Kerberos (moon)
Synodic rotation period | 5.31 ± 0.10 d (chaotic)[6] | |
96°[8] | ||
Albedo | 0.56 ± 0.05[6] | |
26.1±0.3[1] | ||
Kerberos is a small natural satellite of Pluto, about 19 km (12 mi) in its longest dimension. Kerberos is also the second-smallest moon of Pluto, after Styx. It was the fourth moon of Pluto to be discovered and its existence was announced on 20 July 2011.[1] It was imaged, along with Pluto and its four other moons, by the New Horizons spacecraft in July 2015.[9] The first image of Kerberos from the flyby was released to the public on 22 October 2015.[10]
Discovery
Kerberos was discovered by researchers of the Pluto Companion Search Team using the
Origin
Like Pluto's other moons,[17] it is suspected that Kerberos coalesced from the debris of a massive collision between Pluto and another Kuiper belt object, similar to the giant impact thought to have created the Moon.[11]
Physical characteristics
Kerberos has a double-lobed shape and is approximately 19 km (12 mi) across its longest dimension and 9 km (5.6 mi) across its shortest dimension. It is the second-smallest of Pluto's moons, after Styx. The larger lobe of Kerberos is approximately 8 km (5 mi) across while the smaller lobe is measured to be approximately 5 km (3.1 mi) across. The double-lobed shape of Kerberos is likely formed by two smaller objects merged, suggesting that Kerberos along with Pluto's other moons may have been formed by the coalescence of debris around Pluto.[18]
Kerberos has a high albedo or reflectivity similar to Pluto's other small moons, likely due to the presence of water ice on its surface.[19] Before the New Horizons flyby, Kerberos was initially thought to have a larger size and a darker surface.[20]
Rotation
Like the other small moons of Pluto, Kerberos is not
Orbit
Observations indicate a circular, equatorial orbit around the Pluto-Charon barycenter at a distance of 57,783 km (35,905 mi).[4] All of Pluto's moons including Kerberos have very circular orbits with very low orbital inclinations to Pluto's equator. Kerberos orbits between Nix and Hydra and makes a complete orbit around Pluto roughly every 32.167 days.[1][16]
Its orbital period is close to a 1:5 orbital resonance with Charon,[21] with the timing discrepancy being about 0.7%.[notes 2] As with the near resonances between Nix or Hydra and Charon (1:4 and 1:6, respectively), determining how close this relationship is to a true resonance will require more-accurate knowledge of Kerberos's orbit, in particular its rate of precession.
Exploration
The New Horizons spacecraft took images of Kerberos during its flyby of the Pluto system on 14 July 2015. Three months later, on 22 October, the first image of the moon was published. It is the last moon of Pluto to have its image released, revealing that Kerberos was small and had a bright surface contrary to the initial idea that the moon was covered in dark material.[10]
Naming
Upon discovery, Kerberos received the
On 2 July 2013, the IAU announced that it formally approved the names Kerberos for P4 and Styx for P5.[28][29]
The names of features on the bodies in the Pluto system are related to mythology and the literature and history of exploration. In particular, the names of features on Kerberos must be related to dogs from literature, mythology and history.[22]
The provisional designation of the satellite varies based on the source used. The International Astronomical Union announced it as S/2011 (134340) 1,[1] whereas the New Horizons mission website announced it as S/2011 P 1.[30]
See also
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Showalter, M. R.; Hamilton, D. P. (20 July 2011). "New Satellite of (134340) Pluto: S/2011 (134340) 1". Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- ^ Scott S. Sheppard, Pluto Moons
- ^ per "Cerberean". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ S2CID 205243819.
- ^ a b c "DPS 2015: Pluto's small moons Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra [UPDATED]". www.planetary.org.
- ^ a b c "Special Session: Planet 9 from Outer Space – Pluto Geology and Geochemistry". YouTube. Lunar and Planetary Institute. 25 March 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- .
- ^ S2CID 206646188.
- ^ Cain, Fraser (2008). "Pluto's Moon Nix".
- ^ a b Talbert, Tricia (22 October 2015). "Last of Pluto's Moons – Mysterious Kerberos – Revealed by New Horizons". NASA. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
- ^ hubblesite.org. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- ^ Wall, M. (20 July 2011). "New Pluto Moon Foreshadows More Surprises for NASA Probe En Route". Space.com. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
- ^ ISBN 9781250098962.
- ^ "Pluto Has Another Moon, Hubble Photos Reveal | Dwarf Planet Pluto | Pluto's Moons". Space.com. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ "Hubble Space Telescope discovers fourth moon of Pluto". earthsky.org. 20 July 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
- ^ a b c Lakdawalla, E. (20 July 2011). "A fourth moon for Pluto". planetary.org. The Planetary Society. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- S2CID 4400037. Archived from the original(PDF) on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- ^ "Kerberos In Depth". solarsystem.nasa.gov. NASA. December 5, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
- ^ "New insights into Pluto's outer moons". cosmosmagazine.com. Cosmos Magazine. June 17, 2016. Archived from the original on February 22, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
- ^ "Kerberos Revealed". pluto.jhuapl.edu. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute. October 22, 2015. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
- ^ a b "NASA's Hubble Finds Pluto's Moons Tumbling in Absolute Chaos". www.nasa.gov. NASA. 3 June 2015.
- ^ a b "International Astronomical Union – IAU". www.iau.org.
- ^ "Help Us Name the Moons of Pluto!". Archived from the original on 16 February 2013.
- ^ a b Marcia Dunn (25 February 2013). "Capt. Kirk's Vulcan entry wins Pluto moons contest". San Francisco Chronicle. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 26 February 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ S2CID 33803981.
- SPACE.com. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- New York Times. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
- IAU. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
- ^ "Pluto's Smallest Moons Receive Their Official Names". SETI Institute. 2 July 2013. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
- ^ New Horizons news, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, "Fourth Moon Adds to Pluto's Appeal" Archived 2014-11-13 at the Wayback Machine, 20 July 2011
External links
- Showalter, Mark. NASA's Hubble Discovers Another Moon Around Pluto. 20 July 2011.
- Kerberos In Depth. Updated 5 December 2017.