Рассказ о планете плутон

Плутон – бывший объект Солнечной системы, перенесенный в разряд карликовых планет по причине малого веса, недостаточного для притягивания других космических тел. Изучен недостаточно из-за удаленности, представляет повышенный интерес для ученых.

Физические характеристики

Подробные характеристики и сведения о состоянии космического тела были получены лишь в 2015 году после сближения Плутона со спутником New Horizons.

• диаметр: 2376,6 км;
• масса: 1,3х10^22 кг – 0,0022 массы планета Земля;
• температура: -230 градусов по Цельсию;
• средняя удаленность от Солнца: 7,4 млрд км или 39,4 а.е;
• скорость вращения по орбите: 4,7 км/с;
• плотность: 2 г/см3;
• полярный радиус: 1153 км;
• отражательная способность поверхности: 0,4.

Интересный факт: масса Плутона рассчитана приблизительно. Ученые руководствовались третьим законом Кеплера, который допускает погрешность в пределах 1%.

Орбита

Орбита имеет форму вытянутого эллипса. На один оборот вокруг звезды Плутон тратит 248 лет. За этот период расстояние до Солнца постоянно меняется: уменьшается до 30 а.е (астрономических единиц) и удаляется до 39 а.е., где 1 а.е. равна 150 млн км. Наклон плоскости вращения составляет угол в 17 градусов относительно других планет.

Поскольку положение орбиты непостоянно: в одних случаях ниже плоскости эклиптики, в других выше, то Плутон время от времени меняется местами с Нептуном, находящимся ближе к Солнцу. Предположение о том, что карликовый объект был его спутником, было опровергнуто лишь по той причине, что уже несколько миллионов лет их орбиты находятся в постоянном резонансе в соотношении 3:2. Это значит, что за одно и тоже время одна из планет обращается вокруг Солнца три раза, а другая всего лишь два. Пока ученым удается прогнозировать поведение орбит Нептуна и Плутона, но на перспективу этот вопрос остается открытым

Внутреннее строение

Планета состоит из трех составляющих элементов:

• атмосферы, представленной тонким слоем метана, азота и окиси углерода;
• мантии, толщиной в 250 км, состоящей из воды и льда;
• ядра диаметром в 1772 км, представляющего смесь камней и льда.

Выводы предположительные, сделаны на основе спектрального анализа, поскольку планета мало изучена.

Интересный факт: лед на Плутоне значительно прочнее, чем закаленная сталь, и составляет третью часть всей планеты.

Атмосфера и поверхность

Несмотря на то, что большая часть поверхности Плутона покрыта льдами, мощные телескопы зафиксировали неоднородную по цветовой гамме поверхность. На снимках были обнаружены:

• кратеры;
• углубления;
• равнины;
• ледяные глыбы.

В 2015 году обнаружена горная цепь, представляющая собой замерзшую смесь метана, азота и окиси углерода. На Плутоне есть газообразная атмосфера. Ее большая часть состоит из азота. В меньшей степени присутствуют метан и окись углерода. Такой состав исключает зарождение жизни даже в самой примитивной форме.

В период нахождения планеты в максимальной близости к Солнцу лед принимает иное состояние: газообразное. После удаления от небесного светила он превращается в кристаллы, опускающиеся на поверхность и образующие своеобразную корку.

Температура

До перехода в разряд карликовых небесных тел Плутон считали самой холодной планетой. Температура здесь опускается до -230-240 градусов по Цельсию. Сильные морозы обусловлены огромной удаленностью от Солнца: 7,4 миллиарда км, но из-за характерного строения орбиты атмосфера иногда становится газом, а затем замерзает и выпадает на поверхность.

Однако температурный режим не везде одинаков. Метан способен создавать парниковый эффект, поэтому на некоторой высоте от поверхности показатели повышаются, но незначительно: на 10 – 20 градусов по Цельсию.

Цвет

До 2015 года относительно окраса поверхности Плутона были только предположения. Поскольку большая часть планеты состоит изо льда, то и цвет должен быть соответствующий: белый с серыми и светло-синими оттенками. Однако на фотографиях, которые удалось сделать с помощью телескопа, явно просматривается иная палитра: светло-желтая, местами переходящая в более темные тона.

Есть ли жизнь на Плутоне

Для зарождения жизни на планете нет никаких условий:

• огромная удаленность от Солнца;
• низкая температура, при которой превращается в лед не только вода, но и газы: метан, азот и окись углерода;
• давление на поверхности в миллион с лишним раз ниже земного;
• газообразный атмосферный слой;
• поверхность, покрытая ледяной коркой.

Атмосфера постоянно меняется в зависимости от приближения или удаления от Солнца. В подобной среде невозможно даже предположить зарождение, а уж тем более существование жизни.

Интересный факт: если на Земле вес человека составляет 90 кг, то на Плутоне всего лишь 5,5 кг.

Спутники Плутона

У Плутона пять спутников:

1. Харон – открыт в 1978 году, в два раза меньше Плутона, диаметр – 1212 км, значительно отличается по составу. Предположительно, спутник является осколками самой планеты, выброшенными при столкновении, а потому и габариты более скромные.
2. Никта – обнаружен в 2005 году при помощи телескопа Хаббл, первоначальный диаметр – 45 км. Перемещается по орбите с той же скоростью, что и Харон, а с Гидрой находится в резонансном соотношении 3:2. Длительность одного витка вокруг Плутона составляет 25 дней.
3. Гидра – открыт в 2005 году, удален от Плутона на 65 000 км. Диаметр, исходя из уровня яркости, варьируется от 40 до 60 км, на орбитальный путь уходит 32 дня. Данных о составе спутника нет, но есть предположение о ледяной мантии и каменном ядре.
4. Кербер – обнаружен в 2011 году, располагается между Гидрой и Никтой. Предположительная причина образования – столкновение Плутона с более крупным космическим телом, диаметр – 13-34 км, большая полуось – 59 000 км, время обращения – 32 дня.
5. Стикс – открыт в 2012 году, самый маленький из пяти. От Плутона удален на 58 000 миль, диаметр – 10-25 км, один оборот преодолевает за 19 дней, большая полуось – 42 000 км. Иные физические данные не установлены.

Интересный факт: систему Плутон-Харон некоторые астрономы считают двойной планетой, поскольку они вращаются вокруг одной точки центра масс планет.

Сколько лететь до Плутона

Скорость света составляет почти 300 000 м/с. Чтобы ему преодолеть расстояние от Плутона до Земли, понадобится 4,6 часа. Скорость космического корабля «Новые Горизонты» составляла 58 000 км/ч. Это в два раза больше обычного ускорения для подобных аппаратов. Расчет времени, затраченного на полет, простой: старт кораблю был дан в 2006 году, а максимальное сближение с Плутоном было только в 2015 году. Если более точно, то время полета составило 9 лет, 5 месяцев, 24 дня.

Расстояние от Земли до Плутона

По земным меркам оно составляет 4,4 млрд км или 29 астрономических единиц, но это при максимальном приближении Плутона к третьей планете от Солнца. При удалении расстояние увеличивается до 7,3 млрд км или 49 а.е. При расчете требуется брать во внимание орбитальный наклон в 17 градусов. С учетом всех особенностей, среднее расстояние определяется показателем в 5,91 млрд км или 40 а.е.

Интересный факт: солнечный свет добирается до Плутона за 5 ч, тогда как на Землю он падает через 7 мин.

История открытия

Французский математик, занимающийся небесной механикой, Урбен Леверье, провел исследование орбиты Урана. Он выявил определенные волнения, натолкнувшие на мысль, что именно какая-то неизвестная близлежащая планета является их причиной. В 1894 году американский бизнесмен, астроном и математик Персиваль Лоуэлл основал на собственные средства обсерваторию. Также стал инициатором проекта, в рамках которого осуществлялся поиск девятой планеты. Длительное время исследования были безуспешными. Энтузиасты сделали множество фотоснимков с многочисленными небесными телами, но искомое там никто не увидел.

Плутон был открыт 18 февраля 1930 года американским астрономом Клайдом Томбо. Будучи принятым на работу в обсерваторию, он делал фотографии и вдруг заметил на снимках движущийся объект (из нескольких фотокарточек была сделана простейшая анимация). Это и был Плутон. Лоуэлловская обсерватория 13 марта этого же года сделала заявление об открытии новой планеты.

Почему Плутон так называется?

После открытия девятой планеты у астрономов появился логичный вопрос: какое название ей дать? Такое право предоставлялось первооткрывателю. Не самому Клайду Томбо, а месту, где он работал – обсерватории Лоуэлла. Жена уже давно почившего Лоуэлла, Констанция, предложила несколько названий. Первое название планеты – «Персиваль», в честь ее мужа, затем – «Зевс», а после и вовсе свое же имя. Однако научное сообщество проигнорировало ее предложения.

Ныне используемое название придумала Венеция Берни – обыкновенная оксфордская школьница. Дело в том, что Плутон – это бог из древнеримской мифологии, который правил подземным царством. Это отлично подходило для холодной и мрачной поверхности планеты.

Свою версию девочка озвучила дедушке, который тогда работал в библиотеке Оксфордского университета. Он передал предложение профессору Тернеру, отправившему сообщение в США своим коллегам. Всего было предложено 3 варианта: «Минерва», «Кронос» и «Плутон». Первые два отклонили, и официально планета получила название 1 мая 1930 года.

Исследование

В период с 1906 по 1916 год американские ученые впервые заговорили о случайном открытии еще одной планеты, девятой, которую нарекли «Планета Х». Далее исследования проводились в такой хронологии:

• в 1930 году сотрудник Лоуэлльского центра зафиксировал небесный объект, схожий по параметрам с «Планетой Х» исключительно благодаря зоркости зрения;
• в этом же году он официально получил название – «Плутон»;
• в 2006 году девятую планету перевели в статус карликовых небесных тел, лишив прежнего титула, поскольку за орбитой Нептуна находились иные объекты Вселенной;
• в 2006 году стартовал аппарат «Новые горизонты», основной целью которого было изучение Плутона и Харона, его спутника;
• в 2015 году спутник максимально сблизился с планетой (удаление составляло всего 12 500 км).

Аппарат предоставил данные, по которым удалось сделать спектральный анализ поверхности. В разное время делались снимки, появилась возможность сравнить геологическую активность.

Интересный факт: один день на Плутоне равен земной неделе.

Кольца Плутона

Изначально считалось, что вокруг Плутона должны быть кольца, которые могли образоваться в результате столкновений. При приближении к планете спутник «Новые горизонты» отправлял сделанные фотографии на Землю. На них колец обнаружено не было, более того, аппарат обязательно столкнулся бы с ними. После тщательного анализа полученных данных ученые единогласно пришли к выводу, что они вокруг планеты отсутствуют.

Статус Плутона сейчас

В 1930 году Плутон признали планетой – 9-ой по счету от Солнца, однако сравнительно недавно он потерял свой статус. Ученые начали сомневаться, что небесное тело соразмерно параметрам Земли. В результате исследований его определили в разряд карликовых планет. По данному поводу несколько раз устраивали дебаты, и окончательное решение приняли в 2006 году. Ученые выделили несколько критериев для определения статуса планеты:

1. Космическое тело должно вращаться по орбите вокруг Солнца, а также быть спутником одной из звезд, а не какой-либо планеты.
2. Объект должен иметь такую массу, которая позволит ему под действием гравитации обрести форму сферы.
3. Размеры тела должны быть настолько большими, чтобы в пределах его орбиты не было более крупных объектов. Исключением являются только его спутники или объекты под действием гравитации.

Таким образом, после проверки этих факторов ученые установили, что называть Плутон планетой нельзя из-за третьего критерия. Поскольку он находится в поясе Койпера, его массу сравнили с близлежащими объектами. Выяснилось, что Плутон занимает всего 7% массы остальных космических тел.

Другие карликовые планеты

Поскольку Плутон удовлетворял первым двум критериям, его определили в категорию карликовых планет, а также отнесли к классу плутоидов. Такими небесными телами считаются сферические объекты с небольшой массой. Они должны вращаться вокруг Солнца. При этом, орбите необходимо иметь больший радиус, чем у Нептуна. Кроме Плутона считаются плутоидами: Эрида, Макемаке и Хаумеа.

Интересный факт: на Плутоне одни сутки соответствуют шести земным, а одно полноценное вращение вокруг Солнца по земным меркам занимает целых 248 лет.

Официально Плутон внесли в список малых планет под номером 134340 (7 сентября 2006). Интересно, что если бы ученые с самого начала правильно охарактеризовали этот объект, то в каталоге он бы занимал место в первых тысячах. Единственное отличие между обычной планетой и карликовой теперь заключается только в размере объектов. По остальным параметрам они совпадают.

Интересное видео о Плутоне

История открытия

В середине XIX века математик из Франции У. Леверье с помощью классической механики, основанной на законах Ньютона, предсказал существование планеты Нептун. Выводы он сделал на основе возмущения орбиты Урана. К концу XIX века ученые пришли к единому мнению, что на Уран оказывает влияние еще одна планета.

В начале XX века ее поисками занялся исследователь Марса американец П. Лоуэл. Предварительно он рассчитал возможные места в Солнечной системе, где могло находиться новое небесное тело, которое он назвал «Планета X». Но Лоуэлу так и не удалось ее обнаружить, поскольку в 1916 году он умер.

Через три года после его смерти специалистам обсерватории повезло запечатлеть Плутон на четырех фотографических пластинках, но в этот период планета находилась очень далеко и практически не просматривалась. На несколько лет поиски были приостановлены. Только в 1929 году директор обсерватории Слайфер поручил новичку К. Томбо возобновить их.

Для этого молодой специалист по ночам проводил съемки звездного неба. При этом он каждый участок фиксировал три раза с перерывом в несколько дней, а затем с помощью блинк-компаратора получал информацию о небесных телах, которые меняли свое положение.

Только через год ему удалось обнаружить небесное тело, которое двигалось по звездному небу. В марте 1930 года новость об открытии Плутона была передана по телеграфу в обсерваторию Гарвардского колледжа, а Томбо наградили медалью имени Ханны Джексон-Гвилт.

Присвоение названия

Так как первооткрывателями планеты считались специалисты обсерватории Лоуэлла, им было предоставлено право присвоить название новому небесному телу. Всем желающим предложили присылать в обсерваторию свои варианты, после чего письма стали поступать со всех уголков мира.

Название «Плутон» первой предложила ученица из Оксфорда В. Берни, которой было 11 лет. Помимо астрономии школьница увлекалась изучением древней мифологии, поэтому она посчитала, что имя греческого бога как раз подойдет для новой планеты.

Работникам обсерватории было предложено выбрать из трех названий (Миневра, Кронос, Плутон) более подходящее для небесного тела. После недолгих обсуждений единогласно было выбрано имя греческого бога, которое впервые официально было представлено в печати 1 мая 1930 года.

