DWARF PLANET
PLUTO
SMALL WORLD
Pluto is about 1,400 miles. That's about half the width of the United States, or 2/3 the width of Earth's moon. DEEP SPACE Pluto orbits the Sun about 3.6 billion miles away on average, about 40 times as far as Earth, in a region called the Kuiper Belt. SLOW JOURNEY A year on Pluto is 248 Earth years. A day on Pluto lasts 153 hours, or about 6 Earth days. SMALL IN SIZE, BUT NOT IN IMPORTANCE Pluto is officially classified as a dwarf planet. HAZY DAYS Pluto has a thin atmosphere of nitrogen, methane and carbon monoxide. The atmosphere has a blue tint and distinct layers of haze. MOON DANCE Pluto has 5 moons. The largest, Charon, is so big that Pluto and Charon orbit each other like a double planet. RINGLESS Pluto has no ring system. |
SOLE ENCOUNTER
The only spacecraft to visit Pluto is NASA’s New Horizons, which passed close by in July 2015.
HARSH HABITAT
Pluto’s surface is far too cold, -378 to -396 degrees F (-228 to -238 C), to sustain life as we know it.
FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES
Venetia Burney, just 11 years old at the time, suggested the name Pluto in 1930.
The only spacecraft to visit Pluto is NASA’s New Horizons, which passed close by in July 2015.
HARSH HABITAT
Pluto’s surface is far too cold, -378 to -396 degrees F (-228 to -238 C), to sustain life as we know it.
FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES
Venetia Burney, just 11 years old at the time, suggested the name Pluto in 1930.