Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh made the discovery of Pluto in 1930 at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Venetia Burney, an 11-year-old from Oxford, England, gave it its name.
Compared to the moon of Earth, Pluto is much smaller, having a diameter of around 2,377 kilometres (1,477 miles). Its main constituents are ice and rock, with a thin atmosphere mainly made up of carbon monoxide, methane, and nitrogen.
Pluto has five moons. Largest among them is charon With a diameter that is almost half that of Pluto, Charon is comparatively huge in relation to Pluto. Because Charon and Pluto are tidally locked, the same side of the planet constantly faces Pluto during their orbit.
Pluto's surface is coated in ice made of water, methane, and nitrogen and is believed to have a rocky core and possibly a deep ocean. NASA explained Pluto's surface as cracked and cratered, coloured white, tan, and brownish-red
Pluto was formerly ranked as the ninth planet in our solar system, but it is now a dwarf planet. The Kuiper Belt is where it's situated. Because, despite being massive enough to have spherical orbits, it is not large enough to dominate its orbit and engulf the region around it.
On July 14, 2015, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft made a historic flyby of Pluto and its moons, delivering the first detailed photos and scientific data of the far-off dwarf planet. Pluto's varied surface features, like as mountains, plains, and frozen plains, were made visible by the mission.
Pluto has five moons. Largest among them is charon With a diameter that is almost half that of Pluto, Charon is comparatively huge in relation to Pluto. Because Charon and Pluto are tidally locked, the same side of the planet constantly faces Pluto during their orbit.
It's not entirely black there, but the light from the sun is far weaker than it is on Earth. In fact, Earth's illumination coincides with Pluto's high noon for a brief period of time each day, right before and after sunrise.