Pluto is the ninth planet in the solar system. Discovered in 1930 and
immediately classified as a planet, its status as such is currently in dispute.
Pluto has an eccentric orbit that is highly inclined with respect to the other
planets and takes it inside the orbit of Neptune. Its largest moon is Charon,
discovered in 1978; two smaller moons were discovered in 2005. Pluto's
astronomical symbol is a P-L monogram. This represents both the first two
letters of the name Pluto and the initials of Percival Lowell, the man who lent
his name to the observatory that was used to find Pluto. An alternate symbol
resembles that of Neptune, but has a circle in place of the middle spoke in the
top center. The New Horizons probe, which blasted off on January 19, 2006, is
expected to reach Pluto in July 2015 and send back information about it.
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Picture of Pluto
in true colors
as well as the
highest surface
resolution so
far recovered.
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Pluto and Charon
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Black & white
surface map of
Pluto (left)
compared to
Charon (right)
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Hubble picture
of Pluto and
Charon
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Size comparison
between earth
and its moon and
Pluto
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Discovery images
of Plutonian
satellites P1
and P2.
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Hubble images of
Pluto System
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