В качестве награды за предложенный вариант девочка получила 5 фунтов стерлингов.

Физические характеристики

Из-за довольно большого расстояния между Землей и Плутоном очень сложно проводить качественное исследование планеты. Последнюю обширную информацию удалось получить совсем недавно, когда искусственный спутник New Horizons смог долететь в область небесного тела. Список физических параметров планеты:

• экваториальный и полярный радиусы — 1153 км;
• площадь — 1,6697·10⁷ км²;
• масса Плутона — (1,305 ± 0,007)·10²² кг;
• первая космическая скорость — 1,23 км/с;
• время полного оборота вокруг оси — 6,39 дней;
• звездная величина — до 13,65;
• ускорение свободного падения — 0,658 м/с² (0,067 g).

Угловой диаметр планеты составляет около 0,11″, поэтому ее очень сложно увидеть даже в мощный телескоп. Выглядит Плутон как обыкновенная звезда. На снимках, сделанных космическим телескопом Хаббл, заметны только детали альбедо.

Описание строения планеты

На фотографиях, которые удалось сделать во время затмения Плутона его спутником, хорошо видно, что поверхность транснептунового объекта красноватого цвета и неоднородна. Из-за этого при обращении планеты периодически меняются ее яркость и спектр.

Высокая плотность небесного тела говорит, что, скорей всего, оно на 50—70% состоит из камня и на 30—50% — изо льда. Геологическое строение недр Плутона представлено плотным каменным ядром, окруженным слоем льда толщиной около 300 км. На поверхности планеты обнаружены:

• азотные летучие льды — 97—98%;
• замерзший метан — 1,5—3%;
• монооксид углерода — 0,01—0,5%;
• другие химические соединения.

Перечисленные вещества существуют в летучем состоянии. В зависимости от сезона они могут перемещаться по поверхности. На снимках, сделанных в 2015 году, были обнаружены возвышающиеся над ледяной поверхностью горы высотой до 3,5 км, которые, вероятней всего, состоят изо льда, а также большая светлая площадь в форме сердца. У Плутона есть своя атмосфера, в которую входят:

• азот — 90%;
• оксид углерода — 5%;
• метан — 4%.

Остальной объем состоит из соединения азота и углерода. В зависимости от расстояния до Солнца меняются плотность и температура атмосферы, а когда Плутон удаляется на значительное расстояние, последняя полностью вымерзает.

Спутники Плутона

У планеты насчитывается пять спутников, первый из которых, Харон, считается самым крупным. Он был обнаружен в семидесятых годах прошлого века. Его диаметр составляет 1212 км (35% Луны). Остальные спутники открыли гораздо позже, использовав телескоп «Хаббл». Все они обращаются в одну сторону практически по круговым орбитам. От Плутона они располагаются в следующей последовательности:

• Харон;
• Стикс;
• Никта;
• Кербер;
• Гидра.

Карликовая планета вместе со спутниками занимает небольшой объем, а максимальный радиус орбиты равен 2,2 млн км. Все сателлиты малого размера обладают неправильной формой, но у них высокое альбедо (0,5), так как лед на поверхности более чистый. Ученые предположили, что открытие небольших спутников говорит о наличии у Плутона колец, которые образуются в результате выбросов от ударов метеоритов и астероидов.

Исследования космическими аппаратами

Большую часть исследований планеты проводили с помощью американского телескопа «Хаббл». Только в начале XXI века, получив финансирование от правительства, к Плутону была направлен исследовательский аппарат New Horizons. В январе 2006 года стартовала ракета-носитель «Атлас-5».

Кроме того, на станцию поместили часть пепла К. Томбо, который умер в конце XX века. Ровно через год, пролетая рядом с Юпитером, станция получила дополнительное ускорение — она должна была сблизиться с Плутоном в 2015 году. На борту космического корабля установили специальную аппаратуру, а для проверки камеры первый снимок был сделан за 4,2 млрд км до планеты.

На станции были установлены спектроскопы и устройства для получения изображений, которые предназначались как для связи с Землей, так и для создания качественных карт поверхности планеты. Планировалось также обследовать атмосферу, обратные стороны Плутона и его спутника Харона. Летом 2015 года исследовательский аппарат приблизился на 12,5 тыс. км к планете и сделал качественные снимки высокого разрешения.

Занимательные факты

Хотя планета и открыта в 1930 году, о ней до сих пор очень мало информации. Она практически толком не исследована человечеством, но существует много интересных фактов о планете Плутон. К ним относятся:

1. Полный круг по орбите осуществляется за 248 лет.
2. В 2006 году ученые, проанализировав физические параметры Плутона, исключили его из семейства планет, переведя в разряд карликовых.
3. Транснептуновый объект обладает самой вытянутой орбитой.
4. Атмосфера на Плутоне непригодна для жизни.
5. Оборот вокруг оси длится почти семь дней.
6. Солнце на Плутоне перемещается с запада на восток.
7. По сравнению с Землей планета вращается в обратную сторону.
8. Средняя температура на поверхности составляет -229 °C.
9. По размерам Плутон считается вторым маленьким транснептуновым объектом.
10. В его честь назвали химический элемент плутоний.
11. С момента открытия Плутона его круг по орбите закончится в 2178 году.
12. Если смотреть на Солнце с поверхности, то это будет маленькая точка.
13. Плутон легче Луны в 6 раз.
14. Предполагается, что атмосфера планеты и его спутника Харона одна на двоих.

После получения последних фотографий со станции New Horizons специалисты НАСА до сих пор проводят их детальное изучение. Возможно, скоро человечество узнает много новой информации о Плутоне.

134340 Pluto or

Northern hemisphere of Pluto in true color, taken by NASA’s New Horizons probe in 2015[a]
Discovery
Discovered by	Clyde W. Tombaugh
Discovery site	Lowell Observatory
Discovery date	February 18, 1930
Designations
Designation	(134340) Pluto
Pronunciation	(listen)
Named after	Pluto
Minor planet category	Dwarf planet Trans-Neptunian object Kuiper belt object Plutino
Adjectives	Plutonian [1]
Orbital characteristics[4][b]
Epoch J2000
Earliest precovery date	August 20, 1909
Aphelion	49.305 AU (7.37593 billion km) February 2114
Perihelion	29.658 AU (4.43682 billion km)[2] (September 5, 1989)[3]
Semi-major axis	39.482 AU (5.90638 billion km)
Eccentricity	0.2488
Orbital period (sidereal)	247.94 years[2] 90,560 d[2]
Orbital period (synodic)	366.73 days[2]
Average orbital speed	4.743 km/s[2]
Mean anomaly	14.53 deg
Inclination	17.16° (11.88° to Sun’s equator)
Longitude of ascending node	110.299°
Argument of perihelion	113.834°
Known satellites	5
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	2,376.6±1.6 km (observations consistent with a sphere, predicted deviations too small to be observed)[5]
Mean radius	1,188.3±0.8 km[6][5] 0.1868 Earths
Flattening	<1%[7]
Surface area	1.774443×107 km2[c] 0.035 Earths
Volume	(7.057±0.004)×109 km3[d] 0.00651 Earths
Mass	(1.303±0.003)×1022 kg[7] 0.00218 Earths 0.177 Moons
Mean density	1.854±0.006 g/cm3[6][7]
Surface gravity	0.620 m/s2[e] 0.063 g
Escape velocity	1.212 km/s[f]
Synodic rotation period	−6.38680 d −6 d, 9 h, 17 m, 00 s [8]
Sidereal rotation period	−6.387230 d −6 d, 9 h, 17 m, 36 s
Equatorial rotation velocity	47.18 km/h
Axial tilt	122.53° (to orbit)[2]
North pole right ascension	132.993°[9]
North pole declination	−6.163°[9]
Albedo	0.52 geometric[2] 0.72 Bond[2]
Surface temp. min mean max Kelvin 33 K 44 K (−229 °C) 55 K
Apparent magnitude	13.65[2] to 16.3[10] (mean is 15.1)[2]
Absolute magnitude (H)	−0.44[11]
Angular diameter	0.06″ to 0.11″[2][g]
Atmosphere
Surface pressure	1.0 Pa (2015)[7][13]
Composition by volume	Nitrogen, methane, carbon monoxide[12]

Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest known trans-Neptunian object by volume, by a small margin, but is slightly less massive than Eris. Like other Kuiper belt objects, Pluto is made primarily of ice and rock and is much smaller than the inner planets. Compared to Earth’s moon, Pluto has only one sixth its mass and one third its volume.

Pluto has a moderately eccentric and inclined orbit, ranging from 30 to 49 astronomical units (4.5 to 7.3 billion kilometers; 2.8 to 4.6 billion miles) from the Sun. Light from the Sun takes 5.5 hours to reach Pluto at its average distance (39.5 AU [5.91 billion km; 3.67 billion mi]). Pluto’s eccentric orbit periodically brings it closer to the Sun than Neptune, but a stable orbital resonance prevents them from colliding.

Pluto has five known moons: Charon, the largest, whose diameter is just over half that of Pluto; Styx; Nix; Kerberos; and Hydra. Pluto and Charon are sometimes considered a binary system because the barycenter of their orbits does not lie within either body, and they are tidally locked. The New Horizons mission was the first spacecraft to visit Pluto and its moons, making a flyby on July 14, 2015 and taking detailed measurements and observations.

Pluto was discovered in 1930, the first object in the Kuiper belt. It was immediately hailed as the ninth planet, but its planetary status was questioned when it was found to be much smaller than expected. These doubts increased following the discovery of additional objects in the Kuiper belt starting in the 1990s, and particularly the more massive scattered disk object Eris in 2005. In 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) formally redefined the term planet to exclude dwarf planets such as Pluto. Many planetary astronomers, however, continue to consider Pluto and other dwarf planets to be planets.

History

Discovery

In the 1840s, Urbain Le Verrier used Newtonian mechanics to predict the position of the then-undiscovered planet Neptune after analyzing perturbations in the orbit of Uranus. 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.^[14]

In 1906, Percival Lowell—a wealthy Bostonian who had founded Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, in 1894—started an extensive project in search of a possible ninth planet, which he termed «Planet X».^[15] By 1909, Lowell and William H. Pickering had suggested several possible celestial coordinates for such a planet.^[16] 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 March 19 and April 7, 1915, but they were not recognized for what they were.^[16][17] There are fourteen other known precovery observations, with the earliest made by the Yerkes Observatory on August 20, 1909.^[18]

Percival’s widow, Constance Lowell, entered into a ten-year legal battle with the Lowell Observatory over her husband’s legacy, and the search for Planet X did not resume until 1929.^[19] Vesto Melvin Slipher, the observatory director, gave the job of locating Planet X to 23-year-old Clyde Tombaugh, who had just arrived at the observatory after Slipher had been impressed by a sample of his astronomical drawings.^[19]

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 February 18, 1930, after nearly a year of searching, Tombaugh discovered a possible moving object on photographic plates taken on January 23 and 29. A lesser-quality photograph taken on January 21 helped confirm the movement.^[20] After the observatory obtained further confirmatory photographs, news of the discovery was telegraphed to the Harvard College Observatory on March 13, 1930.^[16]

As one Plutonian year corresponds to 247.94 Earth years,^[2] Pluto will complete its first orbit since its discovery in 2178.

Name and symbol

The discovery made headlines around the globe.^[21] 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.^[22] Tombaugh urged Slipher to suggest a name for the new object quickly before someone else did.^[22] Constance Lowell proposed Zeus, then Percival and finally Constance. These suggestions were disregarded.^[23]

The name Pluto, after the Greek/Roman god of the underworld, was proposed by Venetia Burney (1918–2009), an eleven-year-old schoolgirl in Oxford, England, who was interested in classical mythology.^[24] She suggested it in a conversation with her grandfather Falconer Madan, a former librarian at the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, who passed the name to astronomy professor Herbert Hall Turner, who cabled it to colleagues in the United States.^[24]

Each member of the Lowell Observatory was allowed to vote on a short-list of three potential names: Minerva (which was already the name for an asteroid), Cronus (which had lost reputation through being proposed by the unpopular astronomer Thomas Jefferson Jackson See), and Pluto. Pluto received a unanimous vote.^[25] The name was published on May 1, 1930.^[24][26] Upon the announcement, Madan gave Venetia £5 (equivalent to £336 in 2021^[27], or US$394 in 2021^[28][29]) as a reward.^[24]

The final choice of name was helped in part by the fact that the first two letters of Pluto are the initials of Percival Lowell. Pluto’s planetary symbol ⟨⟩ was then created as a monogram of the letters «PL» (in Unicode: U+2647 ♇ PLUTO),^[30] though it is rarely used in astronomy today. For example, ⟨♇⟩ occurs in a table of the planets identified by their symbols in a 2004 article written before the 2006 IAU definition,^[31] but not in a graph of planets, dwarf planets and moons from 2016, where only the eight IAU planets are identified by their symbols.^[32]
(Planetary symbols in general are uncommon in astronomy, and are discouraged by the IAU.)^[33] The ♇ monogram is also used in astrology, but the most-common astrological symbol for Pluto, at least in English-language sources, is an orb over Pluto’s bident ⟨⟩ (U+2BD3 ⯓ PLUTO FORM TWO). The bident symbol has seen some astronomical use as well since the IAU decision on dwarf planets, for example in a public-education poster on dwarf planets published by the NASA/JPL Dawn mission in 2015, in which each of the five dwarf planets announced by the IAU receives a symbol.^[34] There are in addition several other symbols for Pluto found in European astrological sources, including three accepted by Unicode: , U+2BD4 ⯔ PLUTO FORM THREE; , U+2BD5 ⯕ PLUTO FORM FOUR, used in Uranian astrology; and /, U+2BD6 ⯖ PLUTO FORM FIVE, found in various orientations, showing Pluto’s orbit cutting across that of Neptune.^[35]

The name ‘Pluto’ was soon embraced by wider culture. In 1930, Walt Disney was apparently inspired by it when he introduced for Mickey Mouse a canine companion named Pluto, although Disney animator Ben Sharpsteen could not confirm why the name was given.^[36] In 1941, Glenn T. Seaborg named the newly created element plutonium after Pluto, in keeping with the tradition of naming elements after newly discovered planets, following uranium, which was named after Uranus, and neptunium, which was named after Neptune.^[37]

Most languages use the name «Pluto» in various transliterations.^[h] In Japanese, Houei Nojiri suggested the calque Meiōsei (冥王星, «Star of the King (God) of the Underworld»), and this was borrowed into Chinese and Korean. Some languages of India use the name Pluto, but others, such as Hindi, use the name of Yama, the God of Death in Hinduism.^[38] Polynesian languages also tend to use the indigenous god of the underworld, as in Māori Whiro.^[38]
Vietnamese might be expected to follow Chinese, but does not because the Sino-Vietnamese word 冥 minh «dark» is homophonous with 明 minh «bright». Vietnamese instead uses Yama, which is also a Buddhist deity, in the form of Sao Diêm Vương 星閻王 «Yama’s Star», derived from Chinese 閻王 Yán Wáng / Yìhm Wòhng «King Yama».^[39][38][40]

