Astronomy For Dummies by Stephen P. Maran

Author:Stephen P. Maran [Maran, Stephen P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Meeting Pluto, an Unusual Planet

Pluto is the most distant planet from the sun in our solar system (see Figure 9-1). It moves inside the orbit of Neptune every 248 years for a few decades at a time, but the last such inside move ended in early 1999. It won’t happen again in the lifetime of anyone now inhabiting Earth, unless medical research makes major strides between now and the 23rd century.

Figure 9-1: Pluto is mysterious, rocky, and icy.

Courtesy of NASA

Pluto is so far away that scientists have little idea about its geography. Its elongated elliptical orbit brings it within about 29.7 A.U. or 2.8 billion miles (4.4 billion kilometers) of the sun and takes it as far out as 49.5 A.U. or 4.6 billion miles (7.4 billion kilometers) away.

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