Styx (moon)
Pluto's moon Styx, as seen by the New Horizons spacecraft on 13 July 2015, from a distance of 632,000 km | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Showalter, M. R. et al. |
| Discovery site | Hubble Space Telescope |
| Discovery date |
|
Detection method | Photographic |
| Designations | |
Designation | Pluto V |
| Pronunciation | /ˈstɪks/[1] |
Named after | Στύξ Styx |
Alternative names | S/2012 (134340) 1 S/2012 P 1[2] |
| Adjectives | Stygian /ˈstɪdʒiən/[3] |
| Orbital characteristics[4] | |
| 42656±78 km | |
| Eccentricity | 0.005787±0.001144 |
| 20.16155±0.00027 d | |
| Inclination | 0.809°±0.162° |
| Satellite of | Pluto |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 16 × 9 × 8 km[5] |
| Mass | 7.5×1015 kg[6] |
Sidereal rotation period | 3.24 ± 0.07 d (chaotic)[5] |
| 82°[7] (to orbital plane) | |
| Albedo | 0.65 ± 0.07 geometric[5] |
| 27±0.3[8][9] | |
Styx, formal designation (134340) Pluto V, is a small natural satellite of Pluto whose discovery was announced on 11 July 2012. It was discovered by use of the Hubble Space Telescope, and is the smallest of the five known moons of Pluto. It was imaged along with Pluto and Pluto's other moons by the New Horizons spacecraft in July 2015, albeit poorly with only a single image of Styx obtained.[5]
Styx is the second-closest known satellite to Pluto, and the fifth discovered. It was discovered one year after Kerberos. Styx is approximately 16 km (9.9 mi) across its longest dimension,[5] and its orbital period is 20.1 days.
- ^ "Styx". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ Scott S. Sheppard, Pluto Moons
- ^ "Stygian". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
ShowalterHamilton2015was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e "Special Session: Planet 9 from Outer Space – Pluto Geology and Geochemistry". Lunar and Planetary Institute. 25 March 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2019 – via YouTube.
- ^ Johnston, Robert. "(134340) Pluto, Charon, Nix, Hydra, Kerberos, and Styx". Asteroids with Satellites Database—Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- ^ "DPS 2015: Pluto's small moons Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra [UPDATED]". planetary.org.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Sanders 2012-07-11was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
S&T12was invoked but never defined (see the help page).