Planet X disproved

Once Pluto was found, its faintness and lack of a viewable disc cast doubt on the idea that it was Lowell’s Planet X.^[15] Estimates of Pluto’s mass were revised downward throughout the 20th century.^[41]

Astronomers initially calculated its mass based on its presumed effect on Neptune and Uranus. In 1931, Pluto was calculated to be roughly the mass of Earth, with further calculations in 1948 bringing the mass down to roughly that of Mars.^[43][45] In 1976, Dale Cruikshank, Carl Pilcher and David Morrison of the University of Hawaii calculated Pluto’s albedo for the first time, finding that it matched that for methane ice; this meant Pluto had to be exceptionally luminous for its size and therefore could not be more than 1 percent the mass of Earth.^[46] (Pluto’s albedo is 1.4–1.9 times that of Earth.^[2])

In 1978, the discovery of Pluto’s moon Charon allowed the measurement of Pluto’s mass for the first time: roughly 0.2% that of Earth, and far too small to account for the discrepancies in the orbit of Uranus. Subsequent searches for an alternative Planet X, notably by Robert Sutton Harrington,^[49] failed. In 1992, Myles Standish used data from Voyager 2′s flyby of Neptune in 1989, which had revised the estimates of Neptune’s mass downward by 0.5%—an amount comparable to the mass of Mars—to recalculate its gravitational effect on Uranus. With the new figures added in, the discrepancies, and with them the need for a Planet X, vanished.^[50] Today, the majority of scientists agree that Planet X, as Lowell defined it, does not exist.^[51] Lowell had made a prediction of Planet X’s orbit and position in 1915 that was fairly close to Pluto’s actual orbit and its position at that time; Ernest W. Brown concluded soon after Pluto’s discovery that this was a coincidence.^[52]

Classification

From 1992 onward, many bodies were discovered orbiting in the same volume as Pluto, showing that Pluto is part of a population of objects called the Kuiper belt. This made its official status as a planet controversial, with many questioning whether Pluto should be considered together with or separately from its surrounding population. Museum and planetarium directors occasionally created controversy by omitting Pluto from planetary models of the Solar System. In February 2000 the Hayden Planetarium in New York City displayed a Solar System model of only eight planets, which made headlines almost a year later.^[53]

Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta lost their planet status after the discovery of many other asteroids. Similarly, objects increasingly closer in size to Pluto were discovered in the Kuiper belt region. On July 29, 2005, astronomers at Caltech announced the discovery of a new trans-Neptunian object, Eris, which was substantially more massive than Pluto and the most massive object discovered in the Solar System since Triton in 1846. Its discoverers and the press initially called it the tenth planet, although there was no official consensus at the time on whether to call it a planet.^[54] Others in the astronomical community considered the discovery the strongest argument for reclassifying Pluto as a minor planet.^[55]

IAU classification

The debate came to a head in August 2006, with an IAU resolution that created an official definition for the term «planet». According to this resolution, there are three conditions for an object in the Solar System to be considered a planet:

• The object must be in orbit around the Sun.
• The object must be massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity. More specifically, its own gravity should pull it into a shape defined by hydrostatic equilibrium.
• It must have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.^[56][57]

Pluto fails to meet the third condition.^[58] Its mass is substantially less than the combined mass of the other objects in its orbit: 0.07 times, in contrast to Earth, which is 1.7 million times the remaining mass in its orbit (excluding the moon).^[59][57] The IAU further decided that bodies that, like Pluto, meet criteria 1 and 2, but do not meet criterion 3 would be called dwarf planets. In September 2006, the IAU included Pluto, and Eris and its moon Dysnomia, in their Minor Planet Catalogue, giving them the official minor-planet designations «(134340) Pluto», «(136199) Eris», and «(136199) Eris I Dysnomia».^[60] Had Pluto been included upon its discovery in 1930, it would have likely been designated 1164, following 1163 Saga, which was discovered a month earlier.^[61]

There has been some resistance within the astronomical community toward the reclassification.^[62][63][64] Alan Stern, principal investigator with NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto, derided the IAU resolution, stating that «the definition stinks, for technical reasons».^[65] Stern contended that, by the terms of the new definition, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Neptune, all of which share their orbits with asteroids, would be excluded^[66] (even though he had himself previously suggested a criterion for clearing the neighbourhood, which considered all four of them to have done so).^[67] He argued that all big spherical moons, including the Moon, should likewise be considered planets.^[68] He also stated that because less than five percent of astronomers voted for it, the decision was not representative of the entire astronomical community.^[66] Marc W. Buie, then at the Lowell Observatory, petitioned against the definition.^[69] Others have supported the IAU. Mike Brown, the astronomer who discovered Eris, said «through this whole crazy, circus-like procedure, somehow the right answer was stumbled on. It’s been a long time coming. Science is self-correcting eventually, even when strong emotions are involved.»^[70]

Public reception to the IAU decision was mixed. A resolution introduced in the California State Assembly facetiously called the IAU decision a «scientific heresy».^[71] The New Mexico House of Representatives passed a resolution in honor of Tombaugh, a longtime resident of that state, that declared that Pluto will always be considered a planet while in New Mexican skies and that March 13, 2007, was Pluto Planet Day.^[72][73] The Illinois Senate passed a similar resolution in 2009, on the basis that Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto, was born in Illinois. The resolution asserted that Pluto was «unfairly downgraded to a ‘dwarf’ planet» by the IAU.»^[74] Some members of the public have also rejected the change, citing the disagreement within the scientific community on the issue, or for sentimental reasons, maintaining that they have always known Pluto as a planet and will continue to do so regardless of the IAU decision.^[75]

In 2006, in its 17th annual words-of-the-year vote, the American Dialect Society voted plutoed as the word of the year. To «pluto» is to «demote or devalue someone or something».^[76]

Researchers on both sides of the debate gathered in August 2008, at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory for a conference that included back-to-back talks on the current IAU definition of a planet.^[77] Entitled «The Great Planet Debate»,^[78] the conference published a post-conference press release indicating that scientists could not come to a consensus about the definition of planet.^[79] In June 2008, the IAU had announced in a press release that the term «plutoid» would henceforth be used to refer to Pluto and other planetary-mass objects that have an orbital semi-major axis greater than that of Neptune, though the term has not seen significant use.^[80][81][82]

Orbit

Pluto’s orbital period is currently about 248 years. Its orbital characteristics are substantially different from those of the planets, which follow nearly circular orbits around the Sun close to a flat reference plane called the ecliptic. In contrast, Pluto’s orbit is moderately inclined relative to the ecliptic (over 17°) and moderately eccentric (elliptical). This eccentricity means a small region of Pluto’s orbit lies closer to the Sun than Neptune’s. The Pluto–Charon barycenter came to perihelion on September 5, 1989,^[3][i] and was last closer to the Sun than Neptune between February 7, 1979, and February 11, 1999.^[83] Detailed calculations indicate that the previous such occurrence lasted only fourteen years, from July 11, 1735 to September 15, 1749, whereas between April 30, 1483 and July 23, 1503, it had also lasted 20 years. ^[84]

Although the 3:2 resonance with Neptune (see below) is maintained, Pluto’s inclination and eccentricity behave in a chaotic manner. Computer simulations can be used to predict its position for several million years (both forward and backward in time), but after intervals much longer than the Lyapunov time of 10–20 million years, calculations become unreliable: Pluto is sensitive to immeasurably small details of the Solar System, hard-to-predict factors that will gradually change Pluto’s position in its orbit.^[85][86]

The semi-major axis of Pluto’s orbit varies between about 39.3 and 39.6 au with a period of about 19,951 years, corresponding to an orbital period varying between 246 and 249 years. The semi-major axis and period are presently getting longer.^[87]

Relationship with Neptune

Despite Pluto’s orbit appearing to cross that of Neptune when viewed from directly above, the two objects’ orbits do not intersect. When Pluto is closest to the Sun, and close to Neptune’s orbit as viewed from above, it is also the farthest above Neptune’s path. Pluto’s orbit passes about 8 AU above that of Neptune, preventing a collision.^{[88][89][90][j]}

This alone is not enough to protect Pluto; perturbations from the planets (especially Neptune) could alter Pluto’s orbit (such as its orbital precession) over millions of years so that a collision could be possible. However, Pluto is also protected by its 2:3 orbital resonance with Neptune: for every two orbits that Pluto makes around the Sun, Neptune makes three. Each cycle lasts about 495 years. (There are many other objects in this same resonance, called plutinos.) This pattern is such that, in each 495-year cycle, the first time Pluto is near perihelion, Neptune is over 50° behind Pluto. By Pluto’s second perihelion, Neptune will have completed a further one and a half of its own orbits, and so will be nearly 130° ahead of Pluto. Pluto and Neptune’s minimum separation is over 17 AU, which is greater than Pluto’s minimum separation from Uranus (11 AU).^[90] The minimum separation between Pluto and Neptune actually occurs near the time of Pluto’s aphelion.^[87]

The 2:3 resonance between the two bodies is highly stable and has been preserved over millions of years.^[92] This prevents their orbits from changing relative to one another, and so the two bodies can never pass near each other. Even if Pluto’s orbit were not inclined, the two bodies could never collide.^[90] The long term stability of the mean-motion resonance is due to phase protection. When Pluto’s period is slightly shorter than 3/2 of Neptune, its orbit relative to Neptune will drift, causing it to make closer approaches behind Neptune’s orbit. The gravitational pull between the two then causes angular momentum to be transferred to Pluto, at Neptune’s expense. This moves Pluto into a slightly larger orbit, where it travels slightly more slowly, according to Kepler’s third law. After many such repetitions, Pluto is sufficiently slowed that Pluto’s orbit relative to Neptune drifts in the opposite direction until the process is reversed. The whole process takes about 20,000 years to complete.^[90][92][93]

Other factors

Numerical studies have shown that over millions of years, the general nature of the alignment between the orbits of Pluto and Neptune does not change.^[88][87] There are several other resonances and interactions that enhance Pluto’s stability. These arise principally from two additional mechanisms (besides the 2:3 mean-motion resonance).

First, Pluto’s argument of perihelion, the angle between the point where it crosses the ecliptic and the point where it is closest to the Sun, librates around 90°.^[87] This means that when Pluto is closest to the Sun, it is at its farthest above the plane of the Solar System, preventing encounters with Neptune. This is a consequence of the Kozai mechanism,^[88] which relates the eccentricity of an orbit to its inclination to a larger perturbing body—in this case, Neptune. Relative to Neptune, the amplitude of libration is 38°, and so the angular separation of Pluto’s perihelion to the orbit of Neptune is always greater than 52° (90°–38°). The closest such angular separation occurs every 10,000 years.^[92]

Second, the longitudes of ascending nodes of the two bodies—the points where they cross the ecliptic—are in near-resonance with the above libration. When the two longitudes are the same—that is, when one could draw a straight line through both nodes and the Sun—Pluto’s perihelion lies exactly at 90°, and hence it comes closest to the Sun when it is highest above Neptune’s orbit. This is known as the 1:1 superresonance. All the Jovian planets, particularly Jupiter, play a role in the creation of the superresonance.^[88]

Quasi-satellite

In 2012, it was hypothesized that 15810 Arawn could be a quasi-satellite of Pluto, a specific type of co-orbital configuration.^[94] According to the hypothesis, the object would be a quasi-satellite of Pluto for about 350,000 years out of every two-million-year period.^[94][95] Measurements made by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2015 made it possible to calculate the orbit of Arawn more accurately.^[96] These calculations confirm the overall dynamics described in the hypothesis.^[97] However, it is not agreed upon among astronomers whether Arawn should be classified as a quasi-satellite of Pluto based on this motion, since its orbit is primarily controlled by Neptune with only occasional smaller perturbations caused by Pluto.^[98][96][97]

Rotation

Pluto’s rotation period, its day, is equal to 6.387 Earth days.^[2][99] Like Uranus, Pluto rotates on its «side» in its orbital plane, with an axial tilt of 120°, and so its seasonal variation is extreme; at its solstices, one-fourth of its surface is in continuous daylight, whereas another fourth is in continuous darkness.^[100] The reason for this unusual orientation has been debated. Research from the University of Arizona has suggested that it may be due to the way that a body’s spin will always adjust to minimise energy. This could mean a body reorienting itself to put extraneous mass near the equator and regions lacking mass tend towards the poles. This is called polar wander.^[101] According to a paper released from the University of Arizona, this could be caused by masses of frozen nitrogen building up in shadowed areas of the dwarf planet. These masses would cause the body to reorient itself, leading to its unusual axial tilt of 120°. The buildup of nitrogen is due to Pluto’s vast distance from the Sun. At the equator, temperatures can drop to −240 °C (−400.0 °F; 33.1 K), causing nitrogen to freeze as water would freeze on Earth. The same effect seen on Pluto would be observed on Earth were the Antarctic ice sheet is several times larger.^[102]

Geology

Surface

The plains on Pluto’s surface are composed of more than 98 percent nitrogen ice, with traces of methane and carbon monoxide.^[103] Nitrogen and carbon monoxide are most abundant on the anti-Charon face of Pluto (around 180° longitude, where Tombaugh Regio’s western lobe, Sputnik Planitia, is located), whereas methane is most abundant near 300° east.^[104] The mountains are made of water ice.^[105] Pluto’s surface is quite varied, with large differences in both brightness and color.^[106] Pluto is one of the most contrastive bodies in the Solar System, with as much contrast as Saturn’s moon Iapetus.^[107] The color varies from charcoal black, to dark orange and white.^[108] Pluto’s color is more similar to that of Io with slightly more orange and significantly less red than Mars.^[109] Notable geographical features include Tombaugh Regio, or the «Heart» (a large bright area on the side opposite Charon), Cthulhu Macula,^[6] or the «Whale» (a large dark area on the trailing hemisphere), and the «Brass Knuckles» (a series of equatorial dark areas on the leading hemisphere).

