Our result suggests that other bodies in the Kuiper Belt may have more than one moon as well,
Our result suggests other bodies in the Kuiper Belt may have more than one moon. It also means planetary scientists will have to take these new moons into account when modeling the formation of the Pluto system.
We know of 17 objects that could be called planets, most of which are ice dwarfs. So Pluto is typical of what is probably the most populous type of planet in our solar system. It probably mimics other Kuiper Belt objects.
Exploring Pluto and the Kuiper Belt is like conducting an archaeological dig into the history of the outer solar system, a place where we can peek into the ancient era of planetary formation.
The U.S. has a spacecraft on its way to Pluto, on to the Kuiper belt and on to the stars.
Around 20 percent of Kuiper Belt objects have a moon. We think a lot of astronomers are going to be looking now for multiple satellite systems.
The Kuiper Belt is the largest structure in the solar system. We used to think Pluto was a misfit.