Newbury Astronomical Society

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The Planets

Forthcoming meetings

Speaker Meeting
Date:	Friday, June 07, 2013
Time:	19:30
Subject:	Strange Weather! Exploring the Giant Planets of our Solar System
Speaker:	Dr Leigh Fletcher (University of Oxford)
Location:	United Reformed Church Hall, Newbury
Note:	The speaker will be followed by the Society's AGM.

Beginners Meeting
No beginners meetings currently scheduled in the diary.

Observing Session
No observing sessions currently scheduled in the diary.

Special Meeting
Society visit to the national space centre
Date:	Saturday, June 08, 2013
Time:	08:30
Location:	National Space Centre, Leicester
Note:	See the home page for details. Contact Ann Davies for more imformation.

Planetary information

Click a planet in the list below and the information will be displayed.

Planetary information for Pluto

Tiny, cold and incredibly distant, Pluto was discovered in 1930 and long considered to be the ninth planet. But after the discoveries of similar intriguing worlds even farther out, Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet. This new class of worlds may offer some of the best evidence of the origins of our solar system. Pluto is named for the Roman god of the underworld (Hades in Greek mythology). The name was originally suggested by 11-year-old Venetia Burney, a girl from Oxford England.

Discovery:	1930 Clyde Tombaugh
Position from the sun:	9th
Average distance from the Sun:	3,670,050,000 miles 5,906,380,000 kilometres
Perihelion: (Closest point to the sun in orbital path)	2,756,902,000miles 4,436,820,000 kilometres 30.17 x Earth by comparison
Aphelion: (Furthest point from the sun in orbital path)	4,583,190,000 miles 7,375,930,000 kilometres 48.48 x Earth by comparison
Equatorial radius of the planet:	715 miles 1,151 kilometres 0.18 x Earth by comparison
Plaentary circumference at the equator:	4,494 miles 7,232 kilometres
Volume:	1,530,000,000 miles³ 6,390,000,000 kilometres³ 0.01 x Earth by comparison
Mass of the planet:	13,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Kilogrammes 0.00 x Earth by comparison
Density of the planet:	2.00 gm³ 0.40 x Earth by comparison
Surface area:	6,430,000 miles² 16,650,000 kilometres² 0.03 x Earth by comparison
Equatorial surface gravity:	2.70 feet/second² 0.81 metres/second² If you weighed 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh 8 pounds on Pluto
Escape velocity: (The speed required to achieve orbit)	2,840 miles per hour 4,570 kilometres per hour 0.01 x Earth by comparison
Sidereal Rotation Period: (Length of Day)	6.387 Earth days (retrograde)
Sidereal Orbit Period: (Length of Year)	247.92 Earth years
Orbital velocity: (The speed at which Pluto goes around the Sun)	10,623 miles per hour 17,096.00 kilomtetres per hour 0.43 x Earth by comparison
Orbital Circumference: (The distance that Pluto travels to complete one orbit)	20,390,000,000 miles 32,820,000,000 kilometres 35.51 x Earth by comparison
Orbital eccentricity: (How elliptical is Pluto's orbit around the Sun)	0.25° 14.90 x Earth by comparison
Orbital inclination: (How tilted is the orbit of Pluto from the plane of the solar system)	17.14°
Equatorial inclination: (How tilted is Pluto itself from a vertical axis)	119.61° 5.10 x Earth by comparison
Surface temperature:	Max: -223°C ( -369°F) Min: -233°C (-387 °F)
Contents of the Atmosphere:	No known atmosphere

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Graphics based on designs by Adrian West.

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The Society is a member of the Federation of Astronomical Societies and a registered charity.