Hydra Archives - Universe Today

How Many Moons Does Mercury Have?

30 Dec , 2015 by Matt Williams

The planet Mercury has no moons, but why is that the case? The reason is due to a combination of its small size, orbit, and weak gravity.

Pluto’s Moon Nix

3 Sep , 2015 by Matt Williams

Over the course of the past decade, many amazing discoveries have been made at the edge of the Solar System. Thanks to the work of astronomers working out of Earth-based observatories, with the Hubble Space Telescope, and those behind the recent New Horizons mission, not only have new objects been discovered, but additional discoveries have […]

Pluto’s Moons Nix and Hydra Get Real / New Pluto Mountain Range Discovered

21 Jul , 2015 by Bob King

Of course they’ve always been real worlds. They just never looked that way. We’ve only known of their existence since 2005, when astronomers with the Pluto Companion Search Team spotted them using the Hubble Space Telescope. Never more than faint points of light, each is now revealed as a distinct, if tiny, world. “Before last week, Hydra […]

Big Discovery from NASA’s New Horizons; Pluto is Biggest Kuiper Belt Body

13 Jul , 2015 by Ken Kremer

Plutophiles everywhere rejoice. On the eve of history’s first ever up close flyby of mysterious Pluto on Tuesday morning July 14 making the first detailed scientific observations, NASA’s New Horizons has made a big discovery about one of the most basic questions regarding distant Pluto. How big is it? Measurements by New Horizons gathered just […]

Weekly Space Hangout – February 20, 2015 – Charles Black from SEN

20 Feb , 2015 by Fraser Cain Video

Host: Fraser Cain (@fcain) Guests: Ramin Skibba (@raminskibba) Dave Dickinson (@astroguyz / www.astroguyz.com) Special Guest: Charles Black (@charlesblack / sen.com/charles-black)

Podcast (wshaudio): Download (Duration: 1:03:59 — 58.6MB)

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Podcast (wshvideo): Download (648.2MB)

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New Horizons Now Close Enough to See Pluto’s Smaller Moons

18 Feb , 2015 by Jason Major

Now on the final leg of its journey to distant Pluto the New Horizons spacecraft has been able to spot not only the dwarf planet and its largest moon Charon, but also two of its much smaller moons, Hydra and Nix – the latter for the very first time! The animation above comprises seven frames […]

New Horizons Sights Tiny Pluto Moon As Spacecraft Races Toward Dwarf Planet

15 Sep , 2014 by Elizabeth Howell

Here’s Hydra! The New Horizons team spotted the tiny moon of Pluto in July, about six months ahead of when they expected to. You can check it out in the images below. The find is exciting in itself, but it also bodes well for the spacecraft’s search for orbital debris to prepare for its close […]

Hubble Hubba: Stars Are Being Born Around A Black Hole In Galaxy’s Center

13 Jun , 2014 by Elizabeth Howell

Let’s just casually look at this image of a galaxy 86 million light-years away from us. In the center of this incredible image is a bright loop that you can see surrounding the heart of the galaxy. That is where stars are being born, say the scientists behind this new Hubble Space Telescope image. “Compared […]

A Crash Put Pluto’s Moons Into Odd Orbits: Study

10 Oct , 2013 by Elizabeth Howell

A smash-up that created Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, likely sprayed debris four billion years ago that formed the genesis of the other moons scientists are spotting today, a new study concludes. The find could explain why the satellites Styx, Nix, Kereberos and Hydra have orbital periods that are, respectively, just about exactly 3, 4, 5 […]

Ring System Around Pluto?

9 Aug , 2011 by Ray Sanders

[/caption] With the New Horizons spacecraft on its way to Pluto, there may be an intriguing additional task for the mission’s science team: look for a potential ring around Pluto and its moons. Researchers at The Universidade Estadual Paulista in Brazil have recently submitted a paper for publication in which they explore the possibility of […]

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