Pluto and Its Moons: Charon, Nix, and Hydra- Unlabeled

stsci_2009-18n April 21st, 2009

Credit: NASA, ESA, H. Weaver (JHU/APL), A. Stern (SwRI), and the HST Pluto Companion Search Team

A pair of small moons that NASA's Hubble Space Telescope discovered orbiting Pluto now have official names: Nix and Hydra. Photographed by Hubble in 2005, Nix and Hydra are roughly 5,000 times fainter than Pluto and are about two to three times farther from Pluto than its large moon, Charon, which was discovered in 1978.

Provider: Space Telescope Science Institute

Image Source: https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2009/news-2009-18

Curator: STScI, Baltimore, MD, USA

Image Use Policy: http://hubblesite.org/copyright/

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Image Details

Image Type: Planetary
Object Name: Pluto • Charon • Nix • Hydra
Subject - Solar System: Interplanetary Body > Dwarf planet

Position Details

Position (ICRS): RA = 17h 44m 19.2s; DEC = -15° 53’ 6.5”
Constellation: Serpens

Color Mapping

	Telescope	Spectral Band	Wavelength
	Hubble (ACS/HCR)	Optical (V)	606.0 nm

ID: 2009-18n
Subject Category: A.2.1
Subject Name: Pluto, Charon, Nix, Hydra
Credits: NASA, ESA, H. Weaver (JHU/APL), A. Stern (SwRI), and the HST Pluto Companion Search Team

Release Date: 2009-04-21T00:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url: https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2009/news-2009-18

Type: Planetary
Image Quality: Good
Distance Notes

Facility: Hubble
Instrument: ACS/HCR
Color Assignment: Blue

Band: Optical
Bandpass: V
Central Wavelength: 606

Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes

Coordinate Frame: ICRS
Equinox
Reference Value: 266.08020833, -15.88513889
Reference Dimension

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Scale
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Coordinate System Projection:

Quality
FITS Header
Notes

Creator (Curator): STScI
URL: http://hubblesite.org
Name: Space Telescope Science Institute Office of Public Outreach
Email: outreach@stsci.edu

Telephone: 410-338-4444
Address: 3700 San Martin Drive
City: Baltimore
State/Province: MD

Postal Code: 21218
Country: USA
Rights: http://hubblesite.org/copyright/

Publisher: STScI
Publisher ID: stsci
Resource ID: STSCI-H-p0918n-f-504x504.tif

Resource URL: https://mast.stsci.edu/api/latest/Download/file?uri=mast:OPO/product/STSCI-H-p0918n-f-504x504.tif
Related Resources: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2009/18, http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2006/09

Metadata Date: 2022-07-06T00:00:00
Metadata Version: 1.2

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

There is no distance meta data in this image.