Does the orbit of Pluto sometimes cross that of the planet Neptune?
Pluto has a highly elliptical orbit which is at a steep angle to the ecliptic.The ecliptic is the plane that contains the sun’s apparent motion through the skies from earth’s point of view. Pluto is a K.O. (Kuyper Object, an object from the Kuyper Belt, more like an icy comet than an asteroid). It does travel within the orbit of Neptune for a few years out of its long orbit, but never in a way that will bring it crashing down onto Neptune. Pluto is locked into a special harmonic relationship with Neptune which prevents that from happening. For every 2 orbits of Pluto there are 3 orbits of Neptune. They are never close enough to collide. Pluto spends the vast majority of its orbital time in the Kuyper Belt, beyond Neptune’s orbit.
