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NASA's New Horizons has been to visit Pluto, and we will be learning new things about it for years to come. Meanwhile here's a profile of dwarf planet 134340 Pluto, largest object in the Kuiper Belt and former planet.

Pluto - Gateway to the Kuiper Belt

February 4th - It's Clyde Tombaugh's birthday!

Last edited by Mona - Astronomy; 02/04/17 02:49 AM.
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Amazingly to me, some people are still upset - even after nearly nine years - that Pluto isn't considered a planet any more. But was it ever really a planet?

Pluto Is a Dwarf Planet

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In 2006 the IAU (International Astronomical Union) finally decided it was time to define what a planet was. In the process, they presented the new category of dwarf planet. And suddenly, Pluto wasn't a planet anymore. The debate was triggered by the discovery of Eris. It seemed to be bigger than - or at least about the same size as - Pluto. Eris also was classed as a dwarf planet.

Some people referred to Eris and Pluto as twins, but they're not all that similar, except in size. Eris and Pluto - They're Not Twins.

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Pluto is one of five dwarf planets that have been specifically listed by the IAU. There's a brief overview of them in Dwarf Planets - a Tour

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Clyde Tombaugh using his blink comparator. It "blinks" back and forth between two photos taken at different times. Anything that has moved during that time can be spotted. This is how he found Pluto.

Photo courtesy of the Lowell Observatory Archives.

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If you could fly over Pluto's moon Charon, this is what you might see. It's what New Horizons saw two years ago as it went past Pluto and Charon. The images have been used, along with some digital enhancement, to create the video.
Quote:
Your journey begins over a wide chasm that divides different types of Charon's landscapes, a chasm that might have formed when Charon froze through. You soon turn north and fly over a colorful depression dubbed Mordor that, one hypothesis holds, is an unusual remnant from an ancient impact. Your voyage continues over an alien landscape rich with never-before-seen craters, mountains, and crevices. The robotic New Horizons spacecraft has now been targeted at Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU 69, which it should zoom past on New Year's Day 2019.


Video Credit: NASA, JHUAPL, SwRI, P. Schenk & J. Blackwell (LPI); Music: Juicy by ALBIS


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