HUBBLE ATLAS
Hubble colour images of Pluto's moons support a common birth (Charon , Hydra , Nix , Pluto) — image from the Hubble Space Telescope

Solar System

Hubble colour images of Pluto's moons support a common birth

March 10, 2006 · ESA/Hubble · Charon , Hydra , Nix , Pluto

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These NASA / ESA Hubble Space Telescope images of Pluto were taken on March 2, 2006, using the High Resolution Channel (HRC) of the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). The image on the left was taken through a blue filter (F435W), and the one on the right was taken through a red filter (F606W). By comparing these two images in detail, astronomers discovered that the surfaces of Pluto's two newly-discovered satellites (S/2005 P 1 and S/2005 P 2, or P1 and P2 for short) have essentially the same colour as Charon's surface.