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Observations of stellar occultations by Pluto show that it increased about 3 times between 1988 and 2015, even though Pluto has been moving away from the Sun since 1989. [ 39 ] [ 11 ] [ 38 ] [ 40 ] This is probably caused by Pluto's north pole coming into sunlight in 1987, which intensified evaporation of nitrogen from the northern hemisphere ...
Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest known trans-Neptunian object by volume, by a small margin, but is less massive than Eris.
Pluto needs 248 years for one complete orbit, and has been observed for less than one third of that time. It has an average distance of 39 AU from the Sun, hence in-depth data from Pluto is sparse and difficult to gather. Temperature is inferred indirectly for Pluto; when it passes in front of a star, observers note how fast the light drops off.
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[28] [30] [32] Studies based on New Horizon's images of Pluto reveal no signs of contraction (as would be expected if Pluto's internal water had all frozen and turned into ice II) and imply that Pluto's interior is still expanding, probably due to this internal ocean; this is the first concrete evidence that Pluto's interior is still liquid.
Pluto likely acquired large moon Charon in a “kiss and capture” collision billions of years ago. It may have created a subsurface ocean on the icy dwarf planet.
For example, as the Earth's rotational velocity is 465 m/s at the equator, a rocket launched tangentially from the Earth's equator to the east requires an initial velocity of about 10.735 km/s relative to the moving surface at the point of launch to escape whereas a rocket launched tangentially from the Earth's equator to the west requires an ...
Pluto will then moving back to Capricorn from Sept. 1 to Nov. 19, 2024. After that, Pluto will stay in Aquarius until 2044, with some progression into Pisces and retrogrades back into Aquarius ...