Planet Pluto

THE DISCOVERY OF  PLUTO

Observing the movements of Uranus and Neptune in the late 19 century, American businessman and astronomer  Percival Lawrence Lowell came to the conclusion that there must be another celestial body, about the mass of the Earth, behind them. Lowell called it " Planet X" and was looking for the end of his life. In 1929, his compatriot Clyde William Tombaugh continued his search about a year later, near the specified location. Tombaugh did  indeed notice  the dot moving toward distant stars Astronomers considered it to be " Planet X" foreshadowed by Lovelace and it was traditionally as named one of  the deities of ancient mythology. In 1978, Pluto's satellite Charon was discovered. Carson helped astronomers determine Pluto's mass. It was only 0.2% of Earth's mass. No body of  with  a such small mass could have had such an impact on Neptune and Uranus  as Lowell suggested. Later it turned out that even the movement of these planets was not correctly calculated. This means that "Planet X" did not actually exist Lowell was wrong and Pluto was discovered by accident.    Pluto was originally though to be the size of the Earth but Observation over time showed that it's mass was much smaller. in 1978. there is 5.8 billion kilometers distance  from Pluto to the Sun  It is 39 times farther away from the Sun than the Earth. Pluto takes 248 years to enter one circle around the sun . So, it has not spend more than a quarter of its orbit since its discovery.  Pluto moves in a stretched elliptical orbit, Unlike planets  whose orbits are nearly circular. For 20 years, it is closer  to the sun than Neptune. So it was in 1979-1999. Pluto is smaller in size and weight than the moon . Its diameter is about 2,300 kilometers( almost five times less than Earth's) . Pluto is one of the coldest celestial bodies in the solar system: it's surface temperature is about - 225 ° C. 

Pluto consists mainly of masonry and frozen methane. it has a very thin atmosphere, composed of nitrogen , methane and carbon dioxide. So its Unlikely there will be any kind of life.  

Pluto is very distant and very obscure, so it's surface is vaguely visible even in the most powerful telescope.  Images from Hubble space Telescope showed only a few open  and dark areas. The open areas are  expected to consist of solid  nitrogen and dark frozen methane.  NASA's "new horizon' reached Pluto in 2015 and took pictures of it near its surface.

The solar system in which Pluto is located is called the " Kuiper Belt" this notion was introduced in 1990 s.

why is Pluto no longer a planet?

In 2006 International  Astronomical Union stripped Pluto as the ninth planet of the solar system and made it the dwarf planet. this decision of the astronomers union caused entourage the public. after the announcement, many people around the world have embraced the principle of planetary definition ( and it continues to do so 12 years later) and they said that  the decision changed history and tradition and was not dictates by scientific motives.  Its interesting what the informational Astronomical Union  guided in Pluto's downfall? Why is Pluto no longer a planet?  Main event of the International Assembly. that is depriving Pluto of status was a turning point for the rest of the solar system.  After heated debates among union members a resolution was adopted defining the term "planet" the  planet is a celestial body large enough to from a circular shape though the gravitational orbit around the sun and to throw away nearby planetary bodies and debris. So Pluto was classified as a dwarf planet because it failed to meet the second criterion above.  Despite it's rather spherical shape, Pluto is not large enough to have orbital dominance.


The mysterious Pluto and it's entourage

Light Spots, Thick Clouds, Landscapes, the most dazzling pots in the solar system, clouds like Earth and Charon. How else does this  dwarf planet surprise us?  Pluto is known to be covered by icy volcanoes, beneath which a very deep ocean may be hidden.  The unusual spots found on the dwarf planet indicate the activity of it's surface. whose activity is so high that part of the planetary matter flows into the cosmos. Pluto's spots are 100% reflective of light, making  them the lightest planetary spots on the solar system . However before light is reflected  it must pass though a thick layer of clouds.  Alan Stern a  American engineer, planetary scientists and  the principal investigator of the new horizons mission  to Pluto  has provided evidence that  clouds of different condensate from at down and evening.  This fact as Stern notes indicates that planetary activity is higher than astronomers had previously though and that Pluto should be more attentive.

How many satellites does the Pluto have?



Pluto has five moons: They are- Hydra,  Kerberos,  Charon, Styx, Nix. The firs and largest of Pluto moon is Charon , Charon was discovered by  US astronomer James Christy on June 22.

• Kerberos : discovered in 2011, this tiny moon is located between the orbits of nix and Hydra.
• Styx:  discovered in 2012, this little moon was found by a team  of scientists searching for potential hazards to the new Horizons spacecraft Pluto  flyby in July 2014
• Nix and Hydra:  these small moons were found  in 2005 by a Hubble Space Telescope team studying the Pluto system.
• Charon: discovered in 1978, this small moon is almost half the size of Pluto. it is so big Pluto and Charon are sometime referred to as a double planet system.

How Pluto moons get their names 

All of Pluto moons are named for mythological figures associated with the underworld, a naming conventions started by 11-year-old Venetia  Burney in 1930.