Styx (moon)

Mark R. Showalter et al.

Styx, provisional designation S/2012 ( 134340 ) 1, is the fifth and smallest known moon of the dwarf planet Pluto.

Discovery and designation

On July 11, 2012, NASA announced the discovery of a one years fifth Pluto moon known about after the discovery of the fourth moon Kerberos. The Trabant was discovered in the search for any existing planetary rings in nine recorded between June 26 and July 9, 2012 photo series of the Wide Field Camera 3 of the Hubble Space Telescope. The discovery, a team of astronomers led by Mark R. Showalter of the SETI Institute.

On 2 July 2013, the IAU announced that the moon was officially recognized as the fifth moon of Pluto and confirmed the submitted based on an Internet poll suggested name by Mark Showalter, Styx, after the river in Greek mythology.

Web properties

The average distance to Pluto is 42,000 ± 2000 km, so that the orbit between the already known moons Charon and Nix is. Styx is in this case close to a 1:3 resonance with Charon. Previously measured movement data indicate a nearly circular equatorial orbit. For a more precise determination of the orbital data, further observations are necessary.

Physical Properties

The diameter of the Moon is estimated at 10 to 25 km.

Due to the small size Styx will have an irregular shape, similar to other small moons of this size.

Research

So far, the moon appears only on some shots from the Hubble space telescope, through which the moon could be detected. Surface details are, however, it can not be seen.

A more detailed study will be possible when the spacecraft New Horizons passes through the system of Pluto and its moons on 14 July 2015. After that, the James Webb Space Telescope will be used for further observations and measurements of the surface chemistry.