Sputnik Planitia, the western lobe of the «Heart», is a 1,000 km-wide basin of frozen nitrogen and carbon monoxide ices, divided into polygonal cells, which are interpreted as convection cells that carry floating blocks of water ice crust and sublimation pits towards their margins;^{[110][111][112]} there are obvious signs of glacial flows both into and out of the basin.^[113][114] It has no craters that were visible to New Horizons, indicating that its surface is less than 10 million years old.^[115] Latest studies have shown that the surface has an age of 180000+90000
−40000 years.^[116]
The New Horizons science team summarized initial findings as «Pluto displays a surprisingly wide variety of geological landforms, including those resulting from glaciological and surface–atmosphere interactions as well as impact, tectonic, possible cryovolcanic, and mass-wasting processes.»^[7]

In Western parts of Sputnik Planitia there are fields of transverse dunes formed by the winds blowing from the center of Sputnik Planitia in the direction of surrounding mountains. The dune wavelengths are in the range of 0.4–1 km and they are likely consists of methane particles 200–300 μm in size.^[117]

Internal structure

Pluto’s density is 1.860±0.013 g/cm³.^[7] Because the decay of radioactive elements would eventually heat the ices enough for the rock to separate from them, scientists expect that Pluto’s internal structure is differentiated, with the rocky material having settled into a dense core surrounded by a mantle of water ice. The pre–New Horizons estimate for the diameter of the core is 1700 km, 70% of Pluto’s diameter.^[118] Pluto has no magnetic field.^[119]

It is possible that such heating continues today, creating a subsurface ocean of liquid water 100 to 180 km thick at the core–mantle boundary.^{[118][120][121]} In September 2016, scientists at Brown University simulated the impact thought to have formed Sputnik Planitia, and showed that it might have been the result of liquid water upwelling from below after the collision, implying the existence of a subsurface ocean at least 100 km deep.^[122] In June 2020, astronomers reported evidence that Pluto may have had a subsurface ocean, and consequently may have been habitable, when it was first formed.^[123][124] In March 2022, they concluded that peaks on Pluto are actually a merger of «ice volcanoes», suggesting a source of heat on the body at levels previously thought not possible.^[125]

Mass and size

Pluto’s diameter is 2376.6±3.2 km^[5] and its mass is (1.303±0.003)×10²² kg, 17.7% that of the Moon (0.22% that of Earth).^[126] Its surface area is 1.774443×10⁷ km², or just slightly bigger than Russia. Its surface gravity is 0.063 g (compared to 1 g for Earth and 0.17 g for the Moon).^[2]

The discovery of Pluto’s satellite Charon in 1978 enabled a determination of the mass of the Pluto–Charon system by application of Newton’s formulation of Kepler’s third law. Observations of Pluto in occultation with Charon allowed scientists to establish Pluto’s diameter more accurately, whereas the invention of adaptive optics allowed them to determine its shape more accurately.^[127]

With less than 0.2 lunar masses, Pluto is much less massive than the terrestrial planets, and also less massive than seven moons: Ganymede, Titan, Callisto, Io, the Moon, Europa, and Triton. The mass is much less than thought before Charon was discovered.^[128]

Pluto is more than twice the diameter and a dozen times the mass of Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt. It is less massive than the dwarf planet Eris, a trans-Neptunian object discovered in 2005, though Pluto has a larger diameter of 2,376.6 km^[5] compared to Eris’s approximate diameter of 2,326 km.^[129]

Determinations of Pluto’s size have been complicated by its atmosphere^[130] and hydrocarbon haze.^[131] In March 2014, Lellouch, de Bergh et al. published findings regarding methane mixing ratios in Pluto’s atmosphere consistent with a Plutonian diameter greater than 2,360 km, with a «best guess» of 2,368 km.^[132] On July 13, 2015, images from NASA’s New Horizons mission Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), along with data from the other instruments, determined Pluto’s diameter to be 2,370 km (1,470 mi),^[129][133] which was later revised to be 2,372 km (1,474 mi) on July 24,^[134] and later to 2374±8 km.^[7] Using radio occultation data from the New Horizons Radio Science Experiment (REX), the diameter was found to be 2376.6±3.2 km.^[5]

Atmosphere

Pluto has a tenuous atmosphere consisting of nitrogen (N₂), methane (CH₄), and carbon monoxide (CO), which are in equilibrium with their ices on Pluto’s surface.^[138][139] According to the measurements by New Horizons, the surface pressure is about 1 Pa (10 μbar),^[7] roughly one million to 100,000 times less than Earth’s atmospheric pressure. It was initially thought that, as Pluto moves away from the Sun, its atmosphere should gradually freeze onto the surface; studies of New Horizons data and ground-based occultations show that Pluto’s atmospheric density increases, and that it likely remains gaseous throughout Pluto’s orbit.^[140][141] New Horizons observations showed that atmospheric escape of nitrogen to be 10,000 times less than expected.^[141] Alan Stern has contended that even a small increase in Pluto’s surface temperature can lead to exponential increases in Pluto’s atmospheric density; from 18 hPa to as much as 280 hPa (three times that of Mars to a quarter that of the Earth). At such densities, nitrogen could flow across the surface as liquid.^[141] Just like sweat cools the body as it evaporates from the skin, the sublimation of Pluto’s atmosphere cools its surface.^[142] Pluto has no or almost no troposphere; observations by New Horizons suggest only a thin tropospheric boundary layer. Its thickness in the place of measurement was 4 km, and the temperature was 37±3 K. The layer is not continuous.^[143]

In July 2019, an occultation by Pluto showed that its atmospheric pressure, against expectations, had fallen by 20% since 2016.^[144] In 2021, astronomers at the Southwest Research Institute confirmed the result using data from an occultation in 2018, which showed that light was appearing less gradually from behind Pluto’s disc, indicating a thinning atmosphere.^[145]

The presence of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, in Pluto’s atmosphere creates a temperature inversion, with the average temperature of its atmosphere tens of degrees warmer than its surface,^[146] though observations by New Horizons have revealed Pluto’s upper atmosphere to be far colder than expected (70 K, as opposed to about 100 K).^[141] Pluto’s atmosphere is divided into roughly 20 regularly spaced haze layers up to 150 km high,^[7] thought to be the result of pressure waves created by airflow across Pluto’s mountains.^[141]

Satellites

Pluto has five known natural satellites. The closest to Pluto is Charon. First identified in 1978 by astronomer James Christy, Charon is the only moon of Pluto that may be in hydrostatic equilibrium. Charon’s mass is sufficient to cause the barycenter of the Pluto–Charon system to be outside Pluto. Beyond Charon there are four much smaller circumbinary moons. In order of distance from Pluto they are Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra. Nix and Hydra were both discovered in 2005,^[147] Kerberos was discovered in 2011,^[148] and Styx was discovered in 2012.^[149] The satellites’ orbits are circular (eccentricity < 0.006) and coplanar with Pluto’s equator (inclination < 1°),^[150][151] and therefore tilted approximately 120° relative to Pluto’s orbit. The Plutonian system is highly compact: the five known satellites orbit within the inner 3% of the region where prograde orbits would be stable.^[152]

The orbital periods of all Pluto’s moons are linked in a system of orbital resonances and near resonances.^[151][153] When precession is accounted for, the orbital periods of Styx, Nix, and Hydra are in an exact 18:22:33 ratio.^[151] There is a sequence of approximate ratios, 3:4:5:6, between the periods of Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra with that of Charon; the ratios become closer to being exact the further out the moons are.^[151][154]

The Pluto–Charon system is one of the few in the Solar System whose barycenter lies outside the primary body; the Patroclus–Menoetius system is a smaller example, and the Sun–Jupiter system is the only larger one.^[155] The similarity in size of Charon and Pluto has prompted some astronomers to call it a double dwarf planet.^[156] The system is also unusual among planetary systems in that each is tidally locked to the other, which means that Pluto and Charon always have the same hemisphere facing each other — a property shared by only one other known system, Eris and Dysnomia.^[157] From any position on either body, the other is always at the same position in the sky, or always obscured.^[158] This also means that the rotation period of each is equal to the time it takes the entire system to rotate around its barycenter.^[99]

In 2007, observations by the Gemini Observatory of patches of ammonia hydrates and water crystals on the surface of Charon suggested the presence of active cryo-geysers.^[159]

Pluto’s moons are hypothesized to have been formed by a collision between Pluto and a similar-sized body, early in the history of the Solar System. The collision released material that consolidated into the moons around Pluto.^[160]

• 

  The Pluto system: Pluto, Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in July 2012.

• 

  Pluto and Charon, to scale. Image acquired by New Horizons on July 8, 2015.

• 

  Family portrait of the five moons of Pluto, to scale.^[161]

• 

  Pluto’s moon Charon as viewed by New Horizons on July 13, 2015

Origin

Pluto’s origin and identity had long puzzled astronomers. One early hypothesis was that Pluto was an escaped moon of Neptune^[162] knocked out of orbit by Neptune’s largest current moon, Triton. This idea was eventually rejected after dynamical studies showed it to be impossible because Pluto never approaches Neptune in its orbit.^[163]

Pluto’s true place in the Solar System began to reveal itself only in 1992, when astronomers began to find small icy objects beyond Neptune that were similar to Pluto not only in orbit but also in size and composition. This trans-Neptunian population is thought to be the source of many short-period comets. Pluto is now known to be the largest member of the Kuiper belt,^[k] a stable belt of objects located between 30 and 50 AU from the Sun. As of 2011, surveys of the Kuiper belt to magnitude 21 were nearly complete and any remaining Pluto-sized objects are expected to be beyond 100 AU from the Sun.^[164] Like other Kuiper-belt objects (KBOs), Pluto shares features with comets; for example, the solar wind is gradually blowing Pluto’s surface into space.^[165] It has been claimed that if Pluto were placed as near to the Sun as Earth, it would develop a tail, as comets do.^[166] This claim has been disputed with the argument that Pluto’s escape velocity is too high for this to happen.^[167] It has been proposed that Pluto may have formed as a result of the agglomeration of numerous comets and Kuiper-belt objects.^[168][169]

Though Pluto is the largest Kuiper belt object discovered,^[131] Neptune’s moon Triton, which is larger than Pluto, is similar to it both geologically and atmospherically, and is thought to be a captured Kuiper belt object.^[170] Eris (see above) is about the same size as Pluto (though more massive) but is not strictly considered a member of the Kuiper belt population. Rather, it is considered a member of a linked population called the scattered disc.^[171]

Many Kuiper belt objects, like Pluto, are in a 2:3 orbital resonance with Neptune. KBOs with this orbital resonance are called «plutinos», after Pluto.^[172]

Like other members of the Kuiper belt, Pluto is thought to be a residual planetesimal; a component of the original protoplanetary disc around the Sun that failed to fully coalesce into a full-fledged planet. Most astronomers agree that Pluto owes its current position to a sudden migration undergone by Neptune early in the Solar System’s formation. As Neptune migrated outward, it approached the objects in the proto-Kuiper belt, setting one in orbit around itself (Triton), locking others into resonances, and knocking others into chaotic orbits. The objects in the scattered disc, a dynamically unstable region overlapping the Kuiper belt, are thought to have been placed in their current positions by interactions with Neptune’s migrating resonances.^[173] A computer model created in 2004 by Alessandro Morbidelli of the Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur in Nice suggested that the migration of Neptune into the Kuiper belt may have been triggered by the formation of a 1:2 resonance between Jupiter and Saturn, which created a gravitational push that propelled both Uranus and Neptune into higher orbits and caused them to switch places, ultimately doubling Neptune’s distance from the Sun. The resultant expulsion of objects from the proto-Kuiper belt could also explain the Late Heavy Bombardment 600 million years after the Solar System’s formation and the origin of the Jupiter trojans.^[174] It is possible that Pluto had a near-circular orbit about 33 AU from the Sun before Neptune’s migration perturbed it into a resonant capture.^[175] The Nice model requires that there were about a thousand Pluto-sized bodies in the original planetesimal disk, which included Triton and Eris.^[174]

Observation and exploration

Pluto’s distance from Earth makes its in-depth study and exploration difficult. On July 14, 2015, NASA’s New Horizons space probe flew through the Pluto system, providing much information about it.^[176]

Observation

Pluto’s visual apparent magnitude averages 15.1, brightening to 13.65 at perihelion.^[2] To see it, a telescope is required; around 30 cm (12 in) aperture being desirable.^[177] It looks star-like and without a visible disk even in large telescopes,^[178] because its angular diameter is maximum 0.11″.^[2]

The earliest maps of Pluto, made in the late 1980s, were brightness maps created from close observations of eclipses by its largest moon, Charon. Observations were made of the change in the total average brightness of the Pluto–Charon system during the eclipses. For example, eclipsing a bright spot on Pluto makes a bigger total brightness change than eclipsing a dark spot. Computer processing of many such observations can be used to create a brightness map. This method can also track changes in brightness over time.^[179][180]

Better maps were produced from images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), which offered higher resolution, and showed considerably more detail,^[107] resolving variations several hundred kilometers across, including polar regions and large bright spots.^[109] These maps were produced by complex computer processing, which finds the best-fit projected maps for the few pixels of the Hubble images.^[181] These remained the most detailed maps of Pluto until the flyby of New Horizons in July 2015, because the two cameras on the HST used for these maps were no longer in service.^[181]

Exploration

The New Horizons spacecraft, which flew by Pluto in July 2015, is the first and so far only attempt to explore Pluto directly. Launched in 2006, it captured its first (distant) images of Pluto in late September 2006 during a test of the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager.^[182] The images, taken from a distance of approximately 4.2 billion kilometers, confirmed the spacecraft’s ability to track distant targets, critical for maneuvering toward Pluto and other Kuiper belt objects. In early 2007 the craft made use of a gravity assist from Jupiter.

New Horizons made its closest approach to Pluto on July 14, 2015, after a 3,462-day journey across the Solar System. Scientific observations of Pluto began five months before the closest approach and continued for at least a month after the encounter. Observations were conducted using a remote sensing package that included imaging instruments and a radio science investigation tool, as well as spectroscopic and other experiments. The scientific goals of New Horizons were to characterize the global geology and morphology of Pluto and its moon Charon, map their surface composition, and analyze Pluto’s neutral atmosphere and its escape rate. On October 25, 2016, at 05:48 pm ET, the last bit of data (of a total of 50 billion bits of data; or 6.25 gigabytes) was received from New Horizons from its close encounter with Pluto.^{[183][184][185][186]}

Since the New Horizons flyby, scientists have advocated for an orbiter mission that would return to Pluto to fulfill new science objectives.^{[187][188][189]} They include mapping the surface at 9.1 m (30 ft) per pixel, observations of Pluto’s smaller satellites, observations of how Pluto changes as it rotates on its axis, investigations of a possible subsurface ocean, and topographic mapping of Pluto’s regions that are covered in long-term darkness due to its axial tilt. The last objective could be accomplished using laser pulses to generate a complete topographic map of Pluto. New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern has advocated for a Cassini-style orbiter that would launch around 2030 (the 100th anniversary of Pluto’s discovery) and use Charon’s gravity to adjust its orbit as needed to fulfill science objectives after arriving at the Pluto system.^[190] The orbiter could then use Charon’s gravity to leave the Pluto system and study more KBOs after all Pluto science objectives are completed. A conceptual study funded by the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program describes a fusion-enabled Pluto orbiter and lander based on the Princeton field-reversed configuration reactor.^[191][192]

Sub-Charon hemisphere

The equatorial region of the sub-Charon hemisphere of Pluto has only been imaged at low resolution, as New Horizons made its closest approach to the anti-Charon hemisphere.^[193]

• Composite image maps of Pluto from July 14, 2015 (updated 2019)

• 

  A composite image of the sub-Charon hemisphere of Pluto. The region inside/below the white line was on the far side of Pluto when New Horizons made its closest approach, and was only imaged (at lower resolution) in the early days of the flyby. Black regions were not imaged at all.

