Discover the fourth satellite of Pluto

Astronomers with the Hubble space telescope have discovered the fourth satellite of Pluto, AFP reported on July 20.

This small satellite, temporarily named P4 , has a diameter of only 13-24 km.

Pluto (middle) and its 4 satellites. Photo taken on June 28th of Hubble glass shows P4 satellite image - Photo: NASA

The three previously discovered satellites of Pluto are Charon with a diameter of about 1,043 km, Nix and Hydra with a diameter of about 32-113 km.

Two satellites Nix and Hydra were discovered by Hubble in 2005, while the Charon satellite was discovered in 1978 by astronomers of the US Naval Observatory.

The first images of P4 satellites were taken by Hubble's wide field camera 3 on June 28 and further confirmed by photos taken on July 3 and 18.

It is known that Pluto was once classified as the Solar System's ninth planet, but later in 2006, it was confirmed and classified as dwarf planet with Eris and Ceres .