THE SMALL MOON
Kerberos is one of the five known moons
of Pluto.
It was discovered in 2011 using the
Hubble Space Telescope and was originally
designated S/2011 (134340) 1.
The moon is very small and has an
irregular shape. Images from the New
Horizons mission showed that Kerberos
appears to consist of two connected
lobes, giving it a distinctive shape.
Kerberos orbits Pluto beyond the orbit
of Nix and before the orbit of Hydra.
Because of its small size and distance,
very little is known about its surface
and internal structure.
~19 km
ESTIMATED SIZE
2011
DISCOVERED
6.4 DAYS
ORBITAL PERIOD
PLUTO
PRIMARY
IRREGULAR
SHAPE
5TH
KNOWN PLUTO MOON
KERBEROS FEATURES
TWO LOBES
Kerberos appears to have a distinctive
two-lobed shape, possibly formed when
two smaller bodies merged together.
NEW HORIZONS
The spacecraft photographed Kerberos
during its historic flyby of the Pluto
system in 2015.
MYTHOLOGY
Kerberos is named after Cerberus,
the multi-headed guardian of the
underworld in Greek mythology.
DID YOU KNOW?
Kerberos is so small that it is only
about 20 kilometres across,
yet it is one of Pluto's five known moons.
A TINY MEMBER OF THE PLUTO SYSTEM
Kerberos is a very small irregular moon orbiting between Nix and Hydra. Images from New Horizons indicate a two-lobed shape, although its small dimensions limit the amount of surface detail that can be resolved.
Even tiny moons matter dynamically: their orbits help researchers reconstruct the architecture and possible collisional origin of Pluto's satellite family.
ORBONIX · SOLAR SYSTEM
PLUTO SYSTEM · KERBEROS
PLUTO SYSTEM · KERBEROS