• 

  The low-resolution area, with named features labeled

• 

  The low-resolution area, with features classified by geological type

Sources:^[194][195]

Southern hemisphere

New Horizons imaged all of Pluto’s northern hemisphere, and the equatorial regions down to about 30° South. Higher southern latitudes have only been observed, at very low resolution, from Earth.^[196] Images from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1996 cover 85% of Pluto and show large albedo features down to about 75° South.^[197][198] This is enough to show the extent of the temperate-zone maculae. Later images had slightly better resolution, due to minor improvements in Hubble instrumentation.^[199]

Some albedo variations in the higher southern latitudes could be detected by New Horizons using Charon-shine (light reflected off Charon). The south polar region seems to be darker than the north polar region, but there is a high-albedo region in the southern hemisphere that may be a regional nitrogen or methane ice deposit.^[200]

• 

  A map of Pluto based on Hubble images from 1996, centered on the anti-Charon hemisphere (Sputnik Planitia), covering the southern hemisphere down to 75°S

• 

  (a) Synthesized HST map of Pluto from Buie et al. (2010).
  (b) Colorized New Horizons MVIC and LORRI mosaic.
  (c–d) Destreaked Charon-illuminated image stack, shown to approximately the same stretch. The green line is the limit of the sub-Charon hemisphere.^[200]

Videos

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

134340 Pluto or

Northern hemisphere of Pluto in true color, taken by NASA’s New Horizons probe in 2015[a]
Discovery
Discovered by	Clyde W. Tombaugh
Discovery site	Lowell Observatory
Discovery date	February 18, 1930
Designations
Designation	(134340) Pluto
Pronunciation	(listen)
Named after	Pluto
Minor planet category	Dwarf planet Trans-Neptunian object Kuiper belt object Plutino
Adjectives	Plutonian [1]
Orbital characteristics[4][b]
Epoch J2000
Earliest precovery date	August 20, 1909
Aphelion	49.305 AU (7.37593 billion km) February 2114
Perihelion	29.658 AU (4.43682 billion km)[2] (September 5, 1989)[3]
Semi-major axis	39.482 AU (5.90638 billion km)
Eccentricity	0.2488
Orbital period (sidereal)	247.94 years[2] 90,560 d[2]
Orbital period (synodic)	366.73 days[2]
Average orbital speed	4.743 km/s[2]
Mean anomaly	14.53 deg
Inclination	17.16° (11.88° to Sun’s equator)
Longitude of ascending node	110.299°
Argument of perihelion	113.834°
Known satellites	5
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	2,376.6±1.6 km (observations consistent with a sphere, predicted deviations too small to be observed)[5]
Mean radius	1,188.3±0.8 km[6][5] 0.1868 Earths
Flattening	<1%[7]
Surface area	1.774443×107 km2[c] 0.035 Earths
Volume	(7.057±0.004)×109 km3[d] 0.00651 Earths
Mass	(1.303±0.003)×1022 kg[7] 0.00218 Earths 0.177 Moons
Mean density	1.854±0.006 g/cm3[6][7]
Surface gravity	0.620 m/s2[e] 0.063 g
Escape velocity	1.212 km/s[f]
Synodic rotation period	−6.38680 d −6 d, 9 h, 17 m, 00 s [8]
Sidereal rotation period	−6.387230 d −6 d, 9 h, 17 m, 36 s
Equatorial rotation velocity	47.18 km/h
Axial tilt	122.53° (to orbit)[2]
North pole right ascension	132.993°[9]
North pole declination	−6.163°[9]
Albedo	0.52 geometric[2] 0.72 Bond[2]
Surface temp. min mean max Kelvin 33 K 44 K (−229 °C) 55 K
Apparent magnitude	13.65[2] to 16.3[10] (mean is 15.1)[2]
Absolute magnitude (H)	−0.44[11]
Angular diameter	0.06″ to 0.11″[2][g]
Atmosphere
Surface pressure	1.0 Pa (2015)[7][13]
Composition by volume	Nitrogen, methane, carbon monoxide[12]

Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest known trans-Neptunian object by volume, by a small margin, but is slightly less massive than Eris. Like other Kuiper belt objects, Pluto is made primarily of ice and rock and is much smaller than the inner planets. Compared to Earth’s moon, Pluto has only one sixth its mass and one third its volume.

Pluto has a moderately eccentric and inclined orbit, ranging from 30 to 49 astronomical units (4.5 to 7.3 billion kilometers; 2.8 to 4.6 billion miles) from the Sun. Light from the Sun takes 5.5 hours to reach Pluto at its average distance (39.5 AU [5.91 billion km; 3.67 billion mi]). Pluto’s eccentric orbit periodically brings it closer to the Sun than Neptune, but a stable orbital resonance prevents them from colliding.

Pluto has five known moons: Charon, the largest, whose diameter is just over half that of Pluto; Styx; Nix; Kerberos; and Hydra. Pluto and Charon are sometimes considered a binary system because the barycenter of their orbits does not lie within either body, and they are tidally locked. The New Horizons mission was the first spacecraft to visit Pluto and its moons, making a flyby on July 14, 2015 and taking detailed measurements and observations.

Pluto was discovered in 1930, the first object in the Kuiper belt. It was immediately hailed as the ninth planet, but its planetary status was questioned when it was found to be much smaller than expected. These doubts increased following the discovery of additional objects in the Kuiper belt starting in the 1990s, and particularly the more massive scattered disk object Eris in 2005. In 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) formally redefined the term planet to exclude dwarf planets such as Pluto. Many planetary astronomers, however, continue to consider Pluto and other dwarf planets to be planets.

History

Discovery

In the 1840s, Urbain Le Verrier used Newtonian mechanics to predict the position of the then-undiscovered planet Neptune after analyzing perturbations in the orbit of Uranus. 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.^[14]

In 1906, Percival Lowell—a wealthy Bostonian who had founded Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, in 1894—started an extensive project in search of a possible ninth planet, which he termed «Planet X».^[15] By 1909, Lowell and William H. Pickering had suggested several possible celestial coordinates for such a planet.^[16] 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 March 19 and April 7, 1915, but they were not recognized for what they were.^[16][17] There are fourteen other known precovery observations, with the earliest made by the Yerkes Observatory on August 20, 1909.^[18]

Percival’s widow, Constance Lowell, entered into a ten-year legal battle with the Lowell Observatory over her husband’s legacy, and the search for Planet X did not resume until 1929.^[19] Vesto Melvin Slipher, the observatory director, gave the job of locating Planet X to 23-year-old Clyde Tombaugh, who had just arrived at the observatory after Slipher had been impressed by a sample of his astronomical drawings.^[19]

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 February 18, 1930, after nearly a year of searching, Tombaugh discovered a possible moving object on photographic plates taken on January 23 and 29. A lesser-quality photograph taken on January 21 helped confirm the movement.^[20] After the observatory obtained further confirmatory photographs, news of the discovery was telegraphed to the Harvard College Observatory on March 13, 1930.^[16]

As one Plutonian year corresponds to 247.94 Earth years,^[2] Pluto will complete its first orbit since its discovery in 2178.

Name and symbol

The discovery made headlines around the globe.^[21] 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.^[22] Tombaugh urged Slipher to suggest a name for the new object quickly before someone else did.^[22] Constance Lowell proposed Zeus, then Percival and finally Constance. These suggestions were disregarded.^[23]

The name Pluto, after the Greek/Roman god of the underworld, was proposed by Venetia Burney (1918–2009), an eleven-year-old schoolgirl in Oxford, England, who was interested in classical mythology.^[24] She suggested it in a conversation with her grandfather Falconer Madan, a former librarian at the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, who passed the name to astronomy professor Herbert Hall Turner, who cabled it to colleagues in the United States.^[24]

Each member of the Lowell Observatory was allowed to vote on a short-list of three potential names: Minerva (which was already the name for an asteroid), Cronus (which had lost reputation through being proposed by the unpopular astronomer Thomas Jefferson Jackson See), and Pluto. Pluto received a unanimous vote.^[25] The name was published on May 1, 1930.^[24][26] Upon the announcement, Madan gave Venetia £5 (equivalent to £336 in 2021^[27], or US$394 in 2021^[28][29]) as a reward.^[24]

The final choice of name was helped in part by the fact that the first two letters of Pluto are the initials of Percival Lowell. Pluto’s planetary symbol ⟨⟩ was then created as a monogram of the letters «PL» (in Unicode: U+2647 ♇ PLUTO),^[30] though it is rarely used in astronomy today. For example, ⟨♇⟩ occurs in a table of the planets identified by their symbols in a 2004 article written before the 2006 IAU definition,^[31] but not in a graph of planets, dwarf planets and moons from 2016, where only the eight IAU planets are identified by their symbols.^[32]
(Planetary symbols in general are uncommon in astronomy, and are discouraged by the IAU.)^[33] The ♇ monogram is also used in astrology, but the most-common astrological symbol for Pluto, at least in English-language sources, is an orb over Pluto’s bident ⟨⟩ (U+2BD3 ⯓ PLUTO FORM TWO). The bident symbol has seen some astronomical use as well since the IAU decision on dwarf planets, for example in a public-education poster on dwarf planets published by the NASA/JPL Dawn mission in 2015, in which each of the five dwarf planets announced by the IAU receives a symbol.^[34] There are in addition several other symbols for Pluto found in European astrological sources, including three accepted by Unicode: , U+2BD4 ⯔ PLUTO FORM THREE; , U+2BD5 ⯕ PLUTO FORM FOUR, used in Uranian astrology; and /, U+2BD6 ⯖ PLUTO FORM FIVE, found in various orientations, showing Pluto’s orbit cutting across that of Neptune.^[35]

The name ‘Pluto’ was soon embraced by wider culture. In 1930, Walt Disney was apparently inspired by it when he introduced for Mickey Mouse a canine companion named Pluto, although Disney animator Ben Sharpsteen could not confirm why the name was given.^[36] In 1941, Glenn T. Seaborg named the newly created element plutonium after Pluto, in keeping with the tradition of naming elements after newly discovered planets, following uranium, which was named after Uranus, and neptunium, which was named after Neptune.^[37]

Most languages use the name «Pluto» in various transliterations.^[h] In Japanese, Houei Nojiri suggested the calque Meiōsei (冥王星, «Star of the King (God) of the Underworld»), and this was borrowed into Chinese and Korean. Some languages of India use the name Pluto, but others, such as Hindi, use the name of Yama, the God of Death in Hinduism.^[38] Polynesian languages also tend to use the indigenous god of the underworld, as in Māori Whiro.^[38]
Vietnamese might be expected to follow Chinese, but does not because the Sino-Vietnamese word 冥 minh «dark» is homophonous with 明 minh «bright». Vietnamese instead uses Yama, which is also a Buddhist deity, in the form of Sao Diêm Vương 星閻王 «Yama’s Star», derived from Chinese 閻王 Yán Wáng / Yìhm Wòhng «King Yama».^[39][38][40]

Planet X disproved

Once Pluto was found, its faintness and lack of a viewable disc cast doubt on the idea that it was Lowell’s Planet X.^[15] Estimates of Pluto’s mass were revised downward throughout the 20th century.^[41]

Astronomers initially calculated its mass based on its presumed effect on Neptune and Uranus. In 1931, Pluto was calculated to be roughly the mass of Earth, with further calculations in 1948 bringing the mass down to roughly that of Mars.^[43][45] In 1976, Dale Cruikshank, Carl Pilcher and David Morrison of the University of Hawaii calculated Pluto’s albedo for the first time, finding that it matched that for methane ice; this meant Pluto had to be exceptionally luminous for its size and therefore could not be more than 1 percent the mass of Earth.^[46] (Pluto’s albedo is 1.4–1.9 times that of Earth.^[2])

In 1978, the discovery of Pluto’s moon Charon allowed the measurement of Pluto’s mass for the first time: roughly 0.2% that of Earth, and far too small to account for the discrepancies in the orbit of Uranus. Subsequent searches for an alternative Planet X, notably by Robert Sutton Harrington,^[49] failed. In 1992, Myles Standish used data from Voyager 2′s flyby of Neptune in 1989, which had revised the estimates of Neptune’s mass downward by 0.5%—an amount comparable to the mass of Mars—to recalculate its gravitational effect on Uranus. With the new figures added in, the discrepancies, and with them the need for a Planet X, vanished.^[50] Today, the majority of scientists agree that Planet X, as Lowell defined it, does not exist.^[51] Lowell had made a prediction of Planet X’s orbit and position in 1915 that was fairly close to Pluto’s actual orbit and its position at that time; Ernest W. Brown concluded soon after Pluto’s discovery that this was a coincidence.^[52]

Classification

From 1992 onward, many bodies were discovered orbiting in the same volume as Pluto, showing that Pluto is part of a population of objects called the Kuiper belt. This made its official status as a planet controversial, with many questioning whether Pluto should be considered together with or separately from its surrounding population. Museum and planetarium directors occasionally created controversy by omitting Pluto from planetary models of the Solar System. In February 2000 the Hayden Planetarium in New York City displayed a Solar System model of only eight planets, which made headlines almost a year later.^[53]

Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta lost their planet status after the discovery of many other asteroids. Similarly, objects increasingly closer in size to Pluto were discovered in the Kuiper belt region. On July 29, 2005, astronomers at Caltech announced the discovery of a new trans-Neptunian object, Eris, which was substantially more massive than Pluto and the most massive object discovered in the Solar System since Triton in 1846. Its discoverers and the press initially called it the tenth planet, although there was no official consensus at the time on whether to call it a planet.^[54] Others in the astronomical community considered the discovery the strongest argument for reclassifying Pluto as a minor planet.^[55]

IAU classification

The debate came to a head in August 2006, with an IAU resolution that created an official definition for the term «planet». According to this resolution, there are three conditions for an object in the Solar System to be considered a planet:

• The object must be in orbit around the Sun.
• The object must be massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity. More specifically, its own gravity should pull it into a shape defined by hydrostatic equilibrium.
• It must have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.^[56][57]

Pluto fails to meet the third condition.^[58] Its mass is substantially less than the combined mass of the other objects in its orbit: 0.07 times, in contrast to Earth, which is 1.7 million times the remaining mass in its orbit (excluding the moon).^[59][57] The IAU further decided that bodies that, like Pluto, meet criteria 1 and 2, but do not meet criterion 3 would be called dwarf planets. In September 2006, the IAU included Pluto, and Eris and its moon Dysnomia, in their Minor Planet Catalogue, giving them the official minor-planet designations «(134340) Pluto», «(136199) Eris», and «(136199) Eris I Dysnomia».^[60] Had Pluto been included upon its discovery in 1930, it would have likely been designated 1164, following 1163 Saga, which was discovered a month earlier.^[61]

