Fast Facts for Kids
Pluto Facts for Kids

Pluto Facts for Kids

  • Dwarf Planet Name: Pluto
  • Dwarf Planet Type: Terrestrial
  • Region: Kuiper Belt, Outer Solar System
  • Moons: 5
  • Rotation Period: 6.387 (Earth days)
  • Sun Orbit Period: 248 (Earth years)
  • Discovered: February 18th, 1930

15 Pluto Facts For Kids

  1. Pluto is a dwarf planet and trans-Neptunian object (TNO) found within the Kuiper belt.
  2. Pluto used to be the ninth planet in our Solar System until the International Astronomical Union (IAU) changed the definition of a planet and demoted Pluto to a dwarf planet. It only passed two of the three conditions to be considered a planet. The condition it failed to meet was that it has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.
  3. Pluto was discovered by American astronomer Clyde William Tombaugh on February 18th, 1930, at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States.
  4. Pluto was also the first object to be discovered in the Kuiper belt.
  5. Pluto has a very erratic orbit around the Sun, with a varying distance between 2.8 and 4.6 billion miles.
  6. The size estimated (mass) of Pluto has changed since its discovery. In 1931, it was estimated to be the same size as Earth. In 2006, the last revision of the size of Pluto was reduced to just 0.22% of the size of Earth.
  7. The atmosphere of Pluto is mainly nitrogen, with minimal amounts of methane and carbon monoxide.
  8. The surface of Pluto is mainly made up of 98% nitrogen ice.
  9. The diameter of Pluto is estimated to be around 376 miles.
  10. The surface area of Pluto is estimated to be around 6,427,806 square miles.
  11. The rotation period of Pluto is equal to 6.387 Earth days.
  12. The orbital period for Pluto around the Sun is 248 Earth years.
  13. Pluto has five known moons, and they are Charon, Hydra, Kerberos, Nix and Styx.
  14. The biggest moon orbiting Pluto is Charon, and the smallest moon is Styx.
  15. The first and only spacecraft to study Pluto was the New Horizons probe in July 2015.

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Pluto Pictures

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the below images will be helpful for your research on the dwarf planet Pluto. Below are six pictures of Pluto. These pictures should help you better understand the dwarf planet Pluto, one of the celestial objects in our Solar System.

3D Rendering of Pluto

A 3D rendering of the dwarf planet Pluto.

3D Illustration of the Pluto Landscape

3D illustration of the Pluto landscape.

Pluto Compared to other Dwarf Planets

A Comparison of Pluto to other Dwarf Planets.

Dwarf Planet Pluto Resources

We hope you found the above Pluto facts, information, data, and pictures both fun and educational. You can continue to research the dwarf planet Pluto using one of the below additional resources. They were chosen for their credibility and accuracy; you can trust their information when it comes to Pluto. Thank you for choosing Fast Facts for Kids.