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Topic: Pluto's Two Small Moons Christened Nix and Hydra

B.J.
Space Cadet
Member # 858

posted

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=20163

quote:
In mythology, Nix is the goddess of darkness and night, befitting a satellite orbiting distant Pluto, the god of the underworld. Nix is also the mother of Charon, relevant to the giant impact believed to have created Pluto's three satellites, indicating Charon was borne of the material from which Nix formed. Hydra is the terrifying monster with the body of a serpent and nine heads, befitting the outermost moon of Pluto, the ninth planet in the solar system.

B.J.

Registered: Jul 2002 | IP: Logged

MinutiaeMan
Living the Geeky Dream
Member # 444

posted

It's a damn sight better than "Xena" and "Gabrielle"... [Roll Eyes]

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“Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov
Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha

Registered: Nov 2000 | IP: Logged

Lee
I'm a spy now. Spies are cool.
Member # 393

posted

Nix?! Oh, he'll be insufferable now. . .

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Never mind the Phlox - Here's the Phase Pistols

Registered: Jul 2000 | IP: Logged

Jason Abbadon
Rolls with the punches.
Member # 882

posted

quote:
Originally posted by MinutiaeMan:
It's a damn sight better than "Xena" and "Gabrielle"...

Fuck yeah.

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Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering.
-Aeschylus, Agamemnon

Registered: Aug 2002 | IP: Logged

Krenim
Unholy Triangle Fella
Member # 22

posted

quote:
Originally posted by MinutiaeMan:
It's a damn sight better than "Xena" and "Gabrielle"...

"Xena" and "Gabrielle" are the informal names used for 2003 UB₃₁₃ and its moon, and most newly-discovered astronomical objects get cutesy nicknames like those before they get formal names. They should get formal names this September, when the International Astronomical Union finally gets around to deciding if 2003 UB₃₁₃ is a planet or not.

Anyway, Nix and Hydra for Pluto's new moons? I like.

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"Kirito? I killed a thing and now it says I have XPs! Is that bad? Am I dying?"

-Asuna, Episode 2, Sword Art Online Abridged

Registered: Mar 1999 | IP: Logged

TSN
I'm... from Earth.
Member # 31

posted

I'm moving today, and I probably won't have Internet at my new place for a week or so. But, before I go, I just want to say : excellent naming choices. (Certainly better than a moon named "Kelly", at any rate.)

Registered: Mar 1999 | IP: Logged

Dat
Huh?
Member # 302

posted

Fortunately they were not named Tim and Nix.

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Is it Friday yet?

Registered: Feb 2000 | IP: Logged

AndrewR
Resident Nut-cache
Member # 44

posted

Nix and Hydra - nice!

*cough* I don't mind Xena and Gabrielle! [Smile]

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"Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)

I'm LIZZING! - Liz Lemon (30 Rock)

Registered: Mar 1999 | IP: Logged

Lee
I'm a spy now. Spies are cool.
Member # 393

posted

Hey, there was a battlecruiser HMS Kelly. It sank. Was sunk, that is, due to the uselessness of its commander (Mountbatten) and the untimely intervention of the Luftwaffe. I bet one of the Kraut pilots was called Nix, too.

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Never mind the Phlox - Here's the Phase Pistols

Registered: Jul 2000 | IP: Logged

TSN
I'm... from Earth.
Member # 31

posted

(Public service announcement : Just so you know, "Nix" is an English name.)

Registered: Mar 1999 | IP: Logged

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