# On the existence of regular and irregular outer moons orbiting the Pluto-Charon system

@article{Michaely2015OnTE,
title={On the existence of regular and irregular outer moons orbiting the Pluto-Charon system},
author={Erez Michaely and Hagai B. Perets and Evgeni Grishin},
journal={arXiv: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics},
year={2015}
}
• Published 2015
• Physics
• arXiv: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
The dwarf planet Pluto is known to host an extended system of five co-planar satellites. Previous studies have explored the formation and evolution of the system in isolation, neglecting perturbative effects by the Sun. Here we show that secular evolution due to the Sun can strongly affect the evolution of outer satellites and rings in the system, if such exist. Although precession due to extended gravitational potential from the inner Pluto-Charon binary quench such secular evolution up to \$a_… Expand

#### Figures from this paper

A Pluto–Charon Sonata: The Dynamical Architecture of the Circumbinary Satellite System
• Physics, Geology
• The Astronomical Journal
• 2019
Using a large suite of n-body simulations, we explore the discovery space for new satellites in the Pluto-Charon system. For the adopted masses and orbits of the known satellites, there are fewExpand
A Pluto–Charon Sonata: Dynamical Limits on the Masses of the Small Satellites
• Physics, Geology
• The Astronomical Journal
• 2019
During 2005-2012, images from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) revealed four moons orbiting Pluto-Charon (Weaver et al 2006, Showalter et al 2011, 2012). Although their orbits and geometric shapes areExpand
Stability of exomoons around the Kepler transiting circumbinary planets
• Physics
• 2018
The Kepler mission has detected a number of transiting circumbinary planets (CBPs). Although currently not detected, exomoons could be orbiting some of these CBPs, and they might be suitable forExpand
On the Origin of the Pluto System
• Physics, Geology
• 2020
For six decades following its discovery, Pluto was the only known Sun-orbiting world in the dynamical vicinity of Neptune. An early origin concept postulated that Neptune originally had two largeExpand
A Pluto–Charon Concerto. II. Formation of a Circumbinary Disk of Debris after the Giant Impact
• Physics
• 2021
Using a suite of numerical calculations, we consider the long-term evolution of circumbinary debris from the Pluto–Charon giant impact. Initially, these solids have large eccentricity and pericentersExpand
The wide-binary origin of the Pluto–Charon system
• Physics
• 2020
The Pluto-Charon binary system is the best-studied representative of the binary Kuiper-belt population. Its origins are vital to understanding the formation of other Kupier-belt objects (KBO) andExpand
Pluto system: external stable regions
• Physics
• Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• 2019

#### References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 45 REFERENCES
Evolution of a ring around the Pluto-Charon binary
• Physics
• 2015
We consider the formation of satellites around the Pluto-Charon binary. An early collision between the two partners likely produced the binary and a narrow ring of debris, out of which arose theExpand
On the Inclination Distribution of the Jovian Irregular Satellites
• Physics
• 2002
Irregular satellites—moons that occupy large orbits of significant eccentricity e and/or inclination I—circle each of the giant planets. The irregulars often extend close to the orbital stabilityExpand
THE FORMATION OF PLUTO'S LOW-MASS SATELLITES
• Physics
• 2013
Motivated by the New Horizons mission, we consider how Pluto's small satellites—currently Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra—grow in debris from the giant impact that forms the Pluto-Charon binary. AfterExpand
No circumbinary planets transiting the tightest Kepler binaries – a possible fingerprint of a third star
• Physics
• 2015
The Kepler mission has yielded the discovery of eight circumbinary systems, all found around eclipsing binaries with periods greater than 7 d. This is longer than the typical eclipsing binary periodExpand
A triple origin for the lack of tight coplanar circumbinary planets around short-period binaries
• Physics
• 2016
Transiting circumbinary planets are more easily detected around short-period than long-period binaries, but none have yet been observed by {\it Kepler} orbiting binaries with periods shorter thanExpand
Planet Migration and Binary Companions: The Case of HD 80606b
The exosolar planet HD 80606b has a highly eccentric (e = 0.93) and tight (a = 0.47 AU) orbit. We study how it might arrive at such an orbit and how it has avoided being tidally circularized untilExpand
The orbits and masses of satellites of Pluto
• Physics
• 2015
Abstract We present the numerically integrated orbits of Pluto’s satellites. The orbits have been fit to a data set that includes Earth-based and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) astrometry of Charon,Expand
Secular Dynamics in Hierarchical Three-Body Systems
• Physics
• 2013
The secular approximation for the evolution of hierarchical triple configurations has proven to be very useful in many astrophysical contexts, from planetary to triple-star systems. In thisExpand
THE OBSERVED ORBITAL PROPERTIES OF BINARY MINOR PLANETS
• Physics
• 2010
Many binary minor planets (BMPs; both binary asteroids and binary trans-Neptunian objects) are known to exist in the solar system. The currently observed orbital and physical properties of BMPs holdExpand
CIRCUMBINARY CHAOS: USING PLUTO’S NEWEST MOON TO CONSTRAIN THE MASSES OF NIX AND HYDRA
• Physics
• 2012
The Pluto system provides a unique local laboratory for the study of binaries with multiple low-mass companions. In this paper, we study the orbital stability of P4, the most recently discovered moonExpand