Resonant interactions and chaotic rotation of Pluto’s small moons

@article{Showalter2015ResonantIA,
  title={Resonant interactions and chaotic rotation of Pluto’s small moons},
  author={M. Showalter and D. Hamilton},
  journal={Nature},
  year={2015},
  volume={522},
  pages={45-49}
}
Four small moons—Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra—follow near-circular, near-equatorial orbits around the central ‘binary planet’ comprising Pluto and its large moon, Charon. New observational details of the system have emerged following the discoveries of Kerberos and Styx. Here we report that Styx, Nix and Hydra are tied together by a three-body resonance, which is reminiscent of the Laplace resonance linking Jupiter’s moons Io, Europa and Ganymede. Perturbations by the other bodies, however… Expand
View on Nature
astro.umd.edu
60 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
13
Background Citations
30
Methods Citations
13
Results Citations
5

Tables and Topics from this paper

60 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

Astronomy: Pluto leads the way in planet formation
TLDR
Perturbations by the other bodies inject chaos into this otherwise stable configuration so that Nix and Hydra rotate chaotically, driven by the large torques of the Pluto–Charon binary. Expand
Evolution of a ring around the Pluto-Charon binary
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 the… Expand
Spin-orbit coupling and chaotic rotation for circumbinary bodies. Application to the small satellites of the Pluto-Charon system
We investigate the resonant rotation of circumbinary bodies in planar quasi-circular orbits. Denoting $n_b$ and $n$ the orbital mean motion of the inner binary and of the circumbinary body,… Expand
Chaotic Dynamics in the Planar Gravitational Many-Body Problem with Rigid Body Rotations
TLDR
It is shown that the extent of chaos in parameter space is strongly tied to the deviations from a purely circular orbit, and the existence of homoclinic chaos in the case where one of the orbits is nearly circular by way of the Melnikov method is analytically demonstrated. Expand
Formation and evolution of Pluto's small satellites
Pluto's system of 5 known satellites are in a puzzling orbital configuration. Each of the four small satellites are on low-eccentricity and low-inclination orbits situated near a mean motion… Expand
Obliquity evolution of the minor satellites of Pluto and Charon
Abstract New Horizons mission observations show that the small satellites Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra, of the Pluto–Charon system, have not tidally spun-down to near synchronous spin states and… Expand
On the Early In Situ Formation of Pluto's Small Satellites
The formation of Pluto's small satellites - Styx, Nix, Keberos and Hydra - remains a mystery. Their orbits are nearly circular and are near mean-motion resonances and nearly coplanar with Charon's… Expand
A new inner moon of Neptune
TLDR
Hubble Space Telescope observations of the seventh inner moon of Neptune, Hippocamp, show that it is smaller than the other six, orbits near Proteus and probably originates from a fragment ofproteus, providing further support for the hypothesis that the inner Neptune system has been shaped by numerous impacts. Expand
Rings beyond the giant planets
Until 2013, only the giant planets were known to host ring systems. In June 2013, a stellar occulation revealed the presence of narrow and dense rings around Chariklo, a small Centaur object that… Expand
A Pluto-Charon Sonata: The Dynamical Architecture of the Circumbinary Satellite System
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 few… Expand
...
1
2
3
4
5
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 43 REFERENCES
RESONANCES, CHAOS, AND SHORT-TERM INTERACTIONS AMONG THE INNER URANIAN SATELLITES
The Portia group of Uranian satellites, representing 9 of the planet’s 13 tiny innermost moons, form a densely packed dynamical system. Hubble Space Telescope observations indicate that their orbits… Expand
Orbital resonances in the inner neptunian system. II. Resonant history of Proteus, Larissa, Galatea, and Despina
We investigate the orbital history of the small neptunian satellites discovered by Voyager 2. Over the age of the Solar System, tidal forces have caused the satellites to migrate radially, bringing… Expand
Forced Resonant Migration of Pluto's Outer Satellites by Charon
TLDR
The orbital periods of the two new moons of Pluto are nearly integer multiples of Charon's period, suggesting that they were driven outward by resonant interactions with Charon during its tidal orbital expansion. Expand
Formation and evolution of Pluto's small satellites
Pluto's system of 5 known satellites are in a puzzling orbital configuration. Each of the four small satellites are on low-eccentricity and low-inclination orbits situated near a mean motion… Expand
CIRCUMBINARY CHAOS: USING PLUTO’S NEWEST MOON TO CONSTRAIN THE MASSES OF NIX AND HYDRA
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 moon… Expand
Orbital resonances in the inner neptunian system: I. The 2:1 Proteus–Larissa mean-motion resonance
We investigate the orbital resonant history of Proteus and Larissa, the two largest inner neptunian satellites discovered by Voyager 2 .D ue to tidal migration, these two satellites probably passed… Expand
The Effect of Charon's Tidal Damping on the Orbits of Pluto's Three Moons
Pluto's recently discovered minor moons, Nix and Hydra, have almost circular orbits, and are nearly coplanar with Charon, Pluto's major moon. This is surprising because tidal interactions with Pluto… Expand
THE FORMATION OF PLUTO'S LOW-MASS SATELLITES
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. After… Expand
Chaotic Rotation of Nereid
Abstract The shape and spin of Neptune's outermost satellite Nereid are still unknown. Ground-based photometry indicates large brightness variations, but different observers report very different… Expand
Physical properties of the small moon Aegaeon (Saturn LIII)
Aegaeon (Saturn LIII) is located within an arc of debris near the inner edge of Saturn’s G ring [1], and is the currently the smallest isolated moon of Saturn known [2]. On January 27, 2010 the… Expand
...
1
2
3
4
5
...