Plutonian Statistics
•Distance from Sun: 3,664,200,000 miles
•Number of Moons: 5 – Charon is the largest
In Order from Pluto:
Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerebros and Hydra
•Diameter: 1,476 miles
•Axis Tilt: 122.5°
•Inclination to Ecliptic: 17.14°
•Atmosphere: Nitrogen, Carbon Monoxide and Methane
•Surface Temperature: - 380° F
•Length of Day: 6 Earth days, 9 hours, 36 minutes
•Length of Year: 248 Earth years
•Discoverer: Clyde Tombaugh
– February 18, 1930.
It was found in the constellation Gemini. Near Wasat, (Delta Geminorum)
•Visited by: New Horizons (July 14, 2015)
Pluto's Moons
Image of Charon, Taken from New Horizons, 2015
Courtesy of NASA
Charon:
- Named after the ferryman who led the dead to the underworld in Greek and Roman Mythology.
- Discovered in 1978 by astronomer James Christy on June 22, 1978.
- Charon's diameter is about 750 miles.
- Orbits Pluto in 6 Earth days, 9 hours, 17 minutes.
- The moon is in synchronous orbit around Pluto.
- If you were viewing Charon from Pluto it would remain in the same place in the sky.
- Therefore, the amount of time it takes Pluto to spin on its Axis is the same amount of time Charon orbits the planet.
- It is considered a binary planet system with Pluto.
- The moon is covered with nitrogen and methane ices, and has no atmosphere.
Image of Styx, Taken from New Horizons, 2015
Courtesy of NASA
Styx:
- Named after the river that brought the souls to the underworld.
- Styx's diameter is between 6 and 15 miles.
- Revolves around Pluto in 20 days.
- Discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope on July 7, 2012.
- It is 26,100 miles from Pluto.
- It has no atmosphere and contains water ice on its surface.
Image of Nix, Taken from New Horizons, 2015
Courtesy of NASA
Nix:
- Named after the Greek goddess of darkness and night and the mother of Charon.
- Nix's diameter is between 28 and 85 miles
- Revolves around Pluto in 25 days.
- Discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope in June of 2005.
- It is 30,265 miles from Pluto.
- It has no atmosphere. Has a reddish surface similar to Pluto.
Image of Kerberos, Taken from New Horizons, 2015
Courtesy of NASA
Kerberos:
- Named after the Greek three-headed dog which guarded the underworld.
- Kerebros's diameter is between 8 and 21 miles.
- Revolves around Pluto in 32 days.
- Discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope in July 22, 2011.
- It is 37,000 miles from Pluto.
- It has no atmosphere.
Image of Hydra, Taken from New Horizons, 2015
Courtesy of NASA
Hydra:
- Named after the Greek nine-headed serpent which guarded the underworld.
- Hydra's diameter is between 31 and 103 miles.
- Revolves around Pluto in 38 days.
- Discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope in June of 2005.
- It is 40,233 miles from Pluto.
- It has no atmosphere.
Pluto's Family of Moons
Photo taken from the Hubble Space Telescope.
Pluto's Family of Moons,
Photo taken from Hubble Space Telescope, Courtesy of NASA
Additional Information
Artists Conception of Pluto's Surface
- In the above image, Charon is above the horizon illuminated by a very dim star, our Sun. Pluto and Charon are thirty-nine times further from the Sun than Earth is!
- If we could picture the amount of sunlight our star shines on Pluto, it would be 250 times brighter than a full moon!
- It takes five hours and twenty nine minutes for the sun's light to reach the outermost planet in our Solar System!
- Recent findings about the surface temperature of Pluto indicate that it has a running anti-greenhouse effect.This causes the planet's heat to escape into space due to reflective nitrogen and methane.
- However, Pluto's surface temperature on its sunlit side is the coldest of any planet in the solar system.
- Pluto reached its closest approach to the sun on September 5, 1989!
- It will reach its farthest approach from the sun in 2113!
- Pluto's rotates in the opposite direction, as does Uranus.
- Therefore, the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east on Pluto.
- The Pluto system orbits a point outside Pluto due to Charon's relatively large mass. This point is called a barycenter.
- Pluto's tenuous atmosphere is expected to freeze within the next few years because its orbit is headed toward its apoapsis (farthest approach a planet is to its star).
- Many astronomers believe that Pluto and its satellites were once satellites of Neptune.
The picture above is Pluto's discoverer