Dwarf Planet Pluto
Dwarf Planet Pluto is currently in the constellation of Sagittarius. The current Right Ascension of Dwarf Planet Pluto is 20h 04m 25s and the Declination is -22° 42’ 53” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current magnitude of Dwarf Planet Pluto is 14.48 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Dwarf Planet Pluto [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- Pluto is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-East direction at an altitude of 7° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, Pluto is visible with the help of a telescope havng an aperture of 8 inches (200mm) or more.
- See also Pluto rise and set times.
- Go to interactive sky chart
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Additional information about Dwarf Planet Pluto available on TheSkyLive:
Dwarf Planet Pluto Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Dwarf Planet Pluto finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Dwarf Planet Pluto is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Dwarf Planet Pluto?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Dwarf Planet Pluto in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Dwarf Planet Pluto Distance from Earth
The distance of Dwarf Planet Pluto from Earth is currently 5,331,593,724 kilometers, equivalent to 35.639503 Astronomical Units. Light takes 4 hours, 56 minutes and 24.2824 seconds to travel from Dwarf Planet Pluto and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Dwarf Planet Pluto from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of Pluto from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Dwarf Planet Pluto to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Dwarf Planet Pluto to Earth happens on Sun Jun 30 2013 at a distance of 31.449098 Astronomical Units, or 4,704,718,037 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Dwarf Planet Pluto brightness
The current visual magnitude of Dwarf Planet Pluto is 14.48.
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 rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Dwarf Planet Pluto rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Dwarf Planet Pluto touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
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 |
247.7407 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 |
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 15 Days 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 | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Jan 29 | 20h 03m 24s | -22° 45’ 02” | 14.48 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Jan 30 | 20h 03m 33s | -22° 44’ 44” | 14.48 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Jan 31 | 20h 03m 42s | -22° 44’ 26” | 14.48 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Feb 01 | 20h 03m 50s | -22° 44’ 08” | 14.48 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Feb 02 | 20h 03m 57s | -22° 43’ 50” | 14.48 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Feb 03 | 20h 04m 05s | -22° 43’ 33” | 14.48 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Feb 04 | 20h 04m 14s | -22° 43’ 15” | 14.48 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Feb 05 | 20h 04m 23s | -22° 42’ 59” | 14.48 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Feb 06 | 20h 04m 31s | -22° 42’ 42” | 14.48 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Feb 07 | 20h 04m 39s | -22° 42’ 24” | 14.48 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Feb 08 | 20h 04m 46s | -22° 42’ 07” | 14.48 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Feb 09 | 20h 04m 54s | -22° 41’ 51” | 14.49 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Feb 10 | 20h 05m 03s | -22° 41’ 35” | 14.49 | Sagittarius |
| 2023 Feb 11 | 20h 05m 11s | -22° 41’ 18” | 14.49 | Sagittarius |