Pluto's moons get a name

Previously called S/2005 P 2 and S/2005 P 1, the two moons were discovered a year ago in orbit around Pluto.

The discovery of the new bodies was announced on October 31.

"They're the 'Halloween moons' of Pluto," said Alan Stern, a planetary astronomer with the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, whose team made the find.

Stern's team picked the names Nix and Hydra—both figures in Greek mythology—to reflect the underworld theme used in naming objects in the dim reaches of the outer solar system.