Pluto's 4th moon |
Pluto's 4th moon |
Jul 20 2011, 10:59 PM
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#16
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Member Group: Members Posts: 104 Joined: 1-June 08 Member No.: 4172 |
I see two possibilities. Perhaps Pluto will continue to be the only object in the solar system with a number of discovered natural satellites between two and 13, a fact which might point to a particularly interesting orbital history that could be related to the presence of Charon. Alternatively, it will be joined in this distinction by some significant fraction of other TNOs as soon as a similar degree of attention is paid to them. Either way, there will be some explaining to do - and I don't know which of "Pluto is unique" and "the Kuiper belt is full of 3,4,5+-body-systems" would be easier to explain.
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Jul 20 2011, 11:37 PM
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#17
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Senior Member Group: Admin Posts: 4763 Joined: 15-March 05 From: Glendale, AZ Member No.: 197 |
the only object in the solar system with a number of discovered natural satellites between two and 13 ...and the only object in the solar system with a natural satellite discovered in an image taken on a Tuesday. -------------------- If Occam had heard my theory, things would be very different now.
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Jul 20 2011, 11:44 PM
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#18
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14432 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
I see two possibilities. Perhaps Pluto will continue to be the only object in the solar system with a number of discovered natural satellites between two and 13, a fact which might point to a particularly interesting orbital history that could be related to the presence of Charon. No. There's at least one asteroid with three moons - a quadruple system. http://www.oca.eu/workshop/Pise/slides/Pisa-Colas.pdf |
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Jul 21 2011, 12:18 AM
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#19
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8783 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
The NH encounter just keeps getting more & more exciting. Never wanted four years to pass so fast before in my life!
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Jul 21 2011, 12:20 PM
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#20
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Member Group: Members Posts: 293 Joined: 29-August 06 From: Columbia, MD Member No.: 1083 |
What's the general consensus (or is there any?) on whether these objects (Nix, Hydra and P4) are all moons that formed following a large impact on either Charon or Pluto? Or could all 5 objects be ones that formed alone and then Pluto/Pluto-Charon's gravity captured them?
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Jul 21 2011, 01:48 PM
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#21
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Member Group: Members Posts: 204 Joined: 29-June 05 Member No.: 421 |
What's the general consensus (or is there any?) on whether these objects (Nix, Hydra and P4) are all moons that formed following a large impact on either Charon or Pluto? This is answered in the article linked in the first post of this thread: QUOTE The dwarf planet’ s entire moon system is believed to have formed by a collision between Pluto and another planet- sized body early in the history of the solar system. The smashup flung material that coalesced into the family of satellites observed around Pluto. |
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Jul 21 2011, 04:24 PM
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#22
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Member Group: Members Posts: 293 Joined: 29-August 06 From: Columbia, MD Member No.: 1083 |
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Jul 23 2011, 08:21 AM
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#23
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 57 Joined: 21-September 06 Member No.: 1172 |
Pluto's P4 moon is now available at SSD Horizons (body ID: 904)
NH closest approach to P4 will take place 2015-Jul-14 12:03 CT at distance of 67000 km. |
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Jul 23 2011, 05:27 PM
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#24
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2082 Joined: 13-February 10 From: Ontario Member No.: 5221 |
So that means P4 will appear just a little smaller than the simulation on page 1; still way better then a point of light!
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Jul 23 2011, 05:34 PM
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#25
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3648 Joined: 1-October 05 From: Croatia Member No.: 523 |
It would appear just a little smaller if NH were to image it exactly at closest approach. That's not likely to be the case given other observation timings and priorities.
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Jul 24 2011, 02:36 AM
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#26
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Administrator Group: Admin Posts: 5172 Joined: 4-August 05 From: Pasadena, CA, USA, Earth Member No.: 454 |
Also, the orbit used to make that calculation may not yet be accurate enough to determine precisely where it'll be four years from now...
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Jul 24 2011, 04:41 AM
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#27
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Member Group: Members Posts: 903 Joined: 30-January 05 Member No.: 162 |
LOL, when the accurate orbit becomes available, I bet the savy simulation wranglers here find a stunning Kodak moment or two.
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Jul 24 2011, 08:45 AM
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#28
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 57 Joined: 21-September 06 Member No.: 1172 |
Also, the orbit used to make that calculation may not yet be accurate enough to determine precisely where it'll be four years from now... All Pluto's moons are orbiting at strongly resonant orbits. Nix, P4 and Hydra periods are multiples of the Charon-Pluto orbital period (as 1:4:5:6 to be precise) and therefore actual orbital position can not drift too much from predicted one. Actual flyby viewing geometry will be quite close to the mentioned above. |
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Jul 25 2011, 09:34 PM
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#29
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Member Group: Members Posts: 146 Joined: 23-August 06 From: Vriezenveen, Netherlands Member No.: 1067 |
Am I right that the orbit of Pluto's fourth moon is much more elliptical and much more inclined?
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Aug 16 2011, 09:15 PM
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#30
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Member Group: Members Posts: 529 Joined: 19-February 05 Member No.: 173 |
More on P4 (and NH too) in this radio interview aired today: http://howonearthradio.org/archives/1092 |
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