Glossary term: Plutón
Description: Plutón es uno de los cuerpos celestes de nuestro Sistema Solar. Se encuentra en el cinturón de Kuiper, más allá de la órbita de Neptuno. Antes se le consideraba el noveno planeta del Sistema Solar, pero en 2006 fue reclasificado como planeta enano. Fue descubierto en 1930 por Clyde Tombaugh. La distancia media de Plutón al Sol es de 6 mil millones de kilómetros (km), y su radio es de 1 185 km (menor que el de la Luna de la Tierra). Un año en Plutón equivale a 247.9 años terrestres y su día equivale a 6.4 días terrestres.
La misión New Horizons de la NASA fue la primera nave espacial en sobrevolar Plutón, en 2015, y proporcionó la primera visión detallada de su superficie y su atmósfera. La superficie de Plutón es tan fría que apenas hay hidrógeno en estado gaseoso. La escasa atmósfera que tiene Plutón está compuesta principalmente por nitrógeno, y la superficie presenta grandes llanuras de nitrógeno congelado. Su atmósfera se extiende hasta una distancia de 1 600 km. Plutón está compuesto por rocas (70 %) y hielo (30 %). Tiene cinco lunas conocidas: Caronte, Estigia, Nix, Cerbero e Hidra.
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Term and definition status: The original definition of this term in English have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher The translation of this term and its definition is still awaiting approval
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Related Media
Pluto
Caption: NASA's New Horizons spacecraft captured this high-resolution enhanced colour view of the dwarf planet Pluto on in July 2015. The image combines blue, red and infrared images taken by the Ralph/Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera (MVIC). Pluto’s surface appears enhanced in this view to a rainbow of pale blues, yellows, oranges, and deep reds. The image resolves details and colours on scales as small as 1.3 kilometers.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
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License: PD Public Domain icons
Detailed View of Charon, Moon of Pluto
Caption: Charon is the largest natural moon of the dwarf planet Pluto. This detailed image was taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft in 2015 during its historic mission through the outer Solar System. Charon’s surface shows a fascinating mix of light and dark regions, including vast canyons, broad plains, and impact crater. With a diameter of about 1,200 kilometers, Charon is more than half the diameter of Pluto, making it unusually large compared to its parent body. Charon's mass is roughly 12% of that of Pluto.
Because Pluto and Charon are so close in mass, the center of mass of the system (the point both Pluto and Charon orbit) is not within Pluto but between Pluto and Charon. This is in contrast to systems like the Earth and its Moon where the center of mass lies within the larger body, the Earth in this case. Scientists think the Pluto-Charon system may have formed by a collision of two objects that then separated and began to orbit each other. By studying Charon and the smaller moons that circle Pluto, astronomers gain insight into how moons form and how distant icy bodies evolve over billions of years.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Alex Parker
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License: PD Public Domain icons
Related Activities
Children's Planetary Maps: Pluto & Charon
astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website) Description: Learn about our furthest neighbors
License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Reconocimiento 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0) icons
Tags:
Maps
, Planetary cartography
, Spatial thinking
, Charon
Age Ranges:
6-8
, 8-10
, 10-12
, 12-14
Education Level:
Middle School
, Primary
, Secondary
Areas of Learning:
Social Research
Costs:
Low Cost
Duration:
2 hours
Group Size:
Group
Skills:
Analysing and interpreting data
, Asking questions
, Communicating information
, Constructing explanations
, Developing and using models
, Engaging in argument from evidence
, Planning and carrying out investigations
