P LU TO

By J oan n e M osel ey Mi ch ael voskan yan S ash a ryd rych P al om a M i ran d a

At m ospher e
Pluto has an atmosphere only on the side currently facing the sun because its crust is made up of frozen gases (mostly methane and nitrogen, some ammonia and carbon monoxide) and they only melt into gas form when they get sunlight.

Or bi t
Due to Plutos erratic, elliptical orbit, Pluto sometimes orbits between Neptune and the un, ma!ing it no longer the "th planet in the olar ystem. ince Neptune is ne#er in the place where its and Plutos orbits meet at the same time as Pluto, they ne#er collide.

Char on
Plutos biggest moon, $haron, is about half of Plutos size and is only about %",&'' !m away from Pluto. Pluto has fi#e moons total( $haron, Nix, )ydra, P*, and P+.

Si ze
Pluto is the smallest planet in the olar ystem. ,ts diameter is -./ of that of the 0arths moon, with %.& of the mass. Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in -''& because it didnt meet planetary size re1uirements. ,t is the second2smallest dwarf planet in the olar ystem, second only to 0ris. Pluto is e#en slightly smaller than 3ussia4

r avi t y
,f you weigh %'' lbs. on 0arth, you will weigh &.5 lbs. on Pluto. Plutos diameter is about &&6 of our 7oons, so it has a wea!er gra#itational pull.

!i st ance
Pluto is /".+ 89s away from the un. :his is part of why Pluto is so cold. Pluto is %,-5+,''',''' miles away from the un.

Pr e" !i scover i es
7any photos were ta!en of Pluto before its official disco#ery, but it was ne#er recognized in those photos. :here are about & !nown pre2 documentations of Pluto before it was recognized as Planet ;. :he earliest !nown was in %"'".

Pr obes
Pluto is the only planet in olar ystem that has yet to be #isited by a space probe. )owe#er, a probe called New )orizons is currently on its way to Pluto.

Com posi t i on
Pluto consists mostly of roc!, water ice, and frozen gases such as nitrogen and methane.

# am e
Pluto is named after the 3oman god of the 9nderworld. :he first two letters are the initials of Perci#al <owell, and the name was suggested by an %%2 year old girl in 0ngland named =enetia >urney. ?ther names suggested were 7iner#a, $onstance, @eus, Perci#al, and $ronus.

Tem per at $r e
Pluto is #ery cold because it is #ery far from the un. ,ts temperatures can go as low as 2-//A $ , Bust *'A$ abo#e absolute zero. 8ll elements except for neon, hydrogen, and helium are frozen at this temperature.

O bser vat i on
Pluto is so far away from 0arth that it is too faint to be seen without a telescope. 0#en with a telescope, Pluto only loo!s li!e a star.

:han!s for watchin g