Pluto - The Planet That Isn't

We were all taught in school that their are nine planets in the solar system - with Pluto being the smallest and the farthest away. But in August of 2006, five hundred astronomers in the Czech Republic voted Pluto "off the island", in Survivor terms. That's right, Pluto has been stripped of its planet status!

Pluto - Discovery and Background

Pluto was discovered (by mistake) by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 when Clyde was looking for a different planet he believed existed. After finding Pluto, scientists continued to look for a 10th planet, but nothing was ever found.

Pluto - The Demotion

In order to be considered a planet by scientists, a body must be big enough to have cleared other debris (comets, asteroids, etc.) out of its path as it circles the sun. Pluto is inside a big comet field called the Kuiper Belt, so it had to pack its planetary bags. And you thought The Apprentice was harsh?

Pluto - Did U Know?

  • Pluto is practically impossible to spot while stargazing. Even when you use a telescope, it just looks like a star.
  • Pluto is smaller than Earth's Moon.
  • Pluto has a weird orbit. Sometimes it is closer to the Sun than Neptune - From January 1979 to February 1999 Pluto was closer to the Sun. It also rotates in the opposite direction from most of the other planets.
  • Pluto didn't even make all the way around the Sun before it was stripped of its status as a planet. We've only known about Pluto's existance for 76 years, which was only enough time for it to make it a third of the way around.
  • Properties of Pluto
    Mass1.29e+22
    Distance from Sun5,906 billion kms/3,906 billion miles
    Distance from Earth4.4 billion kms/2.67 billion miles
    Length of Year248 Earth years (to rotate the sun)
    Rotation Time144 hours, 6 hours
    Angle of Axis122.46 degrees
    Diameter2340 kms/1454 miles
    Number of Satellites1
    Number of RingsUnknown
    Number of Moons1
    TemperatureAverage of -390 Fahrenheit/-233 Celsius
    Weight on PlutoA 100 pound person would weigh 6.9 pounds

    Related Stories:

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  • Planet Overview - Mercury
  • Planet Overview - Earth
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