According to new images from the Hubble Space Telescope astronomers think they may have identified two previously unknown moons orbiting Pluto.
Any discovery to do with &to=http://english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/377/12298_Pluto.html' target=_blank>Pluto is particularly useful because despite its much debated planet-status, it is a Kuiper Belt object, meaning it is a remnant of the very earliest era of the solar system. The Kuiper Belt is an icy region beyond Neptune, and is also thought to be the place most comets come from, reports Register.
According to Ireland Online, Pluto has three moons, not one, new images from the Hubble Space Telescope suggest.
The planet, discovered as the ninth in the Solar System in 1930, was thought to be alone until its moon Charon was spotted in 1978.
The new moons, more than twice as far away as Charon and many times fainter, were spotted by Hubble in May.
While the observations have to be confirmed, members of the team that discovered the satellites said today they felt confident about their data.
The International Astronomical Union, which considers such matters, calls it a planet, but the specific definition of what constitutes a planet is under review.
Mere multiple moons do not change Pluto's status, according to Stern, who serves on an astronomical panel that is working on the new definition.
"Whether or not an object has a moon is not part of the criteria that we've considered, because so many small objects in the solar system have moons," Stern said. "But I think, just on a visceral level, the fact that Pluto has a whole suite of companions will make some people in the public feel better about its status of planethood," reoprts Reuters.
O.Ch.
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