pluto

pluto surface

12 distinct regions regions vary in temperature up to 45 degrees Pluto's surface contains frozen nitrogen, methane, & carbon monoxide. thin atmosphere of nitrogen and carbon monoxide

resonance

3:2 resonance with Neptune. For every 2 times Pluto orbits the Sun, Neptune orbits 3 times

dwarf needs

A dwarf planet must orbit the Sun & must have gravity strong enough to form the body into a sphere.

pluto characteristics

Orbital Period: 247.9 yr Rotational Period: 6 days 9 hours smaller than several moons(the Moon, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Titan and Triton).

plutos moons

Pluto has one large moon and four small ones that were only recently discovered. Charon (pronounced KER-en) is Pluto's large moon. It is so large in relation to Pluto (739 mi diameter vs 1430 mi) that the pair of them are often referred to as a "double planet."

dwarf planets

Pluto is the archetype of the Plutoids, the Solar System's icy dwarf planets orbiting the Sun beyond the orbit of Neptune.

plutos rotation

Pluto's rotation axis is inclined 119.6° from the plane of its orbit, similar to Uranus's 98° axis tilt.

charon

is Pluto's large moon. It is so large in relation to Pluto (739 mi diameter vs 1430 mi) that the pair of them are often referred to as a "double planet." mutually synchronous rotations. Charon is always visible above the same location on Pluto and always shows the same side to that location.

pluto discovery

it was found looking for what interrupted neptunes orbit which was known as planet x

other moons

nix hydra p4 p5

plutos orbit

planet is close to the sun for part of its orbit than neptune Pluto's orbit is also tilted sharply to the plane of the major planets' orbits.