Oct 31 2005
From The Space Library
Scientists using the HST announced that they had discovered two additional moons orbiting Pluto, increasing the number of Pluto's known moons to three. Planetary scientists with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory had found two moons, of approximately 30 to 100 miles (48 to 161 kilometers) in diameter, orbiting Pluto at distances of 30,000 miles (48,000 kilometers) and 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers), respectively. Because of Pluto's diminutive size, elliptical orbit, and compositional material, scientists continued to debate whether or not Pluto is a planet. Some experts believed that the discovery of the two additional moons, provisionally named P1 and P2, supported the classification of Pluto as a planet. (Dennis O'Brien, “Hubble Spots Two Moons Orbiting Smallest Planet,” Baltimore Sun (MD), 1 November 2005.)
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