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Pluto
By: Matt and Luke
Pluto
• Pluto’s orbit is about 5,913,520,000 km from the sun
• Diameter: 2274 km
• Atmosphere contains: Nitrogen, Methane, and Carbon
monoxide gases
• It takes Pluto about 248 Earth years to complete one
revolution around the Sun and it rotates in the opposite
direction of the other planets
Pluto
• Pluto’s orbit has an effect on it’s atmosphere.
• Pluto’s orbit is highly inclined, which causes Pluto to actually become
closer to the sun than Neptune at a certain point in it’s orbit.
• Pluto is far from the sun it’s gases in the atmosphere freeze and when it is
closer the surface melts releasing the gases back into the atmosphere.
Pluto
• Surface temperature when close to the sun is
43 Kelvin
• Surface temperature when far away is
36 Kelvin.
Pluto
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Pluto was discovered on February 18th, 1930
Discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh
From 1930 to 2006 Pluto was considered our Solar system’s ninth planet.
It is now considered a Dwarf planet
Pluto has three moons: Charon, Nix, and Hydra
Pluto
• Charon is Pluto’s largest moon and was
discovered in 1978 by astronomer, James
Chritsy.
• Diameter: 1,205
• Later on in 2005 Nix and Hydra
were discovered.
• Nix’s diameter: 91 km
• Hydra’s diameter: 114 km
Pluto
• In 1992, astronomers discovered small icy objects behind
Neptune that were similar in size and orbit to Pluto.
• This ring of objects, along with Pluto, were classified as the
Kuiper belt.
• Its like an asteroid belt, except larger and consist of frozen
objects.
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• Pluto has no been visited yet by a spacecraft.
• A space craft was launched in January 2006,
and is expected to reach Pluto during the year
2015
• Only observations have been done through
the Hubble space telescope.
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• Through observations
scientist predict that
Pluto’s inner
composition is about
60% rock and 40% ice.
• It’s core is made up of
rock and it is surrounded
by a mantle of ice.
Pluto
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqX2Ydnw
tRc