And how big is it compared to our moon?
Is it true that it has a moon of it's own, not much smaller than it's self?
2006-09-24 19:48:48 · 11 answers · asked by Strawberry_Lynn 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Yes Pluto is spherical in shape.
It is smaller than 7 Moons of the Solar System (the largest 4 of Jupiter, the largest of Saturn, the largest of Neptune and our own moon),
It has three moons itself: Charon (discovered in 1978) which is regarded as a binary planetary system with Pluto, and Nix and Hydra, which are much smaller and only discovered in 2005 by the Hubble Space Telescope.
The binary planetary system is felt to be the right description because the centre of mass about which Pluto and Charon rotate (the barycentre) is outside of Pluto's mass,
NB Chiron is a Centaur, not a Kuiper Belt Object and is regarded both as a minor planet and as a comet and should not be confused with Charon. Charon was the ferryman who ferried the souls of the dead across the River Styx into the underworld, where Pluto reigned in Roman mythology.
Hydra was the monster who guarded the waters of Pluto/Hades's underworld in Greco-Roman Mythology. Nyx was the Goddess of the Night.
Sizes (diameters)
Earth: 12756 kilometres
Ganymede: 5262 kilometres (orbits Jupiter)
Titan: 5150 kilometres (orbits Saturn)
Callisto: 4821 kilometres (orbits Jupiter)
Io: 3643 kilometres (orbits Jupiter)
Our Moon: 3476 kilometres
Europa: 3122 kilometres (orbits Jupiter)
Triton: 2706.8±1.8 kilometres (orbits Neptune)
Eris: 2400±100 kilometres (dwarf planet)
Pluto: 2306±20 kilometres (dwarf planet)
Charon: 1207 km ± 3 kilometres (orbits Pluto)
1 Ceres: 975×909 kilometres (dwarf planet)
Nix: 44 − 130 kilometres (orbits Pluto)
Hydra: 44 − 130 kilometres (orbits Pluto)
NB Charon is half Pluto's diameter but that means it is only one eighth of its volume as the volume of a sphere is (4/3 x pi x radius^3).
2006-09-25 01:54:48 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Pluto is spherical and about 2/3 the size of the Moon and 1/5 its mass. It has three moons Charon, Nix, and Hydra. Charon is about 80% the diameter as Pluto. Nix and Hydra are tiny and discovered just last year.
Because Charon is about the same size as Pluto - the pair have been designated as twin dwarf planets. There is another dwarf planet that is 14% larger than Pluto that has the official designation - Eris - which had the unofficial name of Xena. It also has a moon - Dysnomia - formerly Gabrella - of course. Something I just found out myself researching this for you - hot off the press so to speak.
We will likely find many more such objects in an area called the Kuiper Belt - a ring of icy objects beyond the orbit of Neptune. If the object has a diameter greater than 500 km - it will be spherical by its own mass and hence considered a dwarf planet.
2006-09-25 03:30:03 · answer #2 · answered by Timothy K 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As far as we can tell Pluto is spherical although we don't have as yet an image good enough.
Pluto does have a moon Chiron that is of a similar size. This led to Pluto's diameter being over estimated.
2006-09-25 03:59:23 · answer #3 · answered by Mark G 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah Pluto is spherical and it has 3 mooons not one. It is 2/3 big compared to our moon.
2006-09-26 23:54:49 · answer #4 · answered by Soobrat Kumar S 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pluto appears to be spherical from what we can see, its moon is half of plutos size. Blythe, you need to study up on our solar system and read the news! Pluto is NOT a star! The closest star to us is Alpha Centauri!
2006-09-25 03:21:13 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
pluto is round, and has a moon named charon. It rotates around our sun, and has a year that is 240 of our earth years. both pluto and charon rotate around eachother. Pluto is the smallest planet and it's moon is 1/2 its size. it is now classified as an ice dwarf planet and is located in the kuniper belt.
2006-09-25 03:45:08 · answer #6 · answered by Chit P 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes! atleast from our earth it looks spherical.
2006-09-25 02:56:16 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
all heavenly bodies , i think, colapse to the very basic spherical shape.
2006-09-25 03:07:30 · answer #8 · answered by lnfrared Loaf 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes doesn't it have to be to revolve around the sun. I thought they recently found out it was a star not a planet anyway?
2006-09-25 02:56:14 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
No. Canine.
2006-09-25 02:58:08 · answer #10 · answered by brian s 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