Aster › Space program › Kerberos
Kerberos
Position on the route: 79/130 · level needed 311 · journey (Mk0 engine) 59.1 h
By the numbers
| Size | ≈ 12 × 5 km |
|---|---|
| Year | 32.2 days |
| Distance | 59,000 km |
| Found | 2011, Hubble |
The story
Kerberos is one of Pluto’s small outer moons; Hubble found it in 2011. It is named for Hades’s three-headed guard dog, and its orbit lies between Nix and Hydra. New Horizons saw it close up in 2015: a small body of two merged lobes, with a dark surface, contrary to expectations, so not coated in bright ice.
Like Pluto’s other small moons it tumbles chaotically. The gravity of the Pluto–Charon pair makes the small moons spin irregularly; Kerberos’s dark surface points to a different origin or resurfacing by a collision.
Missions
- Hubble (2011): discovery
- New Horizons (2015): close imaging
Colony note
Small and dark; an outpost for the Pluto system.
What probes bring back
- A small moon of Pluto (≈ 12 × 5 km): New Horizons (2015) showed a dark surface, against expectations, and two lobes. Found by Hubble in 2011.
- Like Pluto’s other small moons it spins chaotically; the orbit takes 32 days.