “Caught” and ultimately by her name “Constance, ” but none of these options was approved. Traditionally, the planets were called the names of the Roman gods, and Pluto was most suitable for this discovery, in addition, the name resembled the initials of the director of the observatory.
In fact, there were many more sentences with names for a new planet. For example, the editors of the popular New York Times newspaper suggested calling the discovery of Minerva, but, as in the case of the planet Uranus, this idea was rejected. The names were also offered: Athena, Volcano, Artemis, Zimal, Icarus, Cosmos, Atlas, Hera, Tantalum, Perseus, Pax, Odin, Persephone, Cronus, Idan, Prometheus, etc. But neither the satellites of Pluto, nor the planet itself received them.
The fact is that most of these names have already been used for asteroids.
Interesting fact
One couple even proposed to name the planet in honor of their newly born baby. But ultimately, the current name was discovered thanks to the 11-year-old Venice girl Bernie from Oxford. During breakfast, her grandfather, who at that time worked as a librarian at Oxford University, read a newspaper that told about the discovery. He asked the granddaughter how she thought the newly discovered planet should be called.
The girl said that since the celestial body is very far away and its surface is very cold, it would be appropriate to name it in honor of the Roman god of the underworld of Pluto. The elderly librarian was inspired by this idea and sent a telegraph proposal to his colleagues in the United States, after which the name was unanimously accepted and approved on May 1, 1930.
Does Pluto have satellites
Like most planets, Pluto is accompanied by satellites. The most interesting and unusual is Charon. There are also two more small satellites - Hydra and Nyx (Nikta). And two very tiny brothers who today have only serial numbers.
Charon
The satellites of the planet Pluto are amazing in their characteristics, but the most mysterious of them is Charon. It is very remarkable precisely for its origin. The fact is that until 2005 it was the only satellite of a minor planet. Later, scientists were able to find two more small bodies that also revolved around Pluto. Charon was located at a distance of more than 20, 000 km from the planet, and its mass at the time of discovery was 1.9 sextillion kilograms.
History
Small satellites of Pluto were discovered relatively recently, but Charon attracted the attention of astronomers in 1978. Since its discovery, it was believed that the planet has only one celestial body in its orbit.
All in the same 1978, experts studied the images of Pluto. With careful consideration, scientists drew attention to a small "bulge", located in front of the planet’s disk.
Pluto charon
This system is usually called so because of the common properties of the satellite and the planet. According to one hypothesis, both objects of the solar system arose simultaneously at the time of the collision and their independent formation. That is, Charon is essentially a fragment of Pluto. Thus it is possible to assume that Nikta and Qadra are also particles of the planet. The origin of the small satellites remains a scientific mystery.
Interesting phenomenon
In 1985-1990, Pluto and Charon entered the stage of eclipse, at this time from the earth it was possible to observe the orbits of the satellite and the planet itself. This is one of the rarest phenomena that happens only twice in a 248-year cycle of Pluto's revolution around the Sun. Fortunately, in the late 80s, the attention of scientists was literally riveted to Pluto, so they were able to fix the exact size of the satellite. And, unfortunately, the next time to see this and fix all the indicators will be very soon.
Charon Characteristics
Due to its distance from the sun, the surface of Charon is very cold, and its temperature is 220 degrees below zero. Not surprisingly, the satellite is completely covered with a thick layer of ice. This fact raises even more questions and guesses of scientists, including regarding the origin of the celestial body. There is a theory that the satellite has geological activity, due to which water can form on its surface. Even despite such low temperatures. This is confirmed by the fact that ammonia hydrates were detected on the surface of Charon, which should have been completely decomposed by solar activity.
Of course, this is just a hunch so far, but the evidence suggests that Charon holds many secrets that have yet to be learned.
Forecasts
Astronomers and other scientists are extremely interested in a more detailed consideration of the question of which satellites are in Pluto and what is their origin, and in particular, of course, by Charon. In this regard, in 2015 it is planned to begin a series of studies devoted to this particular planet and its satellites.
It is noteworthy that Charon rotates simultaneously with the planet, so they are always directed towards each other on one side. All these facts simply could not but arouse interest among the scientific community.
Small satellites of Pluto
The smaller Charon brothers were also discovered relatively recently, in 2005. They became two small satellites P1 Hydra and P2 Nikta. Their diameter was only 45-55 km.
In 2011, Pluto’s 4th satellite, P4, was found. Its diameter makes up 13-33 km. In the final analysis, in 2012, the “satellite family” was replenished with another P5 baby discovered. Its diameter is only 10-25 km. Apparently, the small satellites of Pluto, the list of which is replenished, have not yet received names. But there is already evidence that P4 and P5 will be given the nicknames Vulcan and Cerberus. These names scored the most points on the Internet voting conducted by the SETI Institute.
