Pluto

By David Fernández
Index

1. What is it?
2. History
3. Origin
4. Physical characteristics
5. Orbital characteristics
What is it?
Pluto, designated Pluto, is a dwarf planet in the solar
system located below the orbit of Neptune. Pluto has an
eccentric and highly inclined orbit with respect to the
ecliptic, which it travels, approaching at its perihelion to
the interior of Neptune's orbit.

Its great distance from the Sun and the Earth, together
with its small size, prevents it from shining above
magnitude 13.8 at its best (orbital perihelion and
opposition), which is why it can only be seen with
telescopes from 200 mm aperture, photographically or
with a CCD camera. Even in its best moments it appears
as a punctual star with a stellar appearance, yellowish,
without distinctive features.
 History

Discovery Where does your name come from?

Later observations of Neptune, at the end of the 19th The name "Pluto" (from the Roman god of the underworld
century, led astronomers to conjecture that another planet, was proposed by Venetia Burney, an Oxford studen
in addition to Neptune, perturbed the orbit of Uranus. interested in classical mythology, during a conversatio
Pickering had suggested various celestial coordinates with her grandfather Falconer Madan, a fellow at th
where such a planet might be found. Lowell and members
Bodleian Library. He passed the name on to astronome
of his observatory carried out the search, without obtaining
Herbert Hall Turner who, in turn, cabled his America
results until his death in 1916. However, and without
colleagues with the proposal. The latter ultimately receive
knowing it, Lowell had photographed it on plates dated
all the votes.
March 19 and April 7, 1915, where it appeared as a faint
object.
Origin
Later observations of Neptune, at the end of the 19th
century, led astronomers to conjecture that another planet,
in addition to Neptune, perturbed the orbit of Uranus.
Pickering had suggested various celestial coordinates
where such a planet might be found. Lowell and members
of his observatory carried out the search, without obtaining
results until his death in 1916. However, and without
knowing it, Lowell had photographed it on plates dated
March 19 and April 7, 1915, where it appeared as a faint
object.
Physical characteristics
The International Astronomical Union, through the Working
Group for the definition of Cartographic Coordinates and
Rotational Elements of Planets and Satellites, defined in
1979 the poles and geographical coordinates of Pluto,
which, as a planet that was considered at that time, its pole
north was defined as oriented in the same direction as the
Earth, on the north side of the invariable Plane of the Solar
System, and that made its rotation retrograde. The only
update to this definition took place in 1991 when the zero
meridian was defined as the one located on the Pluto-
Charon axis and on the face facing the satellite.
Orbital characteristics
Pluto's orbit is very eccentric, and for 20 of the 248 years it
takes to traverse it, it is closer to the Sun than Neptune.
Pluto last reached its perihelion in September 1989 and
continued to move inside Neptune's orbit until March 1999.
It is currently receding from the Sun and will not be closer
to the Sun than Neptune again until September 2226.
Pluto's rotation period is equal to 6.39 Earth days. Like
Uranus, Pluto rotates lying on its side in its orbital plane,
with an axial tilt of 120°, therefore its seasonal variation is
extreme.
Thanks!
Please don't ask questions