Pluto’s Tiny Moon

A tiny moon has been discovered orbiting the dwarf planet Pluto. It’s a small object between 8 and 20 miles in size and orbits between Pluto’s other moons. In total Pluto has 4 moons, a remarkable identification by Hubble telescope. Nasa’s New Horizons space craft is also trying to get a close up look and plans to arrive by 2015. The space craft will help us answer questions such as: how did these moons come to orbit Pluto? What we do know about Pluto is that it’s an icy body and has a methane atmosphere that freezes and thaws over time. When the temperature drops the atmosphere condenses into snow, but we still have much more to learn.  Also, don’t miss what’s in the night sky this week. All this and more on this week’s Sky Talk.[audio: st20110725.mp3]