Do the small satellites of Pluto (Nix & Hydra) orbit Pluto itself or do they orbit the barycentre of the Pluto - Charon system?
2007-06-20 09:00:38 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Everything orbits it's system's barycentre. Same for the Earth-Moon or any other system. Except Charon is heavy enough compared to Pluto that the barycentre is outside Pluto itself.
2007-06-20 09:09:20 · answer #1 · answered by anonymous 4 · 6⤊ 1⤋
Since they are both outside the Pluto-Charon system, they orbit the barycenter. I don't think there are any stable orbits around Pluto itself, as apposed to the barycenter.
2007-06-20 09:38:18 · answer #2 · answered by morningfoxnorth 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
As far as I'm aware, all 3 known moons orbit Pluto itself.
2007-06-20 09:45:00 · answer #3 · answered by quantumclaustrophobe 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Barycenter.
.
2007-06-20 09:47:03 · answer #4 · answered by tlbs101 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