The dwarf planet Pluto, named for the Roman god of the Underworld, was discovered in 1930 by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh.
Although it used to be considered to be a planet, in 2006 the International Astronomers Union demoted Pluto from the status of a planet to that of a dwarf planet. Recently there have been efforts to restore Pluto's status as a planet.[1]
Pluto has at least three moons, the largest of which is Charon. (The size of Charon is such that Pluto and Charon are often collectively considered to be a binary system.) Pluto has an elliptical orbit. When it was considered to be a planet, it was usually the furthest from the sun, but there are times due to its odd orbit when it is closer than Neptune. Relatively little is known about Pluto. [2]
Pluto is the second-largest known dwarf planet in the solar system (after Eris) and the tenth largest observed body directly orbiting the Sun.[3]
References
- ↑ http://www.courant.com/features/lifestyle/hc-pluto.artmar15,0,4959275.story?coll=hc-headlines-life
- ↑ http://science.jrank.org/pages/5352/Pluto.html
- ↑ http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070614_eris_mass.html
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