Pluto's moons named
{{date|June 23, 2006}}
[[Image:Plutonian system.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Artist conception of Hydra (foreground), Pluto & Charon (background), and Nix (bright dot center left)]]
The two recently discovered moons of the planet {{w|Pluto}} were officially named {{w|Hydra (moon)|Hydra}} and {{w|Nix (moon)|Nix}} by the {{w|International Astronomical Union}}, the internationally recognized authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies. 

The moons were discovered in May last year by the Pluto Companion Search Team, a team of scientists from the {{w|Southwest Research Institute}} (SwRI), the {{w|Johns Hopkins University}}'s Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), the {{w|Space Telescope Science Institute}} and {{w|Lowell Observatory}}, using images taken from the [[Hubble Space Telescope|Hubble space telescope]]. The moons were  designated as S/2005 P1 (Hydra) and P2 (Nix) upon discovery. 

Their discovery comes 27 years after the discovery of Pluto's largest moon {{w|Charon (moon)|Charon}}. The two moons are roughly 5000 times fainter than Pluto and two to three times farther from Pluto, compared to Charon. The two bodies are roughly 50 km in diameter. 

The names are derived from Greek mythology, where {{w|Lernaean Hydra|Hydra}} is a monster with the body of a serpent and nine heads and Nix is the goddess of darkness and night. {{w|Nyx|Nix}} is also the mother of {{w|Charon (mythology)|Charon}}, an allusion to the giant impact which is believed to have created the three satellites of Pluto, with Charon borne of the material from which Nix formed. {{w|Pluto (mythology)|Pluto}} himself is the god of the underworld. 
{{Haveyoursay}}
==Sources==
*{{source|url=http://www.swri.org/9what/releases/2006/NixHydra.htm
|title=Pluto's two small moons christened Nyx and Hydra
|author=|pub=Southwest Research Institute|date=June 22, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PLUTOS_MOONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-06-22-21-13-34
|title=Pluto's Newly Found Moons Named Nyx, Hydra
|author=Alicia Chang|pub=Associated Press|date=June 22, 2006}}
{{Audio|New Pluto Moons.ogg|2006-06-23}}
[[category:Space]]
[[category:Science and technology]]
[[Category:Hubble Space Telescope]]
[[Category:NASA]]
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:North America]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Pluto]]
[[Category:Charon]]
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{{Archive-unreviewed}}

[[fr:Les nouvelles lunes de Pluton ont un nom]]
[[pl:Księżyce Plutona nazwane]]
[[zh:国际天文联合会正式命名冥王星的新卫星]]
Artist conception of Hydra (foreground), Pluto & Charon (background), and Nix (bright dot center left)
The two recently discovered moons of the planet Hydra (moon)|Hydra and Nix by the , the internationally recognized authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies. 

The moons were discovered in May last year by the Pluto Companion Search Team, a team of scientists from the Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), the Lowell Observatory, using images taken from the Hubble space telescope. The moons were  designated as S/2005 P1 (Hydra) and P2 (Nix) upon discovery. 

Their discovery comes 27 years after the discovery of Pluto's largest moon Charon. The two moons are roughly 5000 times fainter than Pluto and two to three times farther from Pluto, compared to Charon. The two bodies are roughly 50 km in diameter. 

The names are derived from Greek mythology, where Hydra is a monster with the body of a serpent and nine heads and Nix is the goddess of darkness and night. Nix is also the mother of Charon, an allusion to the giant impact which is believed to have created the three satellites of Pluto, with Charon borne of the material from which Nix formed. Pluto himself is the god of the underworld.
Hubble Space Telescope NASA United States North America Astronomy Pluto Charon