“S/2012” – 5th moon orbiting Pluto discovered by NASA

United States space scientists have discovered a 5^th moon orbiting Pluto. According to NASA the irregular-shaped moon, nicknamed S/2012 for now, measures around 10 to 24 km across.

Astronomers, last year found the 4^th moon around the Pluto some 5 billion km away.

Charon is Pluto’s biggest moon which measures 1,030 kilometres across. US Naval Observatory discovered Charon in 1978.

The two other moons, Nix and Hydra, are b/w 32 and 113 km in diameter.

Hubble – a powerful space telescope that has brought transformation the arena of astronomy since it was first launched in 1990 – discovered Nix and Hydra in 2005.

Pluto was removed from the list of full-fledged planet in August 2006 and was placed in the new category of dwarf planets. With a diameter of about 2,301 kilometres , it is about2/3^rd the size of the moon and has a mass less than 1% of the Earth’s.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2012