Astrophysics (Index)About

Pluto

(134340 Pluto)
(dwarf planet formerly listed as one of the nine planets)

Pluto (134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet (roughly 1180 km radius) in an eccentric orbit ranging roughly from 30 AU (Neptune's orbital radius) to 50 AU. It has a steeper orbital inclination than the eight planets: 17° from the ecliptic. It and Neptune share an orbital resonance with a ratio of 3:2. Pluto was discovered in 1930 and was considered the ninth planet until the discovery of similar objects after discoveries showing Pluto was smaller than previously thought. Characteristics:

Pluto has five known moons:

Charon's mass is 1/6 of Pluto's and its radius about 1/2 Pluto's, by far the largest moon in the solar system compared its host planet/dwarf planet. In comparison, the Moon has 1/81 the mass and 1/4 the radius of Earth, and the Moon/Earth has been referred to as a double planet, since the size ratios of the other known moons to their host planets (Mars, Jupiter, etc.) are far greater. All five moons' have retrograde orbits in comparison to Pluto's own orbit and all five come close to sharing a single orbital plane, which is highly tilted compared to Pluto's.

The New Horizons mission observed Pluto during a 2015 flyby.


(minor planet,KBO,TNO,eccentricity)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moons_of_Pluto
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploration_of_Pluto
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/dwarf-planets/pluto/overview/
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/pluto-moons/
RedshiftParsecs
/Distance
Lightyears
/Lookback Years
  
~030AU~0lynearestPluto
~050AU~0lyfurthestPluto

Referenced by pages:
ammonia (NH3)
astronomical symbol
Ceres
comparator
current sheet
dwarf planet
Earth
equilibrium temperature (Teq)
ethylene (C2H4)
flyby
Ganymede
Haumea
International Astronomical Union (IAU)
Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO)
Kuiper Belt (K Belt)
late heavy bombardment (LHB)
Lowell Observatory
Lowell Proper Motion Survey (G)
Lyapunov time
magnetic field
magnetosphere
Mercury
moon
Neptune
New Horizons (NF1)
obliquity
orbital resonance
planet
Planet Nine
plutoid
retrograde orbit
rotation period
Sedna
solar day
solar system object (SSO)
synchronous orbit
tidal migration
trans-Neptune object (TNO)
Triton

Index