Mooning Around the Dwarf Planets Quiz

Answer:

Eris is the dwarf planet that led to Pluto being downgraded from its status as a planet. Eris was discovered in 2005 and given the name of the Greek goddess of discord, rather appropriately in view of the commotion caused by the discovery. The only moon of Eris so far discovered was given the name Dysnomia, the name of the daughter of Eris in myth and the spirit of lawlessness. Namaka is one of the two moons associated with the dwarf planet Haumea - the other is Hi'iake. All three names come from Hawai'ian myth with Haumea being the goddess of fertility, Namaka being a water spirit and Hi'iake the patron goddess of the islands. All of them were discovered between 2003 and 2005.

Vanth is a moon of the dwarf planet Orcus, which was identified in 2004. Orcus was named for a Roman god of the underworld while Vanth, found in 2005, was named in 2009 after an Etruscan deity who guided the dead to the underworld. Actaea is a moon of Salacia, a planetoid discovered in 2004 - whether it is a dwarf planet or not is still being debated. Salacia is named for Neptune's wife who is a goddess of sea water while Actaea is named for a sea nymph. Illmare is a moon of Varda, another planetoid whose status as a possible dwarf planet is still uncertain. Varda and Illmare are both named for characters created by J R R Tolkien as mythological beings worshipped by the elves in his Middle Earth fantasy series.

Quaoar is a dwarf planet discovered in 2002 and named for the creator god of the Native American Tongva people. When its moon was discovered five years later, the Tongvas were asked to suggest a name for it and came up with Weywot, the son of Quaoar and god of the sky. Xiangliu was identified in 2010 as a moon of Gonggong, itself found only in 2007. Both names come from Chinese myth with Gonggong being a water god responsible for causing flooding and chaos while Weywot is a snake monster and minister to Gonggong, and also blamed for floods and catastrophe.

The other five moons listed all belong to Pluto, the planet demoted to dwarf planet status in 2006. First found in 1930, Pluto was given the name of the Roman god of the underworld. Charon, the largest of Pluto's moons, was found in 1978 with its name coming from that of the man who ferried the dead. The other four moons were found later, in the twenty-first century, two in 2005, another in 2011 and the final one (to date) in 2012. Nix and Hydra were found at the same time, using the Hubble Space Telescope, and named for the Greek goddess of the night and the nine-headed serpent killed by Hercules respectively. Kerberos was also found thanks to the Hubble telescope, in 2011, and given the Greek spelling of the name of Cerberus, the three-headed dog. Styx is the smallest known moon of Pluto, with its discovery confirmed in 2012. The name comes from that of the river of the underworld in keeping with the themes of Pluto and the other moons.

The incorrect options are two moons of Neptune, Despina and Halimede, two of Saturn, Tethys and Kiviuq, Trinculo and Sycorax from Uranus and Jupiter's moons Cyllene and Amalthea.