Missing Moon Discovered Orbiting Pluto, Astronomers Stunned

March 15, International News Network - In a discovery that upends decades ofscientific belief, astronomers at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii announced today that theyhave detected a previously unknown moon orbiting the dwarf planet Pluto.

"For as long as we have observed Pluto, we believed that it had five known moons," saidlead astronomer Dr. Akhil Reed Amar. "Now, we have discovered a sixth moon, estimatedto be nearly half the size of Charon, Pluto's largest moon. This discovery completely reshapesour understanding of the Pluto system."

The new moon, which has not yet been officially named, was detected via high-resolutionimages obtained using the Keck telescope's adaptive optics system. "Its gravity appears tohave gravitationally disturbed the orbits of Pluto's other moons," Dr. Amar explained. "Backtrackingits orbit, we believe the new moon may have been present for billions of years."

Pluto's system of moons is thought to be a relic of the early Solar System's formation. Thediscovery of this new, significant moon challenges prevailing models of solar systemdynamics and moons' capture or formation. " Computer simulations suggest that a moonof this size could not have formed in or been gravitationally captured by Pluto'system during the last 4.5 billion years," said theoretical astrophysicist Dr. Emma Wu.

"Its origin remains an open question, and it's a mystery we have yet to solve."

News of the discovery has shocked astronomers worldwide and led to calls for furtherstudy. "Observations are urgently needed to confirm this finding and better characterize thenew moon, including its size, mass, composition and orbit," said Dr. Amar. "Only thencan we establish what scientific knowledge it adds to our understanding of the cosmos."

In a brief statement, NASA congratulated the team's "groundbreaking astronomical achievement"and pledged continued support for exploration and discovery. The International AstronomicalUnion will host an emergency meeting to determine whether the new moon warrants officialdesignation as Pluto's sixth known moon. Its existence stands to wholly transform ourperception of the Pluto system and perhaps the origins of moons themselves.