Pluto found to have two more moons
Two small moons have been discovered orbiting Pluto, bringing the planet’s retinue of known satellites to three and leaving scientists to wonder how it could be. It’s hard to believe that we are still finding moons in our own little piece of outer space. Makes you wonder what could be on the other side of the moon doesn’t it?
The newfound moons orbit about 27,000 miles (44,000 kilometers) from Pluto, more than twice as far as Charon, Pluto’s other satellite. They are 5,000 times dimmer than Charon. Preliminary observations suggest they are in circular orbits around Pluto and in the same plane as Charon, said Hal Weaver of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Baltimore. While scientists had predicted there might be more moons, the newfound setup is surprising nonetheless, in part because Pluto is smaller than our own moon.
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