What are Some Prominent Features of Pluto?
Pluto is an outer solar system body that was formerly known as a planet, but since a 2006 resolution by the International Astronomers Union is now known as a dwarf planet, along with Ceres and Eris. It is the 2nd largest member of the Kuiper belt, an icy asteroid belt outside the orbit of Neptune. Pluto’s orbit varies between 29 and 49 AUs (Earth-Sun distances) from the Sun. It has a diameter one-fifth of Earth, smaller than the Moon at one-fourth of Earth. Pluto has a mean surface temperature of 44 K (-380.47 C). Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh, by comparing variations in two photographic plates. In the early 20th century, scientists began looking for a Planet X, which was said to have caused perturbations in Neptune’s orbit, much the way that the existence of Neptune was predicted by perturbations in Uranus’ orbit. Although Pluto was found near the location where Planet X was predicted to be, it could not have been the predicted planet, because it was far too small to
