Pluto moons get mythical new names

[Eugene]

Source: BBC

2 July 2013 Last updated at 16:15 GMT

Pluto moons get mythical new names

The recently discovered fourth and fifth moons of Pluto now have official names: Kerberos and Styx.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU), charged with making official name designations, stipulates in its rules that names derive from mythology.

The names - referring to a three-headed dog and a river separating the living from the dead, ranked second and third in an international public vote.

The winning submission, Vulcan, was vetoed by the IAU.

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Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23146454

[longship]

1. Cool!

R&K

[hardcover]

2. Yeah, Cool! n/t

[Wounded Bear]

3. Pluto has more moons than we do?

And it's not even a planet?

That sucks.

[sakabatou]

5. There are a lot more asteroids it can capture.

Jupiter sucks most of such rocks for itself.

[Jack Rabbit]

6. Yeah, but our Moon is larger than Pluto itself.

It's the fifth largest natural satellite in the solar system. All larger satellites belong to gas giants.

Not bad for a dinky little terrestrial inner planet, huh?

[sakabatou]

4. Kerberos?

Last edited Wed Jul 3, 2013, 11:31 PM - Edit history (1)

Why a K (hard?) and not a C? Nevermind, it's the Greek form.