What is Pluto?
Pluto is a small, icy world that orbits the sun far out in the solar system. It’s only about half the width of the United States, and it’s so cold that its surface is mostly frozen nitrogen.
But what Pluto lacks in size and warmth, it makes up for in personality. This planetary body has captivated the hearts and minds of millions of people all over the world.
Is Pluto a Planet?
Pluto is actually a dwarf planet that is located in the Kuiper Belt, a region of the solar system beyond Neptune.
It’s about 3.67 billion miles from the sun, making it the most distant known object in the solar system.
Pluto is only about 1,473 miles wide or about half the size of the United States and has a very thin atmosphere.
Despite its distance from the sun, Pluto is an interesting world to explore.
It is compositionally similar to many other objects inhabiting the Kuiper belt.
The surface of Pluto is characterized by mountains, frozen plains, and valleys that may have been formed by tectonic activity or impact cratering. However, there is no direct evidence of current geological activity.
There are also signs of past glaciations on its surface.
Who Discovered Pluto?
American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh was searching for a planet beyond Neptune. He finally found it when he spotted a “moving object” in one of his telescope’s photographs.
This moving object turned out to be Pluto! Pluto was officially classified as a planet soon after its discovery.
When was Pluto Discovered?
Pluto was discovered on February 18, 1930, by the aforementioned Clyde William Tombaugh from the Lowell Observatory located in Flagstaff, Arizona. Tombaugh was an American Astronomer who is also known for discovering many asteroids.
So, Is Pluto a Planet or Not a Planet?
For many years, Pluto was officially considered to be the ninth major planet in the solar system.
After 1992, its status as a planet was questioned following the discovery of several objects of similar size in the Kuiper belt.
In 2005, Eris, an object comparable to Pluto in size, mass and orbital characteristics, was discovered.
As a result a debate was opened on what exactly defines a “planet”.
As a result, Pluto was eventually reclassified as a “dwarf planet” by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
When did Pluto Stop Being a Planet?
On August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) made a historic decision that changed the way we think about our solar system. They decided that Pluto is no longer a Major planet. Rather it was reclassified as a “Dwarf planet”.
Should Pluto be Classified as a Major Planet?
Even though Pluto is located in our Solar System and orbits the Sun, the major debate about Pluto being a Major planet centers mostly around Pluto’s size.
All of the other 8 major planets are much larger than Pluto. It is actually about half the size of the United States.
In our (biased) opinion, even though Pluto is classified as a Dwarf planet, we think that it still should be listed as the 9th planet along with the other 8 major planets which are (in order):
- Mercury
- Venus
- Earth
- Mars
- Jupiter
- Saturn
- Uranus
- and Neptune. Pluto was the 9th listed major planet until 2006.
How to See Pluto
You can view Pluto from a telescope. What you will need however, is a powerful telescope.
Additionally, If you want to get a good look at Pluto, the best time to do it is during the dark hours of night.
Because Pluto appears as a faint star, You will need a telescope with a large aperture to view it.
Does Pluto Orbit the Sun?
Yes, Pluto does orbit the Sun. Pluto’s orbit is actually a bit of an eccentric situation. It doesn’t orbit the sun in the same way that Earth and other planets do.
Instead, its orbit is more elliptical. And, because of this, there are times when Pluto is closer to the sun than Neptune is.
So, technically and scientifically speaking, Pluto definitely orbits the sun. But, it’s not a traditional circular orbit like we’re used to seeing.
How Large is Pluto?
Pluto is relatively small—about half the width of the United States (1,473 miles—and has an eccentric and highly elliptical orbit.
Pluto’s orbit takes it as far as 49 AU (7.4 billion km) from the Sun and brings it closer to the Sun than Neptune for 20 years out of the every 248 years it completes its orbit around the Sun.
Pluto has a radius of 1,188 kilometers and a diameter of 2,376 kilometers. This gives Plutos a diameter of about 2/3rds of that the Moon.
It has an average density of about 2 g/cm3 (0.076 lb/cu in), or approximately 60% that of water. It is composed of approximately equal parts of rock and ice by mass.
Does Pluto have Moons?
Yes, Pluto has 5 Moons:
- Charon (the largest moon, with a diameter just over half that of Pluto),
- Styx
- Nix
- Kerberos
- And Hydra
Pluto and Charon are sometimes referred to jointly as a binary system.
This is because they are so close in size relative to their separation that they share an equal gravity field.
If one considers them separately, then Charon is classified as a moon of Pluto.
Pluto to Earth Distance? (And Sun)
At it’s furthest distance (during it’s elliptical orbit), Pluto is about 4.6 billion miles (4.8 billion kilometers) from earth. That’s about 40 times the distance from Earth to the sun!
At it’s closest point, Pluto is 2.66 billion miles away from Earth. This major discrepancy in distance is due to Plutos highly elliptical orbit.
As mentioned, Pluto’s orbit is highly elliptical, with an average distance from the sun of about 3.67 billion miles (6.0 billion kilometers).
Because of their different orbits, sometimes Pluto can be closer to the sun than Neptune is.
When this happens, we say that Neptune is “out of sorts.” But no worries, this only happens for only about 20 years during its 248 year orbit.
Does Pluto have an Atmosphere?
Pluto does have an atmosphere, but it’s incredibly thin. It’s made mostly of nitrogen, some methane, and a little bit of carbon monoxide thrown in.
The atmospheric pressure on Pluto is only about 1/100,000th that of Earth’s atmosphere at sea level! So it’s pretty safe to say you wouldn’t want to breathe it in.
The average temperature on Pluto is minus 232 degrees Celsius or minus 387 degrees Fahrenheit. This would make for a very cool day on Earth to say the least!
What is Pluto Made of?
Most of Pluto is made of rock and ice. The exact composition depends on which part of Pluto you’re talking about, but in general it’s thought to be about 70% rock and 30% ice by weight.
The ice includes water ice, as well as frozen nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane ices.
One fascinating fact about Pluto is that it has giant ice volcanoes on it. Pluto, however is not classified as an ice giant.
Does Pluto Orbit the Sun?
Yes, indeed it does! It takes 248 years for Pluto to make one orbit around the sun (which means it hasn’t even completed one full orbit since it was discovered in 1930!).
One day on Pluto is equivalent to approximately 6.4 Earth days.
Pluto Summary: Key Points
- It is about half the width of the United States (1,473 miles).
- Its surface is mostly nitrogen ice with methane and carbon monoxide ices.
- Pluto has five moons: Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra.
- Despite its small size and remote location, Pluto continues to fascinate scientists and the public alike.
- Pluto is located in the solar system!
- It was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh and was originally considered the ninth planet from the sun.
- Its orbit is elliptical in that it is not circular and it crosses Neptune’s orbit.
- In 2006, Pluto was officially re-classified as a “dwarf planet” by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
- Pluto is located in the Kuiper Belt, which is a region beyond Neptune.
Questions & Answers
Q. What is the largest moon of Pluto?
A. Charon
Q. When was Pluto demoted from a planet to a dwarf planet?
A. August 24, 2006
Q. Who discovered Pluto?
A. Clyde Tombaugh
Q. What is the average temperature on Pluto?
A. Minus 387 degrees fahrenheit.
Q. What is the atmosphere of Pluto mainly composed of?
A. Nitrogen
Q. How long is a day on Pluto?
A. 6.4 Earth days
Q. How long is a year on Pluto?
A. 248 Earth years
Q. What is the orbital path of Pluto around the Sun?
A. Elliptical
Q. What is the average distance from Pluto to the Sun?
A. 3.67 billion miles
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