Illustration of Pluto (the planet in the foreground) and its companion Charon. The Sun is visible at right. Pluto, the ninth planet to be discovered,

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Illustration of Pluto (the planet in the foreground) and its companion Charon. The Sun is visible at right. Pluto, the ninth planet to be discovered, was first seen in 1930. Charon orbits Pluto in days, exactly the same as Pluto's rotational period. Pluto is 2300km in diameter, and is thought to consist of a rocky core covered with methane ice. Charon is believed to have a similar structure, although somewhat smaller with a diameter of 1190km. Pluto's unusual orbit occasionally brings it within that of Neptune, as is the case between 1979 and 1999, in the course of its 248 year solar orbit.

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Size: 5017px × 3491px
Photo credit: © CHRIS BUTLER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: artwork, astronomy, charon, cosmology, dwarf, illustration, planet, planetary, pluto, science