2Pluto

Basic Description __** Pluto is a frigid ball of ice and rock that orbits far from the Sun on the frozen fringes of our Solar System. Considered a [|planet], though a rather odd one, from its [|discovery in 1930] until 2006, it was [|officially stripped of its status as our Solar System's 9th planet] by the International Astronomical Union in August 2006. Pluto is the largest second dwarf planet in our Solar System only after Eris. And the Tenth-largest body observed directly orbiting the Sun. It is plart of the Kuiper Belt. Which is a region of the Solar System beyond the planets extending from Neptune.
 * __478media type="custom" key="3489478"media type="custom" key="3474020"PLUTO__** A Member on the Kuiper Belt
 * __[[image:http://www.astro.keele.ac.uk/~rdj/planets/images/Planet%20comparisons/599px-Pluto,_Earth_size_comparison.jpg width="350" height="303" align="right" caption="pluto compared to Earth"]][[image:http://www.backtowild.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/pluto.jpg width="283" height="297" caption="Pluto"]]

Nitrogen || 0.3 ||
 * ~ Chart of Pluto Statistics ||
 * ~ Discovered by || Clyde W. Tombaugh ||
 * ~ Date of discovery || February 18, 1930 ||
 * ~ Mass (kg) || 1.27e+22 ||
 * ~ Mass (Earth = 1) || 2.125e-03 ||
 * ~ Equatorial radius (km) || 1,137 ||
 * ~ Equatorial radius (Earth = 1) || 0.1783 ||
 * ~ Mean density (gm/cm^3) || 2.05 ||
 * ~ Mean distance from the Sun (km) || 5,913,520,000 ||
 * ~ Mean distance from the Sun (Earth = 1)) || 39.5294 ||
 * ~ Rotational period (days) || -6.3872 ||
 * ~ Orbital period (years) || 248.54 ||
 * ~ Mean orbital velocity (km/sec) || 4.74 ||
 * ~ Orbital eccentricity || 0.2482 ||
 * ~ Tilt of axis (degrees) || 122.52 ||
 * ~ Orbital inclination (degrees) || 17.148 ||
 * ~ Equatorial surface gravity (m/sec^2) || 0.4 ||
 * ~ Equatorial escape velocity (km/sec) || 1.22 ||
 * ~ Visual geometric albedo || 0.3 ||
 * ~ Magnitude (Vo) || 15.12 ||
 * ~ Atmospheric composition Methane



**__Scientific Information About Pluto__** 1. Largest member of the Kuiper Belt 2. Relatively Small, composed of rock and ice 3. Since the first discovery of the Belt in 1992 the number of known objects has increased to over a thousand. 4. Pluto has two smaller moons Nix and Hydra.(which some believe to be captured asteroids) 5. Pluto is a fifth the mass of the Earth's moon and a third of its volume 6. In 1930 it was counted as a planet until 2006 when it was renamed a Dwarf planet. 7. Pluto is VERY, VERY cold. Its temperature may range from between -396°F to -378°F (-238°C to -228°C, or 35 K to 45 K). The average temperature is -393°F (-236°C = 37 K). 8. Pluto has one large moon, named Charon, which is half the size of Pluto itself. 9. The planet Pluto has yet to be visited by a spacecraft. It is hoped that the [|New Horizons] craft will reach the planet on July 14, 2015. 10. "There could be more massive activity on Pluto, since the changes observed in Pluto's atmosphere are much more severe," Scientists said. "The change observed on Triton was subtle. Pluto's changes are not subtle."

**__QuickFacts__** 1. In Roman Mythology Pluto is the god of the underworld. 2. Pluto was discovered in 1930 by accident. 3. Takes 248 years to orbit the sun 4. Closer to the Sun than Neptune for 20 years of its rotation. 5. Pluto's surface is 98% nitrogen. 6. A 100 pound person on Pluto would weigh only 8 pounds. 7. Each day on Pluto takes 6.39 Earth days. 8. The name Pluto was suggested by Venetia Burney of England, who was 11 years old at the time.