There has been some resistance within the astronomical community toward the reclassification.^[62][63][64] Alan Stern, principal investigator with NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto, derided the IAU resolution, stating that «the definition stinks, for technical reasons».^[65] Stern contended that, by the terms of the new definition, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Neptune, all of which share their orbits with asteroids, would be excluded^[66] (even though he had himself previously suggested a criterion for clearing the neighbourhood, which considered all four of them to have done so).^[67] He argued that all big spherical moons, including the Moon, should likewise be considered planets.^[68] He also stated that because less than five percent of astronomers voted for it, the decision was not representative of the entire astronomical community.^[66] Marc W. Buie, then at the Lowell Observatory, petitioned against the definition.^[69] Others have supported the IAU. Mike Brown, the astronomer who discovered Eris, said «through this whole crazy, circus-like procedure, somehow the right answer was stumbled on. It’s been a long time coming. Science is self-correcting eventually, even when strong emotions are involved.»^[70]

Public reception to the IAU decision was mixed. A resolution introduced in the California State Assembly facetiously called the IAU decision a «scientific heresy».^[71] The New Mexico House of Representatives passed a resolution in honor of Tombaugh, a longtime resident of that state, that declared that Pluto will always be considered a planet while in New Mexican skies and that March 13, 2007, was Pluto Planet Day.^[72][73] The Illinois Senate passed a similar resolution in 2009, on the basis that Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto, was born in Illinois. The resolution asserted that Pluto was «unfairly downgraded to a ‘dwarf’ planet» by the IAU.»^[74] Some members of the public have also rejected the change, citing the disagreement within the scientific community on the issue, or for sentimental reasons, maintaining that they have always known Pluto as a planet and will continue to do so regardless of the IAU decision.^[75]

In 2006, in its 17th annual words-of-the-year vote, the American Dialect Society voted plutoed as the word of the year. To «pluto» is to «demote or devalue someone or something».^[76]

Researchers on both sides of the debate gathered in August 2008, at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory for a conference that included back-to-back talks on the current IAU definition of a planet.^[77] Entitled «The Great Planet Debate»,^[78] the conference published a post-conference press release indicating that scientists could not come to a consensus about the definition of planet.^[79] In June 2008, the IAU had announced in a press release that the term «plutoid» would henceforth be used to refer to Pluto and other planetary-mass objects that have an orbital semi-major axis greater than that of Neptune, though the term has not seen significant use.^[80][81][82]

Orbit

Pluto’s orbital period is currently about 248 years. Its orbital characteristics are substantially different from those of the planets, which follow nearly circular orbits around the Sun close to a flat reference plane called the ecliptic. In contrast, Pluto’s orbit is moderately inclined relative to the ecliptic (over 17°) and moderately eccentric (elliptical). This eccentricity means a small region of Pluto’s orbit lies closer to the Sun than Neptune’s. The Pluto–Charon barycenter came to perihelion on September 5, 1989,^[3][i] and was last closer to the Sun than Neptune between February 7, 1979, and February 11, 1999.^[83] Detailed calculations indicate that the previous such occurrence lasted only fourteen years, from July 11, 1735 to September 15, 1749, whereas between April 30, 1483 and July 23, 1503, it had also lasted 20 years. ^[84]

Although the 3:2 resonance with Neptune (see below) is maintained, Pluto’s inclination and eccentricity behave in a chaotic manner. Computer simulations can be used to predict its position for several million years (both forward and backward in time), but after intervals much longer than the Lyapunov time of 10–20 million years, calculations become unreliable: Pluto is sensitive to immeasurably small details of the Solar System, hard-to-predict factors that will gradually change Pluto’s position in its orbit.^[85][86]

The semi-major axis of Pluto’s orbit varies between about 39.3 and 39.6 au with a period of about 19,951 years, corresponding to an orbital period varying between 246 and 249 years. The semi-major axis and period are presently getting longer.^[87]

Relationship with Neptune

Despite Pluto’s orbit appearing to cross that of Neptune when viewed from directly above, the two objects’ orbits do not intersect. When Pluto is closest to the Sun, and close to Neptune’s orbit as viewed from above, it is also the farthest above Neptune’s path. Pluto’s orbit passes about 8 AU above that of Neptune, preventing a collision.^{[88][89][90][j]}

This alone is not enough to protect Pluto; perturbations from the planets (especially Neptune) could alter Pluto’s orbit (such as its orbital precession) over millions of years so that a collision could be possible. However, Pluto is also protected by its 2:3 orbital resonance with Neptune: for every two orbits that Pluto makes around the Sun, Neptune makes three. Each cycle lasts about 495 years. (There are many other objects in this same resonance, called plutinos.) This pattern is such that, in each 495-year cycle, the first time Pluto is near perihelion, Neptune is over 50° behind Pluto. By Pluto’s second perihelion, Neptune will have completed a further one and a half of its own orbits, and so will be nearly 130° ahead of Pluto. Pluto and Neptune’s minimum separation is over 17 AU, which is greater than Pluto’s minimum separation from Uranus (11 AU).^[90] The minimum separation between Pluto and Neptune actually occurs near the time of Pluto’s aphelion.^[87]

The 2:3 resonance between the two bodies is highly stable and has been preserved over millions of years.^[92] This prevents their orbits from changing relative to one another, and so the two bodies can never pass near each other. Even if Pluto’s orbit were not inclined, the two bodies could never collide.^[90] The long term stability of the mean-motion resonance is due to phase protection. When Pluto’s period is slightly shorter than 3/2 of Neptune, its orbit relative to Neptune will drift, causing it to make closer approaches behind Neptune’s orbit. The gravitational pull between the two then causes angular momentum to be transferred to Pluto, at Neptune’s expense. This moves Pluto into a slightly larger orbit, where it travels slightly more slowly, according to Kepler’s third law. After many such repetitions, Pluto is sufficiently slowed that Pluto’s orbit relative to Neptune drifts in the opposite direction until the process is reversed. The whole process takes about 20,000 years to complete.^[90][92][93]

Other factors

Numerical studies have shown that over millions of years, the general nature of the alignment between the orbits of Pluto and Neptune does not change.^[88][87] There are several other resonances and interactions that enhance Pluto’s stability. These arise principally from two additional mechanisms (besides the 2:3 mean-motion resonance).

First, Pluto’s argument of perihelion, the angle between the point where it crosses the ecliptic and the point where it is closest to the Sun, librates around 90°.^[87] This means that when Pluto is closest to the Sun, it is at its farthest above the plane of the Solar System, preventing encounters with Neptune. This is a consequence of the Kozai mechanism,^[88] which relates the eccentricity of an orbit to its inclination to a larger perturbing body—in this case, Neptune. Relative to Neptune, the amplitude of libration is 38°, and so the angular separation of Pluto’s perihelion to the orbit of Neptune is always greater than 52° (90°–38°). The closest such angular separation occurs every 10,000 years.^[92]

Second, the longitudes of ascending nodes of the two bodies—the points where they cross the ecliptic—are in near-resonance with the above libration. When the two longitudes are the same—that is, when one could draw a straight line through both nodes and the Sun—Pluto’s perihelion lies exactly at 90°, and hence it comes closest to the Sun when it is highest above Neptune’s orbit. This is known as the 1:1 superresonance. All the Jovian planets, particularly Jupiter, play a role in the creation of the superresonance.^[88]

Quasi-satellite

In 2012, it was hypothesized that 15810 Arawn could be a quasi-satellite of Pluto, a specific type of co-orbital configuration.^[94] According to the hypothesis, the object would be a quasi-satellite of Pluto for about 350,000 years out of every two-million-year period.^[94][95] Measurements made by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2015 made it possible to calculate the orbit of Arawn more accurately.^[96] These calculations confirm the overall dynamics described in the hypothesis.^[97] However, it is not agreed upon among astronomers whether Arawn should be classified as a quasi-satellite of Pluto based on this motion, since its orbit is primarily controlled by Neptune with only occasional smaller perturbations caused by Pluto.^[98][96][97]

Rotation

Pluto’s rotation period, its day, is equal to 6.387 Earth days.^[2][99] Like Uranus, Pluto rotates on its «side» in its orbital plane, with an axial tilt of 120°, and so its seasonal variation is extreme; at its solstices, one-fourth of its surface is in continuous daylight, whereas another fourth is in continuous darkness.^[100] The reason for this unusual orientation has been debated. Research from the University of Arizona has suggested that it may be due to the way that a body’s spin will always adjust to minimise energy. This could mean a body reorienting itself to put extraneous mass near the equator and regions lacking mass tend towards the poles. This is called polar wander.^[101] According to a paper released from the University of Arizona, this could be caused by masses of frozen nitrogen building up in shadowed areas of the dwarf planet. These masses would cause the body to reorient itself, leading to its unusual axial tilt of 120°. The buildup of nitrogen is due to Pluto’s vast distance from the Sun. At the equator, temperatures can drop to −240 °C (−400.0 °F; 33.1 K), causing nitrogen to freeze as water would freeze on Earth. The same effect seen on Pluto would be observed on Earth were the Antarctic ice sheet is several times larger.^[102]

Geology

Surface

The plains on Pluto’s surface are composed of more than 98 percent nitrogen ice, with traces of methane and carbon monoxide.^[103] Nitrogen and carbon monoxide are most abundant on the anti-Charon face of Pluto (around 180° longitude, where Tombaugh Regio’s western lobe, Sputnik Planitia, is located), whereas methane is most abundant near 300° east.^[104] The mountains are made of water ice.^[105] Pluto’s surface is quite varied, with large differences in both brightness and color.^[106] Pluto is one of the most contrastive bodies in the Solar System, with as much contrast as Saturn’s moon Iapetus.^[107] The color varies from charcoal black, to dark orange and white.^[108] Pluto’s color is more similar to that of Io with slightly more orange and significantly less red than Mars.^[109] Notable geographical features include Tombaugh Regio, or the «Heart» (a large bright area on the side opposite Charon), Cthulhu Macula,^[6] or the «Whale» (a large dark area on the trailing hemisphere), and the «Brass Knuckles» (a series of equatorial dark areas on the leading hemisphere).

Sputnik Planitia, the western lobe of the «Heart», is a 1,000 km-wide basin of frozen nitrogen and carbon monoxide ices, divided into polygonal cells, which are interpreted as convection cells that carry floating blocks of water ice crust and sublimation pits towards their margins;^{[110][111][112]} there are obvious signs of glacial flows both into and out of the basin.^[113][114] It has no craters that were visible to New Horizons, indicating that its surface is less than 10 million years old.^[115] Latest studies have shown that the surface has an age of 180000+90000
−40000 years.^[116]
The New Horizons science team summarized initial findings as «Pluto displays a surprisingly wide variety of geological landforms, including those resulting from glaciological and surface–atmosphere interactions as well as impact, tectonic, possible cryovolcanic, and mass-wasting processes.»^[7]

In Western parts of Sputnik Planitia there are fields of transverse dunes formed by the winds blowing from the center of Sputnik Planitia in the direction of surrounding mountains. The dune wavelengths are in the range of 0.4–1 km and they are likely consists of methane particles 200–300 μm in size.^[117]

Internal structure

Pluto’s density is 1.860±0.013 g/cm³.^[7] Because the decay of radioactive elements would eventually heat the ices enough for the rock to separate from them, scientists expect that Pluto’s internal structure is differentiated, with the rocky material having settled into a dense core surrounded by a mantle of water ice. The pre–New Horizons estimate for the diameter of the core is 1700 km, 70% of Pluto’s diameter.^[118] Pluto has no magnetic field.^[119]

It is possible that such heating continues today, creating a subsurface ocean of liquid water 100 to 180 km thick at the core–mantle boundary.^{[118][120][121]} In September 2016, scientists at Brown University simulated the impact thought to have formed Sputnik Planitia, and showed that it might have been the result of liquid water upwelling from below after the collision, implying the existence of a subsurface ocean at least 100 km deep.^[122] In June 2020, astronomers reported evidence that Pluto may have had a subsurface ocean, and consequently may have been habitable, when it was first formed.^[123][124] In March 2022, they concluded that peaks on Pluto are actually a merger of «ice volcanoes», suggesting a source of heat on the body at levels previously thought not possible.^[125]

Mass and size

Pluto’s diameter is 2376.6±3.2 km^[5] and its mass is (1.303±0.003)×10²² kg, 17.7% that of the Moon (0.22% that of Earth).^[126] Its surface area is 1.774443×10⁷ km², or just slightly bigger than Russia. Its surface gravity is 0.063 g (compared to 1 g for Earth and 0.17 g for the Moon).^[2]

The discovery of Pluto’s satellite Charon in 1978 enabled a determination of the mass of the Pluto–Charon system by application of Newton’s formulation of Kepler’s third law. Observations of Pluto in occultation with Charon allowed scientists to establish Pluto’s diameter more accurately, whereas the invention of adaptive optics allowed them to determine its shape more accurately.^[127]

With less than 0.2 lunar masses, Pluto is much less massive than the terrestrial planets, and also less massive than seven moons: Ganymede, Titan, Callisto, Io, the Moon, Europa, and Triton. The mass is much less than thought before Charon was discovered.^[128]

Pluto is more than twice the diameter and a dozen times the mass of Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt. It is less massive than the dwarf planet Eris, a trans-Neptunian object discovered in 2005, though Pluto has a larger diameter of 2,376.6 km^[5] compared to Eris’s approximate diameter of 2,326 km.^[129]

Determinations of Pluto’s size have been complicated by its atmosphere^[130] and hydrocarbon haze.^[131] In March 2014, Lellouch, de Bergh et al. published findings regarding methane mixing ratios in Pluto’s atmosphere consistent with a Plutonian diameter greater than 2,360 km, with a «best guess» of 2,368 km.^[132] On July 13, 2015, images from NASA’s New Horizons mission Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), along with data from the other instruments, determined Pluto’s diameter to be 2,370 km (1,470 mi),^[129][133] which was later revised to be 2,372 km (1,474 mi) on July 24,^[134] and later to 2374±8 km.^[7] Using radio occultation data from the New Horizons Radio Science Experiment (REX), the diameter was found to be 2376.6±3.2 km.^[5]

