HYC Technology has agreed to buy a 100 percent stake in Suzhou Olyto Automation Technology Co Ltd for 1.04 billion yuan (US$150 million). Of that price, 70% will be paid through a secondary offering, while the rest will be paid in cash. The deal is in line with a guideline for major asset restructurings released by the Shanghai Stock Exchange. HYC Technology first announced its intention to acquire Olyto on Dec. 6. Its application was officially accepted on Mar 27 by the Shanghai bourse.
Nix
Early observations of Nix olyto showed it to be reddish, unlike any of Pluto’s other moons. Recent studies used the Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys to study Nix’s surface features. This explains its peculiar red hue and how it differs from the other moons. During its recent flyby of Pluto’s system, New Horizons also captured images of Nix and discovered six impact craters with a red tint.
The geometry of Nix olyto is not yet known, but the Hubble Space Telescope’s measurements of its geometric albedo and shape suggest that the moon is about 56.3 km long and 25.7 km wide. Similarly, a NASA probe known as New Horizons measured Nix’s size on July 14, 2015, with its Ralph instrument. The two measurements indicate that Nix olyto is 42 km across, and is slightly smaller than its sister planet Hydra.
Nix olyto was named after the Greek goddess of darkness, Nix. The goddess was also the mother of Charon, who is the ferryman of Hades and the dead. It was officially named on June 21st, 2006, and designated Pluto II. The initials N and H (for Nix and Hydra) were chosen deliberately to honor the New Horizons mission, which would fly by the Pluto system less than ten years from the time Nix was named.
The Hubble Space Telescope discovered Nix in June 2005. The Hubble mission photographed the moon from a distance of 640,000 km. In August 2005, a team of astronomers spotted another moon, Hydra, orbiting Pluto. The team named the moon Nix S/2005 P2 after the goddess of darkness. A NASA mission is expected to fly through the Pluto-Charon system again in the near future.
The New Horizons mission captured pictures of the moons of Pluto’s two largest moons, Nix and Hydra, and a close-up of the reddish moon Nix has revealed. In fact, Nix looks like a jelly bean, while Hydra resembles a gray mitten. The scientists behind the mission are studying the moons’ composition and possible impact craters. It is believed that the reddish hue is the result of an impact crater.
Kerberos
Scientists have discovered two new moons orbiting Pluto. These are the moons Kerberos and Styx. Hubble images of the planet and moons suggest that Kerberos is a double lobed object that probably formed when two smaller bodies merged, creating one object. The moons are both highly reflective, which suggests that they are composed of water ice. Hubble also detected two smaller bodies orbiting Pluto called Charon and Nix.
The moons of the Pluto system are named after mythological underworld figures. Kerberos is named after the three-headed dog that guarded Pluto’s domain. Though more commonly spelled Cerberus, Kerberos retains its original Greek name, which is used for an asteroid and a region on Mars. In addition to this, the word Cerberus has other uses, such as being the name of the planet and asteroid, as well as the star Eta Lupi.
The astronomers who discovered Kerberos believe that this moon was created by a merger of two smaller bodies. The object formed in the form of a double-lobed dog bone, with one large lobe measuring approximately 5 kilometers (3 miles) across and the other lobe spanning over eight kilometers (four miles). The discovery of Kerberos has helped scientists understand the origins of the planetary system.
The moon of Pluto, Kerberos, is smaller than scientists expected, and has a highly reflective surface. It appears to be partially covered by a thin layer of clean water ice, and the surface of the moon is also reflective. The images of the moons were captured by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft earlier this summer, but only returned this week. The images show a double-lobed shape, and the moon is 19 miles long. It is thought that the planet and moons came together during Pluto’s collision, and that Kerberos was the smallest of them all.
The moons orbiting Pluto are the most fascinating objects in the solar system. Each one has a unique structure. The most interesting is Kerberos, which looks like two moons stuck together. The two moons were originally separate, but the latter is smaller, which is why it is now called Kerberos. Its dual-lobed shape may have formed during its early history, similar to the Comet 67P.
Styx
The latest image of Olyto Styx from New Horizons was taken on July 13, 12.5 hours before the spacecraft made its closest approach to Pluto. The moon is approximately 631,000 kilometers from Earth and is about half as bright as Kerberos. The highly reflective surface of the moon is visible in the composite image. However, New Horizons is still 391,000 kilometers away from Styx, so the final image may not have great detail.
The moon Styx is the second-closest satellite to Pluto and the fifth to be discovered. Its surface is highly reflective, and scientists suspect that it is bilobate, a merger of several smaller moons. It orbits Pluto every 20.2 days. Scientists have speculated that this small moon was formed by a massive collision between Kerberos and Pluto. However, the most likely explanation is that Styx is not a separate body, but a satellite of Pluto that formed over time.
The base on Styx will handle fluids. Fluids will freeze at Styx’s low temperature, so the base needs to heat up the fluids before pumping them into other tanks inside the base. The flight windows for this mission are dependent on the alignment of planets and the moon. It has not been accomplished yet, but Jupiter is in place to provide gravity assistance once every twelve Earth years. So, there are many questions that remain.
Pluto is one of the most popular names for the fourth planet. The New Horizons spacecraft, whose mission is to discover Pluto’s fifth moon, is already en route to the planet. The New Horizons website offered the public the chance to choose a name for Pluto and its moons. People could vote for their favorite names and the names were submitted to the IAU for approval. It will be a surprise for scientists to see what their favorite names were when their names were revealed.
In addition to the four famous rock bands, Styx has a connection to Pluto’s smallest moon, Styx. In 2012, the Hubble Space Telescope spotted the moon. In 2015, the spacecraft flew by Pluto, and Shaw met with the New Horizons team in Maryland. Despite the fact that Pluto is not named after the band, it is named after the mission’s lead scientist.
Hydra
Hydra is the outermost moon of Pluto and is primarily composed of water ice. It is not large enough to be observed with amateur telescopes. New Horizons image of the surface of Hydra shows two large craters. The size of Hydra is about the same as the moon Nix. It is approximately 34 miles long and 25 miles wide. New Horizons images of Hydra reveal a dark and a light side.
The icy moon Hydra is believed to have formed from an icy debris disk and water-rich mantle that was stripped from the Pluto-Charon binary about 4 billion years ago. Its deep water bands are also reflective, suggesting that little of the surface material of Charon has been contaminated by the giant planet. The moon’s name reflects this fact. In addition, it is thought that Hydra was formed in an icy debris disk that slammed into the planet proto-Pluto billions of years ago.
Though scientists believe that the water ice that makes up Hydra’s surface is mostly composed of nitrogen, their data are still far from conclusive. Hydra’s pixelated image is likely to be more accurate, but further research is needed. For now, this pixelated image will allow scientists to nail down Hydra’s size and shape. The team plans to download more images and information from the orbiting spacecraft in late 2015.
Scientists have now uncovered two moons orbiting Pluto: Hydra and Nix. Both were discovered by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2005. The images of these moons were taken by the probe’s high-resolution imaging instrument. The images are a leap from previous photos. Those astronomers who have studied the moon say the findings will aid in understanding the history of Pluto and its neighbors. The discoveries made by the probe are the latest discoveries in a quest to understand how life on Pluto began.
Scientists are also collecting data on Hydra using the New Horizons mission. This mission has been awarded the National Air and Space Museum Trophy for Current Achievement. The prize is awarded to NASA missions for “impressive” achievements in space science. The mission is continuing to collect data on Hydra and will be able to confirm the presence of water ice on the surface of the moon. Hydra is now the largest moon of the planet and is expected to stay in place for centuries.
