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Pluto, the new dwarf planet. [Editor's note: See the Overview section on Pluto for new information regarding Pluto's status as a "dwarf planet".]
Pluto is named for the Roman god of the underworld. Venetia Burney, an 11-year-old girl from Oxford, England, suggested the name. Imagine if astronomers had listened to the New York Times. Right now you'd be reading about the planet Minerva!
Pluto and one of its moons - Charon - travel on an odd, slow orbit around the Sun. Pluto has two other known moons Nix and Hydra. For 20 years, from 1979 to 1999, Pluto was actually closer to the Sun than Neptune. But it will be more than 230 years before Pluto and Neptune again trade places.
Pluto may be the largest of a group of icy objects just beyond Neptune called the Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is made up of millions of icy and rocky objects. Astronomers think some comets come from the Kuiper Belt
Astronomers think the frozen objects in the Kuiper Belt may hold clues about the origin of our solar system - sort of like how fossils tell the story of dinosaurs on Earth.
WHAT'S IT LIKE ON PLUTO?
Cold. How cold? Imagine a world so chilly that even the air can freeze and fall like snow. Brrrr. From Pluto, our Sun would look like a very bright star. There is no air to breathe on Pluto, so you would need a spacesuit to explore.
Pluto and Charon are so far away they are difficult to see - even with powerful telescopes. Even the best pictures are very fuzzy. We can only guess what Pluto's surface looks like. It is probably covered with frost. Some areas may be brighter than snow, while others are "darker than coal." Charon may be covered with ice. Imagine a giant skating rink.
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Missions to Pluto
Featured Mission: New Horizons (PKB)
Pluto is the only planet in our solar system not visited by a spacecraft. NASA is considering a mission called New Horizons to explore the mysteries of Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.
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