The science wonks at the AP wrote:
LOS ANGELES -- Meet the newest kids in the solar system: Nix and Hydra. The pair of moons orbiting Pluto were officially christened last week by the International Astronomical Union, which is in charge of approving celestial names.
Until last year, scientists thought Pluto was accompanied by only one moon, Charon. But the Hubble Space Telescope spotted the two satellites -- more than twice as far away as Charon and many times fainter.
[...]
Nix was originally spelled "Nyx" by Stern's group. Nyx is the Greek goddess of darkness and Hydra is the nine-headed serpent that guarded the underworld. Pluto is the Roman god of the underworld.
But since a near-Earth object was already called Nyx, the IAU decided to tweak the spelling to "Nix" to avoid confusion.
Until last year, scientists thought Pluto was accompanied by only one moon, Charon. But the Hubble Space Telescope spotted the two satellites -- more than twice as far away as Charon and many times fainter.
[...]
Nix was originally spelled "Nyx" by Stern's group. Nyx is the Greek goddess of darkness and Hydra is the nine-headed serpent that guarded the underworld. Pluto is the Roman god of the underworld.
But since a near-Earth object was already called Nyx, the IAU decided to tweak the spelling to "Nix" to avoid confusion.
Time to switch mythologies! They already named Sedna after an Inuit goddess -- time to tap those reserves of Egyptian, Assyrian, Aztec or something else. I'd be willing to donate my old Deities & Demigods to the IAU if it'll help.