Dwarf Planet Pluto
Dwarf Planet Pluto Sky Charts and Coordinates
This is a simplified sky chart, showing where Dwarf Planet Pluto is now with respect to the brightest stars and constellations.
More advanced sky charts are available on TheSkyLive for this object: 1) the Online Planetarium which is interactive and allows to select dates and additional objects to visualize; and 2) the Live Position and Data Tracker which provides the highest precision position data and features deep sky imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey.
High Precision Live Sky Chart
Dwarf Planet Pluto Rise and Set Times
Today's Dwarf Planet Pluto rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. All times are relative to the local timezone Europe/London.
Dwarf Planet Pluto Orbit Diagram
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Dwarf Planet Pluto with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Dwarf Planet Pluto and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!
View Dwarf Planet Pluto in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Dwarf Planet Pluto Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Dwarf Planet Pluto computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Dwarf Planet Pluto in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | MagnitudeMag | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Aug 13 | 14.22 | 19h 13m 45s | -21° 38’ 30” | Sagittarius |
| 2017 Aug 14 | 14.22 | 19h 13m 41s | -21° 38’ 45” | Sagittarius |
| 2017 Aug 15 | 14.22 | 19h 13m 36s | -21° 39’ 01” | Sagittarius |
| 2017 Aug 16 | 14.22 | 19h 13m 32s | -21° 39’ 15” | Sagittarius |
| 2017 Aug 17 | 14.23 | 19h 13m 27s | -21° 39’ 30” | Sagittarius |
| 2017 Aug 18 | 14.23 | 19h 13m 22s | -21° 39’ 46” | Sagittarius |
| 2017 Aug 19 | 14.23 | 19h 13m 18s | -21° 40’ 00” | Sagittarius |
| 2017 Aug 20 | 14.23 | 19h 13m 13s | -21° 40’ 14” | Sagittarius |
| 2017 Aug 21 | 14.23 | 19h 13m 09s | -21° 40’ 28” | Sagittarius |
| 2017 Aug 22 | 14.23 | 19h 13m 05s | -21° 40’ 44” | Sagittarius |
| 2017 Aug 23 | 14.24 | 19h 13m 00s | -21° 40’ 58” | Sagittarius |
| 2017 Aug 24 | 14.24 | 19h 12m 56s | -21° 41’ 11” | Sagittarius |
| 2017 Aug 25 | 14.24 | 19h 12m 52s | -21° 41’ 25” | Sagittarius |
| 2017 Aug 26 | 14.24 | 19h 12m 48s | -21° 41’ 39” | Sagittarius |
Distance of Dwarf Planet Pluto from Earth
The following chart shows the distance of Dwarf Planet Pluto from Earth as a function of time. Distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with a 2 days interval.
The reported distances might be inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of Pluto is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Light Curve of Dwarf Planet Pluto
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Dwarf Planet Pluto, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Dwarf Planet Pluto Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Dwarf Planet Pluto. Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 2302 km | 0.1807 |
| Mass | 0.01309 x 1024 kg | 0.0022 |
| Density | 2.05 gr/cm3 | 0.3718 |
| Escape Velocity | 1.23 km/s | 0.1099 |
| Sideral Rotation | -153.2928 hours | -6.4047 |
| Absolute Magnitude | -1 | |
| Geometric Albedo | 0.3 | |
Dwarf Planet Pluto Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Dwarf Planet Pluto at epoch 21 September 2006 00:00 UTC (JD: 2454000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.25024871 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 17.08900092° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 29.57399177 AU 4,424,206,206 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
49.31614768 AU 7,377,590,699 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
39.44506973 AU 5,900,898,452 km |
| Orbital period | period |
247.7400 years 90,487.2769 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 1989-May-08 00:42:12 2,447,654.5293 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2237-Feb-04 07:20 2,538,141.8062 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 112.59714167749° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 110.37695795541° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 25.247189712188° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.00397846°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2013-Jun-30 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 31.44911014 AU 4,704,719,922 km |
|
* NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed for the time interval between 2013-Jan-01 and 2075-Dec-31, with a sampling interval of 1 day.