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(Charon)
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God of the Underworld is certainly a proper name for this planet. The planet is almost 6 billion kilometers from the sun and receives little light or warmth from it. The planet is frozen and engulfed in near darkness. Discovered in 1930 by Clyde W. Tombaugh, very little is known about the planet and no spacecraft has ever visited there. Pluto is the farthest planet from the sun, but not always. It has a very eccentric orbit and, at times, will actually loop inside the orbit of Neptune. This only lasts for about 20 years, a small portion of Pluto's 249 year orbit about the sun. On February 11th, 1999 Pluto crossed out of the orbit of Neptune to return to being the farthest planet from the sun and will remain that way until the year 2226. Pluto is actually slightly off of the ecliptic and will never collide with Neptune during its orbit. Pluto, similar to Uranus, is tipped considerably, around 122 degrees.
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| Discovered by | Clyde W. Tombaugh |
| Date of discovery | February 18, 1930 |
| Mass | 1.3e+22kg |
| Equatorial radius | 1,137 km |
| Mean density | 2.1 gm/cm^3 |
| Mean distance from the Sun | 5,913,520,000 km |
| Rotational period | -6.39 days |
| Orbital period | 248.54 years |
| Tilt of axis | 123.00 degrees |
| Equatorial surface gravity | 0.4 m/sec^2 |
When the planet was first discovered, the south pole was the only thing seen by astronomers. 40 years later, the view granted to astronomers is that of the planet's equator.
Pluto and its only moon Charon share a synchronous rotation, meaning that the same side of the planet and the moon will always face each other. This is similar to our moons synchronous rotation, allowing us to only see one side of the moon. The difference is that on Pluto, only one side of the planet will ever get to see that moon.
Pluto is very different
from its neighboring planets. It shares none of the characteristics of a Jovian
planet at all, leading some astronomers to theorize that it was formerly a
moon of Neptune, knocked out of its orbit somehow.
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