ASTR 170B1 Lecture 10: Pluto, Charon and Comets
4 Oct 2016
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Discovered by clyde tombaugh in 1930 (flagstaff az) Eccentric orbit variety 30 to 49 au. Satellites: charon (discovered 1978), 4 recent tiny moons (found by hubble space telescope) Pluto finally visited by new horizons in july 2015. Named after gerard kuiper (founder id ua"s lunar and planetary lab) Mpost were discovered in past 15 years. Icy bodies 100 km in size, orbiting between neptune and about 50 au. May be tens of thousands (several hundred known) In sept. 2006, the international astronomical union voted to designate pluto as one of the dwarf planets which include the kbos. This created much criticism from fans of pluto as the 9th planet. Best preserved remnants of early solar system (4. 5 billion years old) And , a nucleus, visible only in telescopes. Periodic: return at regular intervals, several years to thousands of years. Spend most time far from the sun, pick up speed as they come in.
