Thursday, November 11, 2010

Pluto!!!


Pluto is the last planet in our solar system and it is rather confusing so just try to stay with me.
Pluto is the smallest planet and it's number 9. But that's only part true. Every 248 years Pluto and Neptune change places Pluto becomes number 8. The last time Pluto became the 9th planet that was in 1999.
Pluto swaps with Neptune for about 20 years then goes back.
Scientists haven't been able to study Pluto very well because of it being so far away but they think it's about 390 degrees below zero over there. Pluto rotates in the opposite direction of most of the other planets and is like Uranus is on it's side.
All the planets orbit around the sun in all at more or less the same height but Pluto orbits up and down.
Pluto was discovered 1930 and 48 years later Pluto's moon Caron was discovered.
Earth's moon is equal to about a 50th of Earth's size but Caron is about a 6th of the size of Pluto.
Most People think that Pluto should be a comet because of it's size and behavior. But some think it should be a planet.
In 2006 NASA sent out a spacecraft that is supposed to reach Pluto in 2015.
Pluto also has something called the Kuiper belt which will probably need it's own post.

2 comments:

Jon said...

Also on August 24, 2006 the International Astronomical Union defined what it means to be a "planet" within the Solar System. This definition excluded Pluto which makes Pluto a dwarf Planet.
I still don't know if Pluto should or should not be considered a planet.

Shiloh Strang said...

Pluto has always been my favorite planet (besides earth!). :)