Pluto's Newly Found Moons get Names

Two newly found moons orbiting the last known planet in our solar system, Pluto, have been officially named as ‘Nix’ and ‘Hydra’.

The pair of moons orbiting Pluto was officially christened last week by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), which is the body in charge of approving celestial names.

The names were selected by their discoverers, led by Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado in the United States. The names, with roots in Greek mythology, were chosen in part because the first letter of each, "N" and "H," matched the initials of the New Horizons spacecraft, as a tribute to the spacecraft, which blasted off earlier this year on a nine year mission to study Pluto, Stern informed Wednesday.

Before this, the duo had been known by an uninspiring combination of letters and numbers - S/2005 P 2 and S/2005 P 1. Earlier this year, the moons' discoverers, led by Alan Stern, submitted their choices to the IAU.

In Greek mythology-‘Nix’, initially spelt ‘Nyx’ but altered because a near Earth object already had that spelling, is named after the Greek goddess of darkness, while Hydra gets its name from a nine headed serpent that preserved the world beneath the heaven. And they’re in good company - Pluto is named after the Roman God of the Underworld and its first discovered moon Charon is the Greek ferryman of the dead.

Stern said he wasn't disappointed by the spelling change because the pronunciation and significance of the names were still unimpaired. "The joke was that they nixed Nyx," Stern said.

Both the names passed by a majority vote, said Brian Marsden, a Harvard astronomer and IAU committee member.

This northern summer, the IAU will discuss whether Pluto should remain classified as a planet. Its future became unclear after the discovery of an icy object, last year, slightly larger than it in the Kupiter Belt. The IAU will argue whether to demote Pluto or add other planets.