Nix (moon)
Nix is a natural satellite of Pluto, with a diameter of 49.8 km (30.9 mi) across its longest dimension. It was discovered along with Pluto's outermost moon Hydra on 15 May 2005 by astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope, and was named after Nyx, the Greek goddess of the night. Nix is the third moon of Pluto by distance, orbiting between the moons Styx and Kerberos.
Enhanced color image of Nix, taken by New Horizons | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Hal A. Weaver et al. |
| Discovery date | 15 May 2005 |
| Designations | |
Designation | Pluto II |
| Pronunciation | /ˈnɪks/ |
Named after | Nyx |
| S/2005 P 2 | |
| Adjectives | Nictian (/ˈnɪktiən/) |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| 48694±3 km | |
| Eccentricity | 0.002036±0.000050 |
| 24.85463±0.00003 d | |
| Inclination | 0.133°±0.008° (122.53°±0.008° to Pluto's orbit) |
| Satellite of | Pluto |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 49.8 × 33.2 × 31.1 km (Geometric mean of 37 km) |
| Mass | (2.60±0.52)×1016 kg: 10 |
Mean density | 1.031±0.204 g/cm3: 10 |
| ≈ 0.0028 m/s2 at longest axis to ≈ 0.0072 m/s2 at poles | |
| ≈ 0.0118 km/s at longest axis to ≈ 0.0149 km/s at poles | |
| 1.829±0.009 d: 3 chaotic (decreased by 10% between discovery and flyby) | |
| 123°±10° (to Pluto–Charon orbit): 11 48°±10° (to celestial equator) | |
North pole right ascension | 350°±10°: 3 |
North pole declination | 42°±10°: 3 |
| Albedo | 0.56±0.05: 3 |
| 23.38–23.7 (measured) | |
| 8.28: 2 | |
Nix was imaged along with Pluto and its other moons by the New Horizons spacecraft as it flew by the Pluto system in July 2015. Images from the New Horizons spacecraft reveal a large reddish area on Nix that is likely an impact crater.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.