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Dwarf planet · Dwarf planet (Kuiper belt)

Pluto

(134340) Pluto

Type
Dwarf planet (Kuiper belt)
Diameter
2,370 km
Distance from Sun
5,906.4 M km
Surface gravity
0.7 m/s²
Mean temp.
-225 °C
Moons
5

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute · NASA media (public domain)

Overview

Scientific overview

Pluto is a dwarf planet (kuiper belt) in orbit around The Sun, at a mean distance of 5,906.4 million km from the Sun.

Physical characteristics

Mass
0.015 ×10²⁴ kg
Diameter
2,370 km
Radius
1,185 km
Density
2.095 g/cm³
Surface gravity
0.7 m/s²
Escape velocity
1.3 km/s
Rotation period
153.3 h (retrograde)
Mean temperature
-225 °C

Scale

Compared to Earth

Earth
Pluto

Pluto is 5.4× smaller than Earth

2,370 km across · Earth is 12,742 km

Orbit

Distance from Sun
5,906.4 million km (39.481 AU)
Orbital period
247.94 years
Perihelion
4,436.8 million km
Aphelion
7,375.9 million km
Eccentricity
0.244
Orbital inclination
17.2°
Axial tilt
122.5°
Orbital velocity
4.7 km/s

Gallery

Faces of Pluto

These images, taken by NASA's New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), show four different "faces" of Pluto as it rotates about its axis with a period of 6.4 days.

2015

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute · NASA media (public domain)

Source archive ↗

Observation

How this was captured

Source
NASA
Observation date
2015-09-10

Moons (1)

Exploration

Sources

The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.

  • NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration

    Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.

    Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.

  • NASA JPLJet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics

    Orbital data, ephemerides, and small-body parameters for planets, asteroids, and comets.

  • IAUInternational Astronomical Union

    Official naming, definitions, constellation boundaries, and astronomical nomenclature.