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Pluto Moons: Facts

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Family Portrait of Pluto's Moons
Pluto’s moons to scale. The largest, Charon, is displayed along the bottom.
NASA/JHUAPL

Pluto’s moon system – Charon, Nix, Hydra, Styx, and Kerberos – is believed to have formed after a collision between Pluto, and another Kuiper Belt Object early in the history of the solar system. The smashup flung material that coalesced into the family of satellites observed around Pluto.

All of Pluto’s moons are named for mythological figures associated with the underworld, a naming convention that started when 11-year-old Venetia Burney named Pluto in 1930.

Pluto’s Moons

IAU NumberNameDiscoveredDiscoverer(s)
Pluto ICharon1978J.W. Christy
Pluto IINix2005H.A. Weaver, S.A. Stern, M.J. Mutchler, A.J. Steffl, M.W. Buie, W.J. Merline, J.R. Spencer, E.F. Young, L.A. Young
Pluto IIIHydra2005H.A. Weaver, S.A. Stern, M.J. Mutchler, A.J. Steffl, M.W. Buie, W.J. Merline, J.R. Spencer, E.F. Young, L.A. Young
Pluto IVKerberos2011M.R. Showalter, D.P. Hamilton, S.A. Stern, H.A. Weaver, A.J. Steffl, L.A. Young
Pluto VStyx2012M.R. Showalter, H.A. Weaver, S.A. Stern, A.J. Steffl, M.W. Buie, W.J. Merline, M.J. Mutchler, R. Soummer, H.B. Throop
Source: JPL Solar System Dynamics, Last Updated: Feb. 5, 2024
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