Pluto
Pluto is in the constellation of
Capricornus,
at a distance of
View interactive star map
Pluto is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt, a region of icy objects beyond the orbit of Neptune. It was discovered in 1930 by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh and was considered the ninth planet in the solar system until it was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006. Pluto has a diameter of approximately 2,377 kilometers and a mass of 1.31 x 10^22 kilograms. Pluto has a highly elliptical orbit, with a period of 248 Earth years, and its orbit is tilted relative to the plane of the solar system. Pluto has five known moons, the largest of which is Charon, which is about half the size of Pluto itself. Pluto's surface is covered in nitrogen and methane ices, as well as frozen carbon monoxide and methane. The New Horizons spacecraft, which flew past Pluto in 2015, revealed a complex and diverse world with mountains, valleys, glaciers, and hazy skies. Pluto's atmosphere is thin and composed mainly of nitrogen, with traces of methane and carbon monoxide.
Celestial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
Today's rise,
transit and set times of
Pluto from
Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
Azimuth: 113.4°
Max altitude: 15.1°
Azimuth: 246.6°
- Pluto is
below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
- Given its current magnitude, Pluto is visible with the help of a telescope having an aperture of 14 inches (350mm) or more.
- Go to interactive sky chart
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple
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Finder Charts
Sky map showing Pluto in Capricornus on October, 05 2024.
Field of view: 10x6 degrees. View in interactive sky chart
High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Pluto is right now.
Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Pluto?,
a page that provides all the information needed to find Pluto in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Distance from Earth
- Pluto is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
- Given its current magnitude, Pluto is visible with the help of a telescope having an aperture of 14 inches (350mm) or more.
- Go to interactive sky chart
Finder Charts
The distance of Pluto from Earth is currently
The following chart shows the distance of 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
Between 1 January 1900 and 29 December 2099, the closest approach of Pluto to Earth happens on Tue May 8 1990 at a distance of 28.686952 Astronomical Units, or 4,291,506,906 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of 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.
Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Pluto at epoch 18 July 2016 00:00 UTC (JD: 2457588.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.25183788 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 17.14771141° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 29.61871297 AU 4,430,896,403 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
49.55854580 AU 7,413,852,941 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
39.58862939 AU 5,922,374,672 km |
| Orbital period | period |
249.0944 years 90,981.7165 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 1989-Oct-12 14:15:35 2,447,812.0942 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2238-Nov-18 07:27 2,538,793.8106 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 113.70900151586° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 110.29238405431° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 38.683663473182° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.00395684°/day |
Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of 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 |
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Pluto computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Sep 28 | 20h 10m 24s | -23° 24’ 17” | 14.49 | Capricornus |
| 2024 Sep 29 | 20h 10m 22s | -23° 24’ 21” | 14.49 | Capricornus |
| 2024 Sep 30 | 20h 10m 21s | -23° 24’ 25” | 14.49 | Capricornus |
| 2024 Oct 01 | 20h 10m 19s | -23° 24’ 29” | 14.49 | Capricornus |
| 2024 Oct 02 | 20h 10m 18s | -23° 24’ 33” | 14.50 | Capricornus |
| 2024 Oct 03 | 20h 10m 17s | -23° 24’ 36” | 14.50 | Capricornus |
| 2024 Oct 04 | 20h 10m 16s | -23° 24’ 39” | 14.50 | Capricornus |
| 2024 Oct 05 | 20h 10m 15s | -23° 24’ 41” | 14.50 | Capricornus |
| 2024 Oct 06 | 20h 10m 14s | -23° 24’ 43” | 14.50 | Capricornus |
| 2024 Oct 07 | 20h 10m 13s | -23° 24’ 44” | 14.50 | Capricornus |
| 2024 Oct 08 | 20h 10m 13s | -23° 24’ 45” | 14.50 | Capricornus |
| 2024 Oct 09 | 20h 10m 12s | -23° 24’ 46” | 14.51 | Capricornus |
| 2024 Oct 10 | 20h 10m 12s | -23° 24’ 47” | 14.51 | Capricornus |
| 2024 Oct 11 | 20h 10m 12s | -23° 24’ 46” | 14.51 | Capricornus |
Additional Resources
- Position and finder charts (see also Where is Pluto?)
- Distance from Earth (see also How far is Pluto from Earth?)
- When does Pluto rise and set?
- Brightness (see also How bright is Pluto?)
- Orbital elements. Detailed information about Pluto orbital parameters.
- Physical data. Detailed information about physical properties of Pluto, such as mass and geometric properties.
- 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Pluto for the past and next 7 days.
- Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Pluto in the sky from your location.
- Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Pluto with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.