Pluto

   Pluto is the farthest planet from the Sun (usually) and by far the smallest. Pluto is smaller than seven of the solar system's moons (the Moon, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Titan and Triton).

        orbit:    5,913,520,000 km (39.5 AU) from the Sun (average)
        diameter: 2274 km
        mass:     1.27e22 kg

   In Roman mythology, Pluto (Greek: Hades) is the god of the underworld. The planet received this name (after many other suggestions) perhaps because it's so far from the Sun that it is in perpetual darkness and perhaps because "PL" are the initials of Percival Lowell.

   Pluto was discovered in 1930 by a fortunate accident. Calculations which later turned out to be in error had predicted a planet beyond Neptune, based on the motions of Uranus and Neptune. Not knowing of the error, Clyde W. Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Arizona did a very careful sky survey which turned up Pluto anyway.

   After the discovery of Pluto, it was quickly determined that Pluto was too small to account for the discrepancies in the orbits of the other planets. The search for Planet X continued but nothing was found. Nor is it likely that it ever will be: the discrepancies vanish if the mass of Neptune determined from the Voyager 2 encounter with Neptune is used. There is no tenth planet.

   Pluto is the only planet that has not been visited by a spacecraft. Even the Hubble Space Telescope can resolve only the largest features on its surface (left and above).

   Fortunately, Pluto has a satellite, Charon. By good fortune, Charon was discovered (in 1978) just before its orbital plane moved edge-on toward the inner solar system. It was therefore possible to observe many transits of Pluto over Charon and vice versa. By carefully calculating which portions of which body would be covered at what times, and watching brightness curves, astronomers were able to construct a rough map of light and dark areas on both bodies.

   Pluto's radius is not well known. JPL's value of 1137 is given with an error of +/-8, almost one percent.

   Though the sum of the masses of Pluto and Charon is known pretty well, the individual masses of Pluto and Charon are difficult to determine because they're so small and far away. We won't get really accurate data until a spacecraft is sent.

   There are some who think Pluto would be better classified as a large asteroid or comet rather than as a planet. Some consider it to be the largest of the Kuiper Belt objects (also known as Trans-Neptunian Objects). However, historically Pluto has been classified as a planet, and it is likely to remain so.

   Pluto's orbit is highly eccentric. At times it is closer to the Sun than Neptune (as it was from January 1979 thru February 11 1999). Pluto rotates in the opposite direction from most of the other planets. Though it appears that Pluto's orbit crosses Neptune's, it really doesn't and they will never collide.

   Like Uranus, the plane of Pluto's equator is at almost right angles to the plane of its orbit.

   The surface temperature on Pluto is not well known but is probably between 35 and 45 Kelvins (-228 to -238 C).

   Pluto's composition is unknown, but it is probably a mixture of 70% rock and 30% water ice much like Triton. The bright areas of the surface seem to be covered with ices of nitrogen with smaller amounts of (solid) methane and carbon monoxide.

   Little is known about Pluto's atmosphere, but it probably consists primarily of nitrogen with some carbon monoxide and methane. Pluto's atmosphere may exist as a gas only when Pluto is near its perihelion; for the majority of Pluto's long year, the atmospheric gases are frozen into ice. Near perihelion, it is likely that some of the atmosphere escapes to space perhaps even interacting with Charon. The Pluto Express mission planners want to arrive at Pluto while the atmosphere is unfrozen.

   It was once thought that Pluto may have once been a satellite of Neptune's, but this now seems unlikely. A more popular idea is that Triton, like Pluto, once moved in an independent orbit around the Sun and was later captured by Neptune. Perhaps Triton, Pluto and Charon are the only remaining members of a large class of similar objects the rest of which were ejected into the Oort cloud. Like the Earth's Moon, Charon may be the result of a collision between Pluto and another body.

   Pluto can be seen with an amateur telescope but it is not easy. Detailed charts and careful observations over several months will be required to actually find it.

Charon

   Charon ( "KAIR en" ) is Pluto's only known satellite:

        orbit:    19,640 km from Pluto
        diameter: 1172 km
        mass:     1.90e21 kg

   Charon is named for the mythological figure who ferried the dead across the River Styx into Hades (the underworld).

   Charon was discovered in 1978 by Jim Christy. Prior to that it was thought that Pluto was much larger since the images of Charon and Pluto were blurred together.

   Charon is unusual in that it is the largest moon with respect to its primary planet in the Solar System (a distinction once held by Earth's Moon). Some prefer to think of Pluto/Charon as a double planet rather than a planet and a moon.

   Charon's radius is not well known. Its mass and density are also poorly known.

   Pluto and Charon are also unique in that not only does Charon rotate synchronously but Pluto does, too: they both keep the same face toward one another. (This makes the phases of Charon as seen from Pluto very interesting.)

   Charon's composition is unknown, but its low density (about 2 gm/cm3) indicates that it may be similar to Saturn's icy moons (i.e. Rhea). Its surface seems to be covered with water ice.

   It has been proposed that Charon was formed by a giant impact similar to the one that formed Earth's Moon.

   It is doubtful that Charon has a significant atmosphere.

Open Issues

• There is considerable uncertainty about the even most basic properities of mass, radii and density of Pluto and Charon.
• Several Kuiper Belt objects apparently similar to Pluto have recently been discovered? Are there any as large as Pluto?
• What are the dark areas on Pluto composed of?
• What "geologic" features and processes exist on Pluto and Charon?
• Will the Pluto Express mission be funded? If we miss this chance to observe Pluto near its perihelion our next chance won't come until the 23rd century.
• What seasonal changes take place during Pluto's long 'year'.