Pluto Size, Composition, Distance from Sun & Moons

Pluto Information: size, strucutre, Difference from Sun, Moon orbits and moon size comparisons

Size: The New Horizons mission has verified that Pluto is the largest of the dwarf planets with a diameter 2,370 kilometres give or take a 20 km margin of error.

Composition: There is still lot to learn from New Horizons about Pluto’s exact internal structure, but we know it is comprised of water ice around a rocky core with a surface layer of Nitrogen and Methane ices.

Distance from Sun: Pluto’s orbit takes it between 4.4 billion km (29.7 AU) at its closest point and 7.3 billion km (48.9 AU) from the Sun with an average distance of 5.9 billion km (39.3 AU). 1 Astronomical Unit (AU) = 149,597,871 km, the average distance of the Earth from the Sun.

Moons: Pluto has five moons, in order of size they are Charon with a diameter of 1,208 km, Hydra (45 km), Nix (35 km), Kerberos and Styx.

If you want to use this on your site, then use the code below:

As a bit of a disclaimer the initial sizes of the smaller moons are based on early information from New Horizons which will likely be refined and in the case of Pluto’s internal structure this is one possible model based on what is currently known.

Sources: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/, http://www.nasa.gov/feature/how-big-is-pluto-new-horizons-settles-decades-long-debate & https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Internal_Structure_of_Pluto.jpg

Related space facts:

14 comments

  1. 1Km is roughly five eighth’s of a mile so 2370×0.625 = 1481 . Quick history lesson for you, USA HAS USED METRIC MEASUREMENTS since 1865 act of congress. The US mile is based on meter and Kilo supplied by France. US has been using metric measurements for ???years. As of 2017, you really should know more about US history and the metric system

  2. hello there .
    Sometimes I feel sorry to know so little always I have been curious of our system to understand what make us but I have a great believe that few people out there NASA have and seen and know too much and we can not even image if we have a great imagination 🙂 human body a way is created is connected to the numbers of the solar system , I’m looking to find out anything that can make me understand what make us , thank you

  3. It is a good brain teaser to observe and study terrestrials as a pastime but the gamut of the whole matter lies in the INFERENCIiNG. All of us without exception, do infer in a primitive way while time waits and never has room for guesses. To be precise is to be the one to independently say it with absolute precision and impeccable knowledge. Stay cool on Pluto.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *