Styx (moon)
Styx 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.
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 |
|
| Photographic | |
| Designations | |
Designation | Pluto V |
| Pronunciation | /ˈstɪks/ |
Named after | Στύξ Styx |
| S/2012 (134340) 1 S/2012 P 1 | |
| Adjectives | Stygian /ˈstɪdʒiən/ |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| 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 |
| Mass | 7.5×1015 kg |
| 3.24 ± 0.07 d (chaotic) | |
| 82° (to orbital plane) | |
| Albedo | 0.65 ± 0.07 geometric |
| 27±0.3 | |
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, and its orbital period is 20.1 days.
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