Mon June 23, 2025 PLUTO AND ITS MOONS
On June 21st, 1978, Pluto's moon Charon was discovered by the American astronomer James Christy. In mythology, Pluto was god of the underworld. Charon was his ferryman, who transported souls across the river Styx to the other side. Styx is another, more recently discovered moon, along with three more – Hydra, Nix and Kerberos. Charon is the biggest one, it’s about half the size of Pluto. So when it orbits this distant world, Charon's mass has a substantial effect on Pluto, pulling it first one way, and then the other. In the year 2015, a space probe flew past Pluto and Charon, and sent back incredible pictures and information – ice mountains two miles high, vast nitrogen ice plains, and mysterious dark patches on Pluto’s farside. If you visit the website NASA dot gov, and enter the word “Pluto” in the search box, you can see these pictures for yourself.
