pluto | EarthSky

Small bright white star surrounded by a disk. A trail of irregular rocky objects is being pulled into the star.

Hungry white dwarf devours surprisingly icy Pluto-like world

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has caught a hungry white dwarf devouring the leftover pieces of a former icy, Pluto-like world 260 light-years away.

Multi-colored rocky planet with mountains, plains and craters.

New Horizons visited Pluto 10 years ago

New Horizons flew past distant Pluto 10 years ago in 2015. It changed forever the way we perceive this outermost world and its moons.

Gray planet with red and white patches, with large grayer round moon near it, also with a red patch.

Kiss and capture: A new explanation for Pluto’s largest moon

Pluto and Charon may not have formed in a destructive collision like Earth and its moon, but through a newly discovered "kiss and capture" mechanism.

Astronomer Michael Brown: ‘I killed Pluto. Now I’m searching for Planet 9’

Cool astronomy livestream on Monday, July 14! EarthSky's Deborah Byrd will be talking with astronomer Michael Brown, who calls himself "the man who killed Pluto."

Pluto's ocean: Partial view of planet-like rocky sphere with large smooth region covering most of right side.

Pluto’s ocean is super salty, scientists say

A new analysis of data from NASA's New Horizons mission shows Pluto's ocean is just a little denser than seawater on Earth. You could easily float in it.

Round globe with large, light-colored heart-shaped feature.

How Pluto got its heart

The New Horizons spacecraft saw a heart-shaped feature on Pluto during its 2015 flyby. New computer simulations suggest an impact created Pluto's heart.

Rocky moon-like sphere with much smaller sphere above it and bright star in distance.

Are Eris and Pluto different on the inside?

Dwarf planets Eris and Pluto are outwardly similar. But a new study suggests they are quite different on the inside, and that they evolved differenly.

Black round planet - Pluto Black round planet - Pluto - with glowing edge, faint narrow lighted crescent on right.

Pluto became a dwarf planet on today’s date

Pluto is the largest of many small bodies in the outer solar system. That's partly why it was demoted from major planet to dwarf planet in 2006.

Planet with large areas of green, teal, orange, and magenta on differently textured areas.

Pluto terrain in rainbow colors

Take a look at Pluto in this rich false-color image. The colors help to highlight the differences in the dwarf planet's terrain.

Tan colored planet with lighter heart shape taking up about half its visible surface.

How Pluto got its name

Eleven-year-old Venetia Burney named Pluto for a god of the underworld. The name also honored Percival Lowell, the pioneering astronomer.

Small blue circles on bumpy, rocky terrain on planet with haze and stars above it.

Pluto’s giant ice volcanoes may still be erupting

Unusual large icy domes on Pluto's surface are likely giant ice volcanoes where water ice "lava" flowed, researchers say.

Daytime black-and-white photo of a young man standing next to a long, cylindrical telescope pointed at the sky.

February 18, 1930: Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto

On this date in 1930, Clyde Tombaugh, searching for a 9th planet, discovered Pluto. This opened the door to further exploration of the outer solar system.

Pluto's atmosphere: View of a silhouetted planet with a thin, white glowing layer around the edge.

Pluto’s atmosphere is disappearing

Pluto's atmosphere is disappearing. The dwarf planet's atmosphere is freezing as it moves farther from the sun in its orbit and falling to the surface.

Is ‘Oumuamua a frozen piece of an exoPluto?

A new theory about 'Oumuamua suggests the weird object that passed through our solar system in 2017 was a remnant of a Pluto-like world from another solar system. As one scientist said, "‘Oumuamua may be the first piece of an exoplanet brought to us."

Hungry white dwarf devours surprisingly icy Pluto-like world

New Horizons visited Pluto 10 years ago

Kiss and capture: A new explanation for Pluto’s largest moon

Astronomer Michael Brown: ‘I killed Pluto. Now I’m searching for Planet 9’

Pluto’s ocean is super salty, scientists say

How Pluto got its heart

Are Eris and Pluto different on the inside?

Pluto became a dwarf planet on today’s date

Pluto terrain in rainbow colors

How Pluto got its name

Pluto’s giant ice volcanoes may still be erupting

February 18, 1930: Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto

Pluto’s atmosphere is disappearing

Is ‘Oumuamua a frozen piece of an exoPluto?

Celebrate the 91st anniversary of Pluto’s discovery

Pluto’s landscape more like Earth’s than previously thought

Jupiter gives us Pluto in 2020

Pluto’s snowcapped mountains are unlike any on Earth

5 years after New Horizons flyby, 10 cool things about Pluto

Life inside Pluto?

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Hungry white dwarf devours surprisingly icy Pluto-like world

New Horizons visited Pluto 10 years ago

Kiss and capture: A new explanation for Pluto’s largest moon

Astronomer Michael Brown: ‘I killed Pluto. Now I’m searching for Planet 9’

