Astronomy 2232F/G Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Clyde Tombaugh, Kuiper Belt, Escape Velocity
13 Mar 2017
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Document Summary
Largest dwarf planet not a planet anymore, to be a planet: must orbit around the sun, massive enough to be grounded by its own gravity, cleared. Pluto neighbourhood around its orbit: fails to meet 3rd condition, located in kuiper belt, beyond neptune, terrestrial: icy, rocky unusual, five moons: charon (largest), kerberos, styx, nix, hydra. Discovery and orbit: discovered in 1930 by clyde tombaugh, causes wobbles in orbits of neptune and uranus, elliptical orbit, distance from sun ranges 29. 7 49. 3 au, sometimes crosses orbit of neptune only planet to do this. New horizons (2015: only spacecraft to visit pluto, launched january 2006 9 year journey, closest flyby in july 2015 at 12,400km above surface, still going! Headed to outer solar system, kuiper belt. Atmosphere: very thin: around 1 pa, mostly n2, small component ch4 and co, fluxes with orbit driven by temperature, perihelion: sublimates from surface ice point of orbit closest to sun, aphelion: condenses, thinner furthest away.
