The Size That Knocked Pluto Out of the Planets

Pluto is no longer the last planet in the Solar System, but still, it would be interesting to know the specs of this universal object that has once been part of the system where our planet Earth belongs to. From ages way back, the Pluto has already been known to be the smallest planet ever in the Solar System. In fact, because of its almost minute size compared to the other planets, Pluto has, back then, earned the title of being a dwarf planet in the Solar System. But now that it has been realized that the planet that we have once known as Pluto is really just a piece of giant asteroid, then the small size was justified.

On the Size of Pluto

When it comes to the diameter, Pluto is just about 70 percent of the Earth's Moon. Going into specifics, that would be a span of about 2,390 kilometers, or an equivalent that spans about 1,400 miles of land area. When it comes to the area covered by its surface, the measurement would be equal to about 0.033 percent the size of Earth, which is equivalent to a dimension of 1.665 kilometers by 107 kilometers. This surface is said to have been made up of ice and rock. Majority of the composition is made out of rock, which makes up 70 percent of the entire land surface at Pluto.

And then, when it comes to the core, this would be made up largely of ice. This icy core has a diameter spanning 1,700 kilometers, making up about 70 percent of the entire diameter of the planet. There are even ideas that sprang up that, since the core is largely made of ice, there could have been water just above it, possibly at 180 kilometers just below the mantle or the middle portion of the planet.

As per the atmosphere, studies show that the atmosphere is made up largely of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane. And, since Pluto is very far away from the sun, the temperature could get down to as much as - 320 C. At temperatures like this, would it even be possible to melt ice on Pluto?

On the other hand, when it comes to volume, Pluto is said to have one at 6.39 by 109 cubed kilometers. There is gravity in Pluto, too, just as it is present on Earth, but at a very low 0.658 meters square per second.