luto

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This article is about the dwarf planet. For other uses, see Pluto (disambiguation).

Pluto

Near-true-color image composite of Pluto taken by the New

Horizons spacecraft on 14 July 2015 from a distance of
450,000 kilometers

Discovery

Discovered by

Clyde W. Tombaugh

Discovery date

18 February 1930

Designations

MPC designation

Pronunciation
Named after

134340 Pluto

/pluto/

Pluto

Minor planet category

Dwarf planet
Trans-Neptunian object
Plutoid
Kuiper belt object
Plutino
Adjectives

Plutonian
Orbital characteristics[4][a]
Epoch J2000

Aphelion
49.319 AU
(7311000000 km)
Perihelion
29.656 AU
(4437000000 km)
(5 September 1989)[1]
Semi-major axis
39.487 AU
(5874000000 km)
Eccentricity

0.24897

Orbital period
247.94 years[2]
90570 d[2]
14164.4 Plutonian solar
days[3]
Synodic period

366.73 days[2]

Average orbital speed

4.67 km/s[2]

Mean anomaly

14.85 deg

Inclination
17.1405
(11.88 to Sun's equator)
Longitude of ascending node

110.301

Argument of perihelion

113.777

Known satellites

5
Physical characteristics

Mean radius
11862 km[5]
0.18 Earths
Surface area
1.77107 km2[b]
0.035 Earths
Volume
6.99109 km3[c]
0.0064 Earths
Mass
(1.3050.007)1022 kg[6]
0.0022 Earths
0.178 Moons
Mean density

1.870.02 g/cm3[d]

Surface gravity
0.620 m/s2[e]
0.063 g
Escape velocity

1.212 km/s[f]

Sidereal rotation period

6.387230 d
6 d, 9 h, 17 m, 36 s
Equatorial rotation velocity

47.18 km/h

Axial tilt

119.5910.014 (to orbit)[6][g]

North poleright ascension

132.993[7]

North poledeclination

6.163[7]

Albedo

0.49 to 0.66 (geometric, varies by

35%)[2][8]

Surface temp.

min

mean

max

Kelvin

33 K

44 K (229 C)

55 K

Apparent magnitude

13.65[2] to 16.3[9]
(mean is 15.1)[2]

Absolute magnitude (H)

0.7[10]

Angular diameter

0.06 to 0.11[2][h]
Atmosphere

Surface pressure

0.30 Pa (summer maximum) to

1.0 Pa[12]

Composition by volume

Nitrogen, methane, carbon

monoxide[11]

Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring
of bodies beyond Neptune. It was the first Kuiper belt object to be discovered. It is the largest
and second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the ninth-largest and
tenth-most-massive known object directly orbiting the Sun. It is the largest known transNeptunian object by volume but is less massive than Eris, a dwarf planet in the scattered disc.
Like other Kuiper belt objects, Pluto is primarily made of ice and rock [13] and is relatively small
about one-sixth the mass of the Moon and one-third its volume. It has a
moderately eccentric and inclined orbit during which it ranges from 30 to 49 astronomical
units or AU (4.47.3 billion km) from the Sun. This means that Pluto periodically comes closer
to the Sun than Neptune, but a stable orbital resonance with Neptune prevents them from
colliding. In 2014, Pluto was 32.6 AU from the Sun. Light from the Sun takes about 5.5 hours to
reach Pluto at its average distance (39.4 AU).[14]
Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh, and was originally considered the ninth
planet from the Sun. After 1992, its status as a planet fell into question following the discovery
of several objects of similar size in the Kuiper belt. In 2005, Eris, which is 27% more massive
than Pluto, was discovered, which led the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to define the
term "planet" formally for the first time the following year.[15] This definition excluded Pluto and

reclassified it as a member of the new "dwarf planet" category (and specifically as a plutoid).
[16]
Some astronomers think that Pluto and the other dwarf planetsshould be considered
planets.[17][18][19]
Pluto has five known moons: Charon (the largest, with a diameter just over half that of
Pluto), Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra.[20] Pluto and Charon are sometimes considered a binary
system because the barycenter of their orbits does not lie within either body.[21] The IAU has not
formalized a definition for binary dwarf planets, and Charon is officially classified as a moon of
Pluto.[22]
On 14 July 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft became the first spacecraft to fly by Pluto.[23][24]
[25]
During its brief flyby, New Horizons made detailed measurements and observations of Pluto
and its moons.[26]
Contents
[hide]

