Can Moons Have Moons? Or Rings? Could Pluto Have A Moon With A Moonlet?
Friday, April 17, 2015 - 12:40
in Astronomy & Space
This is a great question which someone recently asked on Quora - and the answer takes through a number of fascinating areas of astronomy. New Horizons will soon reach Pluto, and is expected to find new moons and possibly a ring system. Could it find a moon of a moon? Or a moon with rings? Or, is that impossible? Is there anywhere else in the solar system that could have moons with moonlets?In the course of our search for an answer, we will find out about why an early satellite released by Apollo 16 unexpectedly crashed into the Moon after an astonishingly short period of time. We'll also encounter the mysteries of Saturn's moon Rhea, and some new discoveries about asteroids with moons, and in one case, a pair of rings! read more