Hydra

Hydra — moon orbiting Pluto, explore its interactive 3D model in Cosmoscope.

Explore Hydra in a live 3D Solar System. Follow its calculated motion and inspect real astronomical data, distances and orbital facts.

Pluto’s outermost known moon is a bright, irregular chunk of nearly pure water ice about 50 km long. Like Nix it tumbles chaotically as it circles Pluto and Charon every 38 days.

Radius

18.5 km

Orbit

65k km from Pluto

Period

38.20 days

Discovered

2005 — Hubble, with Nix

Rank

Pluto’s outermost known moon

Shape

About 52 × 37 × 29 km; drawn as a sphere

Surface

Almost pure water ice — very bright

Explore Hydra in 3D

Cosmoscope places Hydra in the Solar System using astronomical ephemeris or orbital elements, updated for the simulation time. Explore its calculated motion, distance and orbital facts in the interactive 3D view. Accuracy depends on the orbital model and its valid time range.