In the solar system there are planets so small that they are called dwarfs. Pluto is one of these. But even small planets have satellites. Its largest satellite is Charon. But he is not the only one of his kind. There are others. Of course, they are not so great, but they are also of great importance.
In this article we will look at the features of Pluto and find out what is Charon, a satellite of this planet. Let's also talk about other, smaller satellites.
Pluto Planet
Until 2006, Pluto stood on a par with the main planets of the solar system and was a full-fledged unit.
Now it was given the name of a dwarf planet, after which they began to believe that it is the largest object in the dark disk-shaped zone.
Once it became clear to scientists that Pluto is not a unique object of its environment, which are all the other planets located in the solar system. And that more than one such object candiscover if you examine the space beyond the orbit belonging to Neptune. And soon a certain body, called Eris, was indeed discovered. It was a trans-Neptunian object that could be compared to Pluto. After this discovery, it became clear that in the world, in fact, there is no definition of a planet. And in 2006, a definition was approved that includes three positions. According to him, those space objects that correspond to only two of the three positions are called a dwarf planet. Pluto is one of those.
It got its name from an eleven-year-old girl who decided that the name of the god of the underworld would be suitable for a distant, probably cold and dark planet, and told her grandfather about it. And already the grandfather conveyed the wish of the granddaughter to the observatory, where it was finally approved.
In 2006, an apparatus called "New Horizons" was launched to the planet Pluto. It was the month of January. This apparatus flew up to the planet at a distance of twelve thousand kilometers and accumulated a large amount of information about it. All this data is gradually transferred to scientists. This is due to the too slow transmission of information over such significant distances.
Features of the planet
Pluto has the shape of a perfect sphere. This discovery came as a surprise, as did the discovery of various landforms on the surface.
Moreover, there are extended areas on the planet that are completely devoid of impact craters. Also known is the fact that Pluto's glaciersits surfaces are unevenly distributed, but it is still unclear why.
The planet Pluto and the satellite Charon, like other small satellites, are quite far from the Earth. Therefore, they are not well studied. There is an assumption that the surface of this planet has a base of rocky composition, which is covered with water ice, as well as frozen methane and nitrogen. It is the products resulting from the photodissociation of methane that color the planet red.
Rotating in its orbit, which is far from the shape of a circle, Pluto can either get very close to the Sun, or, conversely, move away at a great distance. In the process of its approach, the glaciers melt and the atmosphere around the planet is formed, which consists of methane and nitrogen. The further the planet moves away from the Sun, the smaller the atmosphere becomes, and in the end there is only a small haze, which, when viewed with the naked eye, has a red tint. This is because the glaciers are freezing again.
Pluto's satellites. Charon and small satellites of the planet
Pluto has five natural moons. The largest moon of Charon was discovered in 1978. Two smaller moons, named Nix and Hydra, were seen in 2005.
Kerberus was next. It was discovered by the Hubble telescope in 2011. And finally, in 2012, scientists discovered the presence of a fifth satellite in Pluto, which was named Styx. All names of satellites eitherotherwise refer to the underworld of Greek mythology.
Charon is a satellite of the planet Pluto
Charon got its name in honor of the carrier of the souls of dead people from the myths of Ancient Greece. It was discovered by US astrophysicist James Christie. It happened at the Naval Observatory in 1978.
This satellite is very big. Its size equates to half the size of Pluto itself. The distance separating it from the planet it accompanies is almost twenty thousand kilometers. It's about the same as from London to Sydney.
Charon is a moon of Pluto, which many scientists have come to consider a minor component of the binary system of planets. It was even given the name Pluto-1. The rotation periods of Pluto and Charon are the same. Due to this phenomenon, they are always turned to each other by the same side. This phenomenon even got its name - tidal lock.
Surface and composition of the satellite
The moon Charon differs in its composition from Pluto. Unlike the planet, it is covered not by nitrogen, but by water ice. This is due to the fact that its surface temperature is below zero by 220 degrees Celsius. But also the reasons for this composition include the fact that Charon is not so massive as to hold volatile compounds. The color of the satellite is more neutral, grayish. According to the existing theory, Charon was formed from fragments of Pluto itself that were in orbit. Also, many scientists believe that the atmosphere of Pluto and Charon is connected.
Satellite Nikta
Charon –the largest moon of Pluto, but there are others. One of them is Nikta. The discovery of this satellite was made public in 2005, on October 31. He owes his name to the goddess of eternal night.
The orbit on which the satellite is located is circular. There is no information about the exact dimensions of Nyx yet, but it is presumably smaller than the Hydra. This is evidenced by the darker color of the surface.
Hydra
If you carefully consider the existing images, you can see that Hydra is located in the same plane as the satellite Charon. The distance between Pluto and Hydra is approximately 65,000 kilometers. There is no information about the exact dimensions of this satellite. Scientists only assume that the value of its diameter is in the range from 52 to 160 kilometers.
Hydra's surface is brighter than Nikta's. Approximately 25%. This suggests that its reflectivity is higher, which means that the dimensions are larger. The satellite got its name in honor of the monster from Greek mythology, which has a hundred heads.
Cerberus and Styx
The fourth satellite of Pluto is called Kerberos, also received in honor of the mythical character of the underworld. Before the discovery of the fifth satellite, it was considered the smallest. Its estimated diameter is 13-34 kilometers.
The discovery of Kerberos was made thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope. The orbit along which the fourth satellite rotates is located between the orbits of Nix and Hydra. Produces revolution around the planetthirty-one days.
The fifth satellite of Styx has the smallest size. Presumably the value of its diameter is between 10 and 25 kilometers. This satellite rotates in an orbit located between the orbits of Charon and Nikta. Its resonance with Charon is a ratio of one to three. It owes its name to the river, which in the myths of Ancient Greece separates two worlds - the living and the dead. It was also discovered thanks to the Hubble in June 2012.
This article has covered many issues. We learned which planet Charon is a satellite of, what are its features, sizes and composition. Now to the question: "Charon is a satellite of which planet?" - you confidently answer: "Pluto". By the way, one of the theories of the emergence of satellites around Pluto suggests that they were all formed as a result of the collision of this planet with some large object from the Kuiper belt. Unfortunately, to date, almost nothing more can be learned about these amazing objects. After all, Pluto is not only too far from the Earth, but also does not have a very good reflectivity.
