PLUTO

EXPECTATIONS

• What is unusual about Pluto's atmosphere?
• How many moons does Pluto have?
• Why is Pluto no longer considered a planet?

SIZE

• Pluto is only 1,400 miles wide.
• That's about half the width of United States.
• Pluto's diameter is about 2/3 of Earth's moon (which is 1/5 of the Earth).
• Trying to see Pluto from Earth is like trying to see a walnut from 30 miles away.
• Pluto's mass is 1.30900 × 1022 kg (13,090,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg).

COMPOSITION

• 98% nitrogen ice with little amounts of methane and carbon monoxide.
• Pluto's atmosphere is very thin which is made mostly of nitrogen gas.
• Rocky core surrounded by water ice.
• Ices such as methane and nitrogen frost can be found on its surface.

LOCATION

• Pluto is the farthest planet from the Sun.

WHAT IS UNUSUAL ABOUT PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE?

• During Pluto's orbit, when Pluto is closer to the Sun, its surface thaws.
• This forms a thin atmosphere of nitrogen with a little bit of methane and carbon monoxide.
• When Pluto travels away from the Sun, the atmosphere then freezes back to its solid state.

HOW MANY MOONS DOES PLUTO HAVE?

• Pluto has five moons.
• The order they are in from Pluto are Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra.
• Charon, Pluto's largest moon, is almost half of Pluto's diameter.

WHY ISN'T PLUTO CONSIDERED A PLANET?

• Scientists say that Pluto is too small and point out that Charon is half its size.
• Pluto, like the Kuiper Belt objects, is affected by the pull of Neptune.
• Pluto is now classified as a dwarf planet.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT PLUTO

• Pluto was discovered on February 18, 1930 by astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh.
• An eleven-year-old girl suggested the name Pluto.

EXPECTATIONS REVIEW

• Pluto's atmosphere changes depending on close Pluto is to the Sun
• Pluto has five moons; Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra.
• Pluto is affected by the pull of Neptune, like the Kuiper Belt objects.

RESOURCES (1)

• http://www.space.com/18562-what-is-pluto-made-of.html
• http://snowbrains.com/pluto-why-its-no-longer-a-planet/
• http://iron.lmc.gatech.edu/~ntrivedi6/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/noPlu...
• http://www.kidsastronomy.com/pluto.htm
• http://www.space.com/43-pluto-the-ninth-planet-that-was-a-dwarf.html

RESOURCES (2)

• http://space-facts.com/pluto/
• http://ask.reference.com/related/Pluto%27s+Moon+Charon?qsrc=2892&l=dir&o=10...
• http://www.edinformatics.com/math_science/solar_system/pluto.htm
• http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v468/n7325/images/468775a-f1.2.jpg
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moons_of_Pluto

RESOURCES (3)

• http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Pluto&Display=Facts
• http://ephemeris.sjaa.net/0602/pluto_3moons_art.jpg
• Exploring Planets "Pluto", by Susan Ring, 2004