The Size of Pluto
Have you ever wondered how big Pluto is compared to the Earth or even to other planets in the solar system? Pluto is known as a dwarf planet, which means it’s a lot smaller than planets like Earth, Mars, or Jupiter. To give you an idea of just how small Pluto is, let’s do a size comparison.
- Pluto has a diameter of about 1,473 miles (2,372 kilometers). That’s about 18% of Earth’s diameter!
- If you were to stack Plutos on top of each other, it would take about nine Plutos to reach the same height as the Earth.
- Pluto is only about two-thirds the size of Earth’s moon.
- Compared to the largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter, Pluto is tiny. Jupiter has a diameter of about 86,881 miles (139,822 kilometers), which is nearly 59 times larger than Pluto! It’s hard to imagine how small Pluto is compared to these other celestial bodies, isn’t it? But despite its size, Pluto has a lot of unique and interesting features that make it an important part of our solar system.
Pluto’s Orbit and Distance from the Sun
Not only is Pluto smaller than most planets, but it’s also located much farther away from the Sun. Pluto’s orbit ranges from 30 to 49 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun. An astronomical unit is the average distance between the Earth and the Sun, which is about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers.
- At its closest, Pluto is 30 AU from the Sun. That’s 30 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun!
- At its farthest, Pluto is 49 AU from the Sun. That’s nearly 50 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun! Because of this distance, light from the Sun takes about 5.5 hours to reach Pluto. This is much longer than the 8.3 minutes it takes for sunlight to reach Earth.
The Composition of Pluto
Pluto may be small, but it’s made of some pretty interesting stuff. Like other objects in the Kuiper belt, Pluto is primarily made of ice and rock.
- About two-thirds of Pluto’s mass is made of rock, while the rest is ice.
- The surface of Pluto is covered with ice made of nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide.
- Underneath the icy surface, scientists believe that Pluto may have a rocky core. Even though Pluto is much smaller and farther away than the planets in our solar system, it’s still a fascinating world that scientists are eager to learn more about. Despite its size, Pluto holds a big place in our understanding of the universe!
Smaller By Category
California
California is nicknamed "The Golden State". In the United States, it is ranked first in population, third in land area, and eleventh in name length. California is home to roughly 40 million people, which is less than one percent of the world's population.
Charon
Charon is Pluto's only large moon. They are very close in size. They are so close, some people used to consider Pluto and Charon to be a double planet. Did you know the same side of Charon always faces Pluto, and the same side of Pluto always faces Charon?
Texas
Texas is the only state to have the same rank in both population and land area, which is second. If Puerto Rico were to be counted, Mississippi would rank in 32nd in both categories, but it's not, because Puerto Rico is not a state.
Larger By Category
Eris
Eris is the most massive dwarf planet. Although it's a little bit smaller, it is even heavier than Pluto, which is also a dwarf planet. Eris is also very far from the Sun. Eris has a moon, and that's Dysnomia. Where's Dysnomia? It's directly beneath the period at the end of this last sentence.
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef, which is off the northeastern coast of Australia, is the biggest single structure made by living organisms! It is home to several thousand species of coral, mollusks, whales, turtles, dolphins, birds, and much more!
Triton
Triton is Neptune's largest moon. It is also the coldest object we've visited in the Solar System, at -240 ° C. Triton is also a very windy place, with winds going at almost the speed of sound!