Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jun 1980
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1980s%26t....59..452h&link_type=abstract
Sky and Telescope, vol. 59, June 1980, p. 452-454.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Astronomy, Planetary Mass, Pluto (Planet), Astronomical Photography, Diameters, Dynamic Characteristics, Eccentric Orbits, Orbit Perturbation, Physical Properties, Popular, Pluto, Astronomy, History, Review, Physical Properties, Dynamics, Orbits, Eccentricity, Mass, Diameter, Density, Uranus, Observations, Neptune, Spectrum, Satellites, Charon, Brightness, Rotation, Period, Surface, Methane, Solar System
Scientific paper
Current knowledge of the dynamical and physical properties of Pluto is reviewed, with particular emphasis on those characteristics which are still unknown 50 years after the discovery of the planet. Pluto has been observed to have high orbital eccentricity and inclination, however the determination of its mass and diameter have been complicated by its distance. Recent spectroscopic and speckle interferometric studies have measured a diameter from 3000 to 3500 km, while the discovery of the Plutonian satellite, provisionally named Charon, has allowed the determination of a mass 0.002 that of the earth for Pluto, corresponding to a density between 1.0 and 1.6 times that of water. Observed variations in planet brightness are not accounted for by Charon eclipses, and have been attributed to an irregular distribution of light and dark patches, and an axis of rotation nonperpendicular to the plane of revolution, which is supported by the 115-deg inclination of the orbit of Charon to the plane of Pluto's orbit. The planet is presently characterized as a relatively small, low-density methane snowball, with possibly ammonia or other impurities, however questions remain concerning the origin and nature of Pluto and of the undetected body responsible for perturbations of the orbits of Uranus and Neptune.
Harrington B. J.
Harrington Robert S.
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