Pluto

Question 1

plutoid (2)

Answer 1

• pluto = archetype of plutoids

- plutoid = icy dwarf planets orbiting sun beyond orbit of neptune

Question 2

dwarf planet

Answer 2

must orbit sun & have gravity strong enough to form body into a sphere

Question 3

pluto physical characteristics

• diameter
• avg. dist. from sun
• mass
• orbital pd
• rotational pd
• # of moons
• magnitude
• fun fact

Answer 3

• diameter = 0.5 x moon
• avg. dist. from sun = 40 AU
• mass = 20% of moon
• orbital pd = 250 yrs
• rotational pd = 6 days & 9 hrs
• # of moons = 5
• magnitude = 13.6
• fun fact = smaller than 7 of s.s.’s moons

Question 4

pluto’s orbit (5)

Answer 4

• far from circular orbit
• for part of orbit, pluto is closer to sun than neptune
• orbit is tilted sharply to pluto’s plane
• 3:2 resonance w/ neptune
  
  • for every 2x pluto orbits the sun, neptune orbits the sun 3x

Question 5

pluto’s moons

Answer 5

1 lg. moon & 4 sm. moons

Question 6

pluto & charon (3)

Answer 6

• lg. moon
• “double planet” refers to both pluto & charon
• charon & pluto have mutually synchronous rotations

Question 7

pluto’s other moons (4)

Answer 7

1. Nix
2. Hydra
3. S/2011 (a.k.a. P4)
4. S/2012 (a.k.a. P5)

Question 8

pluto composition

Answer 8

equal mixes of ice & rock

Question 9

pluto surface features (3)

Answer 9

• 12 distinct regions
  
  • most of any body in s.s. beside earth
• surface contains frozen nitrogen, methane, & carbon monoxide

Question 10

pluto atmosphere

Answer 10

thin atmosphere of nitrogen & carbon monoxide