8 intriguing images of Pluto and beyond: What Hubble can tell us
Photo:
NASA
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the_mick
Sep 18 2011 at 2:54 AM
No planet orbits the Sun in a circle - ALL orbit the Sun in an elliptical orbit with the Sun at one of the two foci. That's why the Earth varies in distance from the Sun from 91 to 93 million miles. So the article's claim "Pluto does not orbit the sun as the planets do, with the sun at the center of their orbits. Instead, Pluto orbits on a tilted ellipse" is wrong in terms of "the Sun at the Center." It is approximately the center for planets whose elliptical orbits approximate a circle but some,
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like Mars, orbit so that the Sun isn't close to the center. Pluto's orbit is tilted at a 17 degree angle from the plane that the other planet are all within a few degrees of and it's orbit is more highly elliptical than any other. That's why it's sometimes closer than Neptune.

Enter your name
Sep 17 2011 at 10:15 AM
Pluto is not thought to be rocky with some ice covering. From its bulk density it is clear that it is half rock and half ice. I agree with the prior post: who writes this crap?

jakc
Sep 16 2011 at 5:45 PM
agree with Allen. (Pluto does not orbit the sun as the planets do, with the sun at the center of their orbits. Instead, Pluto orbits on a tilted ellipse. Because of this, it is sometimes closer to the sun than Neptune)
Pluto's orbit is far more elliptical than most (thus it ranges from under 30 AU to almost 50). This is why it is closer to the Sun then Neptune for about 20 years of its orbit. The tilt you write about refers to the fact that the 8 major planets orbit the sun along the sun's equatorial
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belt; Pluto's orbit is tilted so that it moves from above the sun's equator to below the equator and back during the Plutovian year.

Enter your name
Sep 16 2011 at 1:08 PM
There are several other errors in this one:
Nothing "rotates" around something else. The moons rotate on their axis and revolve around Pluto. Pluto is only close to the sun part of the time. That has nothing to do with the tilt of the plane of revolution, but is due to the eccentricity of its orbit.

Allen R., Ohio
Sep 16 2011 at 12:13 PM
MAJOR error in this picture's caption!
NO planet orbits with the "Sun at the center", instead all solar system objects (planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, etc.) orbit on ellipses with the Sun at one focus of the ellipse (Google 'ellipse' for a diagram).











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