Pluto

This is the status of the planet of Pluto.
Without the use of a very strong telescope, Pluto cannot be seen from Earth. It is about 4 billion miles from the sun, and takes 250 Earth years to orbit. Pluto is usually the furthest planet from the sun, but because it travels an odd-shaped orbit, it is closer to the sun than Neptune (usually the 8th planet from the sun) for 20 years of its 250 year orbit. So, from 1979 to 1999, Pluto has been closer to the sun than Neptune.
Pluto is the smallest planet in the solar system. In fact, 7 moons of other planets are larger than Pluto! Some people think that Pluto should not even be called a "planet," but rather an asteroid. The surface of Pluto is very cold - about 230 degrees below zero Celcius.


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