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DEFINITION
The smallest planet in the Solar System, around half the size of Earth's Moon. For most of its orbit, Pluto is the furthest planet from the Sun.REASONS TO VISIT
- Explore the mysterious icy planet that has yet to be mapped
- Visit the coldest planet in the Solar System at a chilly -220ºC
NUMBER OF MOONS · 1
WHAT TO SEE
Pluto is the furthest planet from the Sun - except for 20 years during its 248 year orbit, when it comes closer to the Sun than Neptune. From the surface of Pluto, the Sun is so small it looks like a bright star in the sky.This remote ball of ice remains a bit of a mystery. No probes have visited Pluto and so no maps have been made of the surface.
Light and dark regions
Telescope images show light and dark regions.
The lighter areas are probably ices of nitrogen, methane, ethane and carbon dioxide. The darker regions may be a result of photochemical reactions driven by cosmic rays, but their exact nature is unknown.
Further investigation will be one of the first tasks for any visitor to Pluto.
LOCAL HISTORY
Pluto was discovered by accident in 1930 by Clyde William Tombaugh. Astronomers had begun to search for a new planet beyond Neptune after calculations of this planet's orbit predicted the existence of a large mass beyond it.The sums later proved to be wrong, but not before astronomers had started their search for a new planet. And before the error in the calculations had been realised, Pluto had already been discovered.
Pluto was named after the Greek god of the underworld, possibly because it is so far from the Sun. The name was suggested by an 11 year old school girl from Oxfordshire.
Planet or asteroid?
Due to its small size and distant location, some astronomers argue that Pluto isn't a planet at all. They think of it as giant asteroid.
If so, Pluto would then become the largest known member of the Kuiper belt, a disc full of icy bodies that swarm outside the planets.
TRAVEL INFORMATION
Journey time · 8 Earth years1 Plutonian year · 248.0 Earth years
Time lag · 7.93 hours
Before you leave
Make sure that you wrap up warm. At a chilly -220ºC, Pluto is the coldest planet in the Solar System.
You might want to make sure you time your trip for the summer months. During the winter, it is so cold that even the atmosphere freezes!
When you arrive
While approaching Pluto, keep an eye out for the unusual feature of its rotation.
Seeing Pluto's moon
There are many moons in the Solar System that spin around on their axis at the same rate as they orbit their planet. Our Moon is like this, which is why we always see the same side of the Moon when we look at it from Earth.
Pluto is the only planet that spins at the same rate as its moon orbits. So you can only see Pluto's moon from one side of the planet.
SPOTTING PLUTO FROM THE EARTH
Pluto can't be seen from Earth with the naked eye. It's possible (though tricky) to spot the planet through a telescope, if you know exactly where to look.Even powerful Earth-based telescopes aren't strong enough to see Pluto's dark surface in detail. The view from the Hubble telescope shows less detail than you can can see on the Moon from Earth. Leave your comments here (9)
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