Chris McKitterick (mckitterick) wrote,
Chris McKitterick
mckitterick

Astro-Porn of the Day: P4, Pluto's 4th Moon

Did you know that Pluto has more moons than just Charon? Last month, the Hubble Space Telescope discovered a new moon, S/2011 (134340) 1 - or in friendly terms, "P4." P4 orbits Pluto every 32 days at a distance of about 37,000 miles. This puts it between the paths of Nix and Hydra, two moons found circling Pluto in 2005.

This Hubble photo shows Pluto and its four known moons, including the new one, as captured by the HST Wide Field Camera 3 on June 28, 2011. Check it out:


Click the image to see the story. Photo by NASA, ESA, and the SETI Institute.

In other news, the month-long Center for the Study of Science Fiction intensive program is a wrap! The Workshops, Conference, and Teaching Institute were all WONDERFUL - more later, after I get a chance to breathe a bit. Finals incoming soon, and then my dad comes to visit, but soon life as normal shall resume. I love this thing I do every year, despite how wearying it is. Everyone who came - participants and guests alike - was awesome, and I miss you already!

Chris
Tags: astronomy, cssf
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