1 History
o

1.1 Discovery

1.2 Name

1.3 Planet X disproved

1.4 Classification
1.4.1 IAU classification

2 Orbit
2.1 Relationship with Neptune

2.1.1 Other factors

2.2 Quasi-satellite
3 Rotation

3.1 Daylight
4 Geology

4.1 Surface

4.2 Internal structure

5 Mass and size

6 Atmosphere

7 Satellites

8 Origin

9 Observation and exploration

o

9.1 Observation

9.2 Exploration

10 Gallery
10.1 Videos

11 See also

12 Notes

13 References

14 External links

History
Discovery
Further information: Planets beyond Neptune

Discovery photographs of Pluto

Clyde Tombaugh, in Kansas

In the 1840s, Urbain Le Verrier used Newtonian mechanics to predict the position of the thenundiscovered planet Neptuneafter analysing perturbations in the orbit of Uranus.[27] Subsequent
observations of Neptune in the late 19th century led astronomers to speculate that Uranus's
orbit was being disturbed by another planet besides Neptune.
In 1906, Percival Lowella wealthy Bostonian who had founded the Lowell
Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, in 1894started an extensive project in search of a possible
ninth planet, which he termed "Planet X".[28] By 1909, Lowell andWilliam H. Pickering had
suggested several possible celestial coordinates for such a planet.[29] Lowell and his
observatory conducted his search until his death in 1916, but to no avail. Unknown to Lowell,
his surveys had captured two faint images of Pluto on 19 March and 7 April 1915, but they
were not recognized for what they were.[29][30] There are fourteen other
known prediscovery observations, with the oldest made by the Yerkes Observatory on
20 August 1909.[31]
Percival's widow, Constance Lowell, attempted to wrest the observatory's million-dollar portion
of his legacy for herself. Because of that ten-year legal battle, the search for Planet X did not
resume until 1929.[32] Vesto Melvin Slipher, the observatory director, summarily handed the job
of locating Planet X to 23-year-old Clyde Tombaugh, who had just arrived at the Lowell
Observatory after Slipher had been impressed by a sample of his astronomical drawings. [32]
Tombaugh's task was to systematically image the night sky in pairs of photographs, then
examine each pair and determine whether any objects had shifted position. Using a blink
comparator, he rapidly shifted back and forth between views of each of the plates to create the
illusion of movement of any objects that had changed position or appearance between
photographs. On 18 February 1930, after nearly a year of searching, Tombaugh discovered a
possible moving object on photographic plates taken on 23 and 29 January of that year. A
lesser-quality photograph taken on 21 January helped confirm the movement.[33] After the
observatory obtained further confirmatory photographs, news of the discovery was telegraphed
to the Harvard College Observatory on 13 March 1930.[29]

Name
See also: Venetia Burney
The discovery made headlines around the globe. The Lowell Observatory, which had the right
to name the new object, received more than 1,000 suggestions from all over the world, ranging
from Atlas to Zymal.[34] Tombaugh urged Slipher to suggest a name for the new object quickly
before someone else did.[34]Constance Lowell proposed Zeus, then Percival and
finally Constance. These suggestions were disregarded.[35]
The name Pluto, after the god of the underworld, was proposed by Venetia Burney (1918
2009), a then eleven-year-old schoolgirl in Oxford, England, who was interested in classical
mythology.[36] She suggested it in a conversation with her gran