Atmosphere

Pluto has a tenuous atmosphere consisting of nitrogen (N₂), methane (CH₄), and carbon monoxide (CO), which are in equilibrium with their ices on Pluto’s surface.^[138][139] According to the measurements by New Horizons, the surface pressure is about 1 Pa (10 μbar),^[7] roughly one million to 100,000 times less than Earth’s atmospheric pressure. It was initially thought that, as Pluto moves away from the Sun, its atmosphere should gradually freeze onto the surface; studies of New Horizons data and ground-based occultations show that Pluto’s atmospheric density increases, and that it likely remains gaseous throughout Pluto’s orbit.^[140][141] New Horizons observations showed that atmospheric escape of nitrogen to be 10,000 times less than expected.^[141] Alan Stern has contended that even a small increase in Pluto’s surface temperature can lead to exponential increases in Pluto’s atmospheric density; from 18 hPa to as much as 280 hPa (three times that of Mars to a quarter that of the Earth). At such densities, nitrogen could flow across the surface as liquid.^[141] Just like sweat cools the body as it evaporates from the skin, the sublimation of Pluto’s atmosphere cools its surface.^[142] Pluto has no or almost no troposphere; observations by New Horizons suggest only a thin tropospheric boundary layer. Its thickness in the place of measurement was 4 km, and the temperature was 37±3 K. The layer is not continuous.^[143]

In July 2019, an occultation by Pluto showed that its atmospheric pressure, against expectations, had fallen by 20% since 2016.^[144] In 2021, astronomers at the Southwest Research Institute confirmed the result using data from an occultation in 2018, which showed that light was appearing less gradually from behind Pluto’s disc, indicating a thinning atmosphere.^[145]

The presence of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, in Pluto’s atmosphere creates a temperature inversion, with the average temperature of its atmosphere tens of degrees warmer than its surface,^[146] though observations by New Horizons have revealed Pluto’s upper atmosphere to be far colder than expected (70 K, as opposed to about 100 K).^[141] Pluto’s atmosphere is divided into roughly 20 regularly spaced haze layers up to 150 km high,^[7] thought to be the result of pressure waves created by airflow across Pluto’s mountains.^[141]

Satellites

Pluto has five known natural satellites. The closest to Pluto is Charon. First identified in 1978 by astronomer James Christy, Charon is the only moon of Pluto that may be in hydrostatic equilibrium. Charon’s mass is sufficient to cause the barycenter of the Pluto–Charon system to be outside Pluto. Beyond Charon there are four much smaller circumbinary moons. In order of distance from Pluto they are Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra. Nix and Hydra were both discovered in 2005,^[147] Kerberos was discovered in 2011,^[148] and Styx was discovered in 2012.^[149] The satellites’ orbits are circular (eccentricity < 0.006) and coplanar with Pluto’s equator (inclination < 1°),^[150][151] and therefore tilted approximately 120° relative to Pluto’s orbit. The Plutonian system is highly compact: the five known satellites orbit within the inner 3% of the region where prograde orbits would be stable.^[152]

The orbital periods of all Pluto’s moons are linked in a system of orbital resonances and near resonances.^[151][153] When precession is accounted for, the orbital periods of Styx, Nix, and Hydra are in an exact 18:22:33 ratio.^[151] There is a sequence of approximate ratios, 3:4:5:6, between the periods of Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra with that of Charon; the ratios become closer to being exact the further out the moons are.^[151][154]

The Pluto–Charon system is one of the few in the Solar System whose barycenter lies outside the primary body; the Patroclus–Menoetius system is a smaller example, and the Sun–Jupiter system is the only larger one.^[155] The similarity in size of Charon and Pluto has prompted some astronomers to call it a double dwarf planet.^[156] The system is also unusual among planetary systems in that each is tidally locked to the other, which means that Pluto and Charon always have the same hemisphere facing each other — a property shared by only one other known system, Eris and Dysnomia.^[157] From any position on either body, the other is always at the same position in the sky, or always obscured.^[158] This also means that the rotation period of each is equal to the time it takes the entire system to rotate around its barycenter.^[99]

In 2007, observations by the Gemini Observatory of patches of ammonia hydrates and water crystals on the surface of Charon suggested the presence of active cryo-geysers.^[159]

Pluto’s moons are hypothesized to have been formed by a collision between Pluto and a similar-sized body, early in the history of the Solar System. The collision released material that consolidated into the moons around Pluto.^[160]

• 

  The Pluto system: Pluto, Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in July 2012.

• 

  Pluto and Charon, to scale. Image acquired by New Horizons on July 8, 2015.

• 

  Family portrait of the five moons of Pluto, to scale.^[161]

• 

  Pluto’s moon Charon as viewed by New Horizons on July 13, 2015

Origin

Pluto’s origin and identity had long puzzled astronomers. One early hypothesis was that Pluto was an escaped moon of Neptune^[162] knocked out of orbit by Neptune’s largest current moon, Triton. This idea was eventually rejected after dynamical studies showed it to be impossible because Pluto never approaches Neptune in its orbit.^[163]

Pluto’s true place in the Solar System began to reveal itself only in 1992, when astronomers began to find small icy objects beyond Neptune that were similar to Pluto not only in orbit but also in size and composition. This trans-Neptunian population is thought to be the source of many short-period comets. Pluto is now known to be the largest member of the Kuiper belt,^[k] a stable belt of objects located between 30 and 50 AU from the Sun. As of 2011, surveys of the Kuiper belt to magnitude 21 were nearly complete and any remaining Pluto-sized objects are expected to be beyond 100 AU from the Sun.^[164] Like other Kuiper-belt objects (KBOs), Pluto shares features with comets; for example, the solar wind is gradually blowing Pluto’s surface into space.^[165] It has been claimed that if Pluto were placed as near to the Sun as Earth, it would develop a tail, as comets do.^[166] This claim has been disputed with the argument that Pluto’s escape velocity is too high for this to happen.^[167] It has been proposed that Pluto may have formed as a result of the agglomeration of numerous comets and Kuiper-belt objects.^[168][169]

Though Pluto is the largest Kuiper belt object discovered,^[131] Neptune’s moon Triton, which is larger than Pluto, is similar to it both geologically and atmospherically, and is thought to be a captured Kuiper belt object.^[170] Eris (see above) is about the same size as Pluto (though more massive) but is not strictly considered a member of the Kuiper belt population. Rather, it is considered a member of a linked population called the scattered disc.^[171]

Many Kuiper belt objects, like Pluto, are in a 2:3 orbital resonance with Neptune. KBOs with this orbital resonance are called «plutinos», after Pluto.^[172]

Like other members of the Kuiper belt, Pluto is thought to be a residual planetesimal; a component of the original protoplanetary disc around the Sun that failed to fully coalesce into a full-fledged planet. Most astronomers agree that Pluto owes its current position to a sudden migration undergone by Neptune early in the Solar System’s formation. As Neptune migrated outward, it approached the objects in the proto-Kuiper belt, setting one in orbit around itself (Triton), locking others into resonances, and knocking others into chaotic orbits. The objects in the scattered disc, a dynamically unstable region overlapping the Kuiper belt, are thought to have been placed in their current positions by interactions with Neptune’s migrating resonances.^[173] A computer model created in 2004 by Alessandro Morbidelli of the Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur in Nice suggested that the migration of Neptune into the Kuiper belt may have been triggered by the formation of a 1:2 resonance between Jupiter and Saturn, which created a gravitational push that propelled both Uranus and Neptune into higher orbits and caused them to switch places, ultimately doubling Neptune’s distance from the Sun. The resultant expulsion of objects from the proto-Kuiper belt could also explain the Late Heavy Bombardment 600 million years after the Solar System’s formation and the origin of the Jupiter trojans.^[174] It is possible that Pluto had a near-circular orbit about 33 AU from the Sun before Neptune’s migration perturbed it into a resonant capture.^[175] The Nice model requires that there were about a thousand Pluto-sized bodies in the original planetesimal disk, which included Triton and Eris.^[174]

Observation and exploration

Pluto’s distance from Earth makes its in-depth study and exploration difficult. On July 14, 2015, NASA’s New Horizons space probe flew through the Pluto system, providing much information about it.^[176]

Observation

Pluto’s visual apparent magnitude averages 15.1, brightening to 13.65 at perihelion.^[2] To see it, a telescope is required; around 30 cm (12 in) aperture being desirable.^[177] It looks star-like and without a visible disk even in large telescopes,^[178] because its angular diameter is maximum 0.11″.^[2]

The earliest maps of Pluto, made in the late 1980s, were brightness maps created from close observations of eclipses by its largest moon, Charon. Observations were made of the change in the total average brightness of the Pluto–Charon system during the eclipses. For example, eclipsing a bright spot on Pluto makes a bigger total brightness change than eclipsing a dark spot. Computer processing of many such observations can be used to create a brightness map. This method can also track changes in brightness over time.^[179][180]

Better maps were produced from images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), which offered higher resolution, and showed considerably more detail,^[107] resolving variations several hundred kilometers across, including polar regions and large bright spots.^[109] These maps were produced by complex computer processing, which finds the best-fit projected maps for the few pixels of the Hubble images.^[181] These remained the most detailed maps of Pluto until the flyby of New Horizons in July 2015, because the two cameras on the HST used for these maps were no longer in service.^[181]

Exploration

The New Horizons spacecraft, which flew by Pluto in July 2015, is the first and so far only attempt to explore Pluto directly. Launched in 2006, it captured its first (distant) images of Pluto in late September 2006 during a test of the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager.^[182] The images, taken from a distance of approximately 4.2 billion kilometers, confirmed the spacecraft’s ability to track distant targets, critical for maneuvering toward Pluto and other Kuiper belt objects. In early 2007 the craft made use of a gravity assist from Jupiter.

New Horizons made its closest approach to Pluto on July 14, 2015, after a 3,462-day journey across the Solar System. Scientific observations of Pluto began five months before the closest approach and continued for at least a month after the encounter. Observations were conducted using a remote sensing package that included imaging instruments and a radio science investigation tool, as well as spectroscopic and other experiments. The scientific goals of New Horizons were to characterize the global geology and morphology of Pluto and its moon Charon, map their surface composition, and analyze Pluto’s neutral atmosphere and its escape rate. On October 25, 2016, at 05:48 pm ET, the last bit of data (of a total of 50 billion bits of data; or 6.25 gigabytes) was received from New Horizons from its close encounter with Pluto.^{[183][184][185][186]}

Since the New Horizons flyby, scientists have advocated for an orbiter mission that would return to Pluto to fulfill new science objectives.^{[187][188][189]} They include mapping the surface at 9.1 m (30 ft) per pixel, observations of Pluto’s smaller satellites, observations of how Pluto changes as it rotates on its axis, investigations of a possible subsurface ocean, and topographic mapping of Pluto’s regions that are covered in long-term darkness due to its axial tilt. The last objective could be accomplished using laser pulses to generate a complete topographic map of Pluto. New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern has advocated for a Cassini-style orbiter that would launch around 2030 (the 100th anniversary of Pluto’s discovery) and use Charon’s gravity to adjust its orbit as needed to fulfill science objectives after arriving at the Pluto system.^[190] The orbiter could then use Charon’s gravity to leave the Pluto system and study more KBOs after all Pluto science objectives are completed. A conceptual study funded by the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program describes a fusion-enabled Pluto orbiter and lander based on the Princeton field-reversed configuration reactor.^[191][192]

Sub-Charon hemisphere

The equatorial region of the sub-Charon hemisphere of Pluto has only been imaged at low resolution, as New Horizons made its closest approach to the anti-Charon hemisphere.^[193]

• Composite image maps of Pluto from July 14, 2015 (updated 2019)

• 

  A composite image of the sub-Charon hemisphere of Pluto. The region inside/below the white line was on the far side of Pluto when New Horizons made its closest approach, and was only imaged (at lower resolution) in the early days of the flyby. Black regions were not imaged at all.

• 

  The low-resolution area, with named features labeled

• 

  The low-resolution area, with features classified by geological type

Sources:^[194][195]

Southern hemisphere

New Horizons imaged all of Pluto’s northern hemisphere, and the equatorial regions down to about 30° South. Higher southern latitudes have only been observed, at very low resolution, from Earth.^[196] Images from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1996 cover 85% of Pluto and show large albedo features down to about 75° South.^[197][198] This is enough to show the extent of the temperate-zone maculae. Later images had slightly better resolution, due to minor improvements in Hubble instrumentation.^[199]

Some albedo variations in the higher southern latitudes could be detected by New Horizons using Charon-shine (light reflected off Charon). The south polar region seems to be darker than the north polar region, but there is a high-albedo region in the southern hemisphere that may be a regional nitrogen or methane ice deposit.^[200]

• 

  A map of Pluto based on Hubble images from 1996, centered on the anti-Charon hemisphere (Sputnik Planitia), covering the southern hemisphere down to 75°S

• 

  (a) Synthesized HST map of Pluto from Buie et al. (2010).
  (b) Colorized New Horizons MVIC and LORRI mosaic.
  (c–d) Destreaked Charon-illuminated image stack, shown to approximately the same stretch. The green line is the limit of the sub-Charon hemisphere.^[200]

Videos

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

3D-модель Плутона

Сравнительные размеры Плутона и Земли

Наверх

Что на самом деле такое Плутон? Это планета или просто другой транснептуновый объект (карликовая планета)? Неопределенность в отношении планетарности Плутона, несомненно, является одной из самых острых проблем среди исследователей и космических фанатиков. Уже более десяти лет ученые спорят о том, как точно классифицировать Плутон.

Плутон был открыт в феврале 1930 года американским астрономом Клайдом У. Томбо и вскоре получил статус планеты, став девятой планетой Солнечной системы. В 1931 году, примерно через год после его открытия, группа исследователей оценила массу Плутона, которая оказалась очень похожей на массу Земли.

Затем, в 1948 году, планетолог Жерар П. Койпер провел свои собственные исследования, но на этот раз масса Плутона была около 1/10 от массы Земли. В этой области было проведено еще два отдельных исследования, и оба раза расчетная масса Плутона была резко снижена.

К 1992 году была обнаружена группа новых транснептуновых объектов, обладающих Плутоноподобными характеристиками. Важный поворотный момент в этом вопросе произошел в 2005 году, когда группа исследователей обнаружила более массивный транснептуновый объект под названием Эрида. Примерно в это же время был поставлен под сомнение планетарный статус Плутона.

Это открытие вызвало горячие споры среди астрономического сообщества о том, следует ли назвать Эриду десятой планетой или переклассифицировать Плутон в карликовую планету.

Решающий шаг, наконец, был сделан в августе 2006 года, когда МАС или Международный астрономический союз приняли своеобразную резолюцию. Согласно этой резолюции, существует три условия, которые объект Солнечной системы должен выполнить, чтобы считаться планетой.

Этими условиями являются:

1. Рассматриваемый объект должен вращаться вокруг Солнца.
2. Это должно быть достаточно массивно, чтобы быть круглым; собственная гравитация должна привести его в четко определенное (гидростатическое равновесие) состояние.
3. Объект должен был очистить окрестности вокруг своей орбиты.

Последнее уточнение насчет свободного пространства, добавленное на ассамблее, означает, что на орбите планеты нет небесных тел, не являющихся её спутниками.

Ассамблея явно декларировала, что Плутон не является планетой. Он удовлетворяет только двум первым критериям, использовавшимся ранее, и не удовлетворяет новому критерию. Его классификация изменена на «карликовая планета». К этой группе также отнесли Эриду, Цереру, а позднее — Макемаке и Хаумеа.

Хотя это решение было одобрено членами астрономических обществ во всем мире, оно также вызвало негативную реакцию со стороны многих астрономов. Одним из главных критиков резолюции МАС является Алан Стерн, который в настоящее время является главным следователем миссии «Новые горизонты».

Он высмеял это решение, сказав, что;
«Введенное определение в корне неверно. Как ученый, я смущен» — Алан Стерн.

Стерн продолжал и утверждал, что по новому определению ни Земля, ни Марс, ни Юпитер, ни Нептун, все из которых сосуществуют с рядом других тел вблизи своих орбит, не превратятся в планету. Он также критикует тот факт, что только около 5% от общего числа 9000 (приблизительно) членов МАС проголосовали по этому вопросу. Другие выдающиеся астрономы, такие как Марк Уильям Бьюи, протестовали против этого решения.

Со времени реклассификации Плутона было опубликовано много исследований и разработок, дающих что-то новое в этом деликатном вопросе. В исследовательской работе, опубликованной в сентябре 2018 года, указывалось на наличие более сложной геологии на Плутоне, которая является более динамичной, чем большинство других планет в нашей Солнечной системе.

Ниже мы собрали некоторые из самых интересных фактов о Плутоне.

Профиль планеты

• • Диаметр: 2,372 км
  • Масса: 1,31 × 10 22 кг
  • Афелий: 49,305 А.Е.
  • Перигелий: 29,658 А.Е.
  • Известные спутники: 5
  • Средняя температура поверхности: -230 ° C
  • Среднее расстояние до Солнца: 5,9 млрд км.

16. Клайд Уильям Томбо искал планету X

Все началось в 1840-х годах, когда многие астрономы, в том числе Урбен Ле Верье, размышляли о наличии необнаруженной планеты, которая мешает орбитам наиболее известных планет. Помня об этом, бизнесмен и исследователь Персиваль Лоуэлл основал знаменитую Лоуэллскую обсерваторию в 1906 году и начал поиск таинственной планеты, которую он назвал «Планета X» . После смерти Лоуэлла поиски были возобновлены Клайдом Томбо в 1929 году, которому тогда было всего 23 года.

15. Плутон назван в честь греческого бога подземного мира

В классической греческой мифологии Плутон изображается как правитель Подземного мира, который впервые появился в греческой литературе в произведениях Платона и других древнегреческих драмах. Это имя было предложено Венецией Берни, школьницей из Оксфорда, Англия, которая очень интересовалась древней мифологией.

Предложение Венеции было передано через ее дедушку, который поделился им с профессором астрономии, который затем отправил это имя своим коллегам-исследователям в Обсерватории Лоуэлла в Соединенных Штатах.

14. Его уже посетил один космический аппарат

«Новые горизонты» НАСА, запущенные еще в 2006 году, — единственный космический корабль, когда-либо отправленный для исследования холодной и далекой карликовой планеты. Зонд впервые столкнулся с Плутоном в январе 2015 года. Потребовалось еще шесть месяцев для того, чтобы «Новые горизонты» приблизились к Плутону, в течение которых он сделал несколько снимков и других важных данных.

После успешного выполнения своих первоначальных задач миссия «Новые горизонты» была расширена, и ей было поручено изучить другие близлежащие объекты пояса Койпера. Знаете ли вы, что «Новые горизонты» является одним из самых отдаленных искусственных объектов в космосе? В настоящее время он движется в направлении созвездия Стрельца.

13. Самая большая карликовая планета в Солнечной системе

После открытия Эриды в 2005 году Плутон стал второй по массе карликовой планетой, сохранив при этом свою метку самой большой в Солнечной системе. Это делает Плутон в настоящее время девятым по величине и десятым массивным объектом, вращающимся вокруг Солнца. Наименее массивной карликовой планетой, с другой стороны, является Церера, которая была открыта еще в 1801 году.

12. Плутон меньше, чем несколько лун

Это хорошо известный факт, что Плутон намного меньше, чем все известные планеты в Солнечной системе, но вы знаете, что он меньше, чем даже некоторые Луны или планетные спутники. Эти спутники — Ганимед, Каллисто, Ио, Европа, Титан и Тритон.

Диаметр Плутона 2376 км составляет всего лишь около 66% от диаметра Земли, в то время как масса 1,303×1022 кг составляет всего лишь около 0,22%. В перспективе общая площадь поверхности Плутона будет примерно такой же, как и у России.

11. Поверхность Плутона в основном состоит из водяного льда

Одним из наиболее важных открытий, сделанных космическим кораблем «Новые горизонты», является обнаружение водяного льда на поверхности Плутона, который гораздо более распространен по всей его поверхности, чем считалось ранее. Эти водяные льды состоят из азота, метана или окиси углерода. Его горы также сделаны из водяного льда.

Многие исследователи выдвинули гипотезу о подземном океане воды под обнаженным водяным льдом, что может быть возможно из-за продолжающегося внутреннего нагрева Плутона. Однако важно отметить, что до сих пор не ясно, имеет ли Плутон магнитное поле или нет.

10. Инверсия температуры на Плутоне

Многочисленные исследования атмосферы Плутона показали возможную температурную инверсию на карликовой планете. Одно из таких исследований было проведено еще в 2009 году, когда был сделан вывод, что средняя температура верхней атмосферы Плутона (около 100° к) значительно выше, чем его поверхность.

Однако более недавние наблюдения, проведенные миссией New Horizons, показали, что верхняя атмосфера Плутона намного холоднее, чем предполагалось ранее (около 70° K вместо 100° K). Это, скорее всего, связано с присутствием метана на карликовой планете.

9. Плутон обладает удивительно устойчивой атмосферой

Долгое время считалось, что у Плутона может не быть никакой атмосферы из-за его маленьких размеров и огромного расстояния от Солнца. А если и будет, то периодические изменения его орбиты постепенно заморозят его атмосферу в землю. Однако исследование, основанное на данных, полученных в ходе миссии «Новые горизонты», указывает на обратное.

Согласно исследованию, карликовая планета, скорее всего, останется в газообразном состоянии по всей своей орбите. Ученым также удалось вычислить его поверхностное давление, которое составляет около 1 Па, что примерно в 100 000–1 миллион раз меньше, чем у Земли. На сегодняшний день Плутон является единственным известным транснептуновым объектом, обладающим атмосферой.

8. Орбитальный период Плутона

Период обращения Плутона (время, за которое он совершает один оборот вокруг Солнца) составляет около 248 лет, самая длинная из всех известных планет. Карликовая планета также обладает уникальной орбитальной характеристикой. В отличие от большинства других планет в солнечной системе, которая вращается вокруг Солнца в плоской плоскости (для справки), орбита Плутона слегка наклонена (чуть более 17 ° относительно плоскости).

7. Своеобразные отношения с Нептуном

Один взгляд на орбиты Нептуна и Плутона сверху создаст впечатление, что они должны столкнуться в ближайшее время, но на самом деле эти два планетных тела расположены таким образом, что они никогда не смогут опасно приблизиться друг к другу. Однако исследования и компьютерное моделирование показали, что ситуация может измениться в течение длительного времени.

Одна из причин, по которой столкновение Плутона и Нептуна никогда не происходило в прошлом, обусловлена орбитальным резонансом Плутона 2:3 с Нептуном: на каждые три орбиты, которые Нептун совершает вокруг Солнца, Плутон делает только две. Такой тип орбит предотвращает столкновение планетарных тел.

Некоторые короткие факты

6. В отличие от большинства планет нашей Солнечной системы (кроме Урана), вся Плутон-Харон система наклонена на свою сторону из-за гораздо более высокого осевого наклона (более 120°). Это делает сезонные колебания на Плутоне более сильными. Около одной четверти поверхности Плутона остается в постоянной темноте, в то время как другая четверть — в постоянной дневной.

5. Расстояние Плутона от Земли значительно отличается из-за его странной орбиты вокруг Солнца. На своем самом близком расстоянии Плутон находится примерно в 4,2 миллиарда километров, в то время как он находится почти в 7,5 миллиарда километров от Земли на самом дальнем расстоянии. Космическому зонду потребуется чуть меньше 10 лет, чтобы достичь карликовой планеты, как в случае с новыми горизонтами.

4. На расстоянии 39,5 АЕ или 5,9 миллиардов километров Солнцу требуется около 5,3 часов, чтобы достичь Плутона. Он (солнечный свет) также примерно в 2000 раз тусклее на карликовой планете, чем на Земле.

3. Астрономический символ Плутона ♇ сделан путем объединения букв Р и L. он обозначает первые две буквы карликовой планеты, а также инициалы астронома Персиваля Лоуэлла, который первоначально начал поиски планеты за пределами Нептуна.

2. Плутону требуется чуть более 6 земных дней (6 дней, 9 часов и 17 минут), чтобы завершить один оборот, что делает его вторым самым медленным вращающимся планетарным объектом в Солнечной системе после Венеры, что занимает около 243 дней для завершения одного оборота. С другой стороны, самой быстро вращающейся планетой в Солнечной системе является Юпитер, вращающийся каждые 10 земных часов.

1. Многие эксперты и ученые-планетологи считают, что Плутон может быть просто сбежавшей луной планеты Нептун. Эта гипотеза в значительной степени подпитывается необычными характеристиками самой большой луны Нептуна, Тритона, которая вращается вокруг своего родителя в ретроградном движении: вращается в противоположном направлении вращения первичного объекта.

Хотя в настоящее время неизвестен механизм, который мог бы объяснить образование такой орбиты, предполагается, что причиной этого может быть столкновение Плутона и Тритона в прошлом.

Карликовая планета Плутон – это доминирующий объект в неизученной и далекой системе из 6-ти малых космических тел, расположившихся на рубежах империи Солнца.

Смена статуса

После открытия, Плутон воспринимался как самая далекая, девятая планета нашей системы. Он расположился на окраине известного мира в поясе Койпера. Своего планетного статуса лишился спустя 76 лет, решением Международного астрономического союза. Ассамблея этой организации приняла дополнение к определению «планета», оно заключается в отсутствии других небесных тел около ее орбиты, исключение – собственные спутники. Плутон не соответствует этому пункту, так как рядом с ним имеются различные космические объекты. Это положило начало возникновению новой категории – малые планеты, их второе название плутоиды.

История открытия

Еще в конце XIX века ученые предполагали присутствие неизвестной планеты, проявляющей влияние на Уран. Активным поиском объекта занялся в 1906 году американский профессор астрономии, создатель крупной частной обсерватории, исследователь Персиваль Лоуэлл.

Он дал космическому телу название «Планета X», но так и не сумел найти его до конца своих дней. В 1919 году калифорнийские ученые из Маунт-Вилсон рассматривали фотографии района нахождения Плутона, но из-за брака в снимках он не был замечен. В течение десяти лет поиски были приостановлены, а в 1929 году их продолжил Клайд Томбо. Делая снимки примерного места расположения загадочной планеты по координатам, рассчитанным Лоуэллом, он работал по 14 часов в день. Были обнаружены сотни астероидов и комета, а в 1930 – открыт Плутон. Привилегия выбрать название планеты досталась соратникам профессора Лоуэлла, варианты присылались отовсюду. Имя бога темного царства мертвых предложила юная англичанка Венеция Берни. Этот вариант понравился большинству сотрудников, и планета стала Плутоном.

Поверхность и состав

Изучение планеты затруднено огромным расстоянием, сведений о ней немного. В своем строении она имеет каменное ядро и мантию из замерзшего азота с примесью метана и оксида углерода. Поверхность Плутона имеет разный характер, ее цвет изменяется со сменой сезонов. Просматриваются более темные области, состоящие из метанового льда. Плотность планеты – 2,03 г/см3 – говорит о наличии 50% силикатов в составе внутренней структуры. Изучение Плутона ведется исходя из материалов, полученных от телескопа «Хаббл», им замечены следы сложных углеводородов.

Характеристики

Исходные предположения астрономов говорили, что вес Плутона соизмерим с земным. Но изучая гравитационное действие Харона, выяснили, что масса планеты достигает 1,305х10 в 22 кг – это всего четверть веса Земли. Он уступает по габаритам Луне и еще шести спутникам в нашей системе. Размер Плутона пересчитывался неоднократно, его значение изменялось при получении новых данных. Сейчас его диаметр принято считать равным 2390 км.

Планета окружена тонким слоем атмосферы, состояние которой связано с расстоянием до Солнца. При приближении к звезде лед плавится и испаряется, образуя разреженную газовую оболочку, состоящую в большей степени из азота и частично из метана, а при удалении эти вещества замерзают и падают на поверхность. Температура объекта составляет -223 градуса Цельсия. Планета отличается медленным вращением вокруг оси, для смены суток ей необходимо 6 дней и 9 часов.

Орбита

Форма орбиты Плутона вытянутая, она не похожа на другие, а ее отклонение от окружности равняется 170. Из-за этого расстояние планеты до светила изменяется циклично. Она, опережая Нептун, подходит на 4,4 млрд. км, а в другой части отдаляется на 7,4 млрд. км. Время приближения к светилу длится 20 лет – тогда наступает самый удобный момент для изучения планеты. Орбиты Плутона и Нептуна не имеют точек соприкосновения, они достаточно далеки друг от друга (17 а. е.). Планеты имеют резонанс 3:2, т. е. пока Плутон совершает два оборота, его сосед успевает выполнить три. Это устойчивое соотношение длится миллионы лет. Путь вокруг Солнца планета проходит за 248 лет. Свое движение планета осуществляет навстречу Земле, как Уран и Венера.

Спутники

Плутон окружают пять маленьких лун: Гидра, Харон, Никта, Кербер и Стикс. Они сосредоточены очень компактно. Первым был замечен Харон, имеющий диаметр 1205 км. Его масса в 8 раз меньше, чем у Плутона. Взаимные затмения планеты и спутника пригодились при вычислении ее диаметра. Размеры всех спутников вычислены неточно, они имеют разбежность от 10 км, в случае с Никтой (88-98 км), до 86 км у Гидры (44-130 км). Плутон и Харон признаются частью современных ученых исключительной формой связи космических тел – двойной планетой.

Планета практически изучена только космическим аппаратом Новые Горизонты. Первая земная исследовательская миссия совершила пролет вблизи Плутона летом 2015 года. Это зонд, имеющий символическое название «Новые Горизонты».

Планеты Солнечной системы
Карликовые планеты	Плутон· Церера· Хаумеа· Макемаке· Эрида
Планеты Земной группы	Меркурий· Венера· Земля· Марс
Газовые гиганты	Юпитер· Сатурн· Уран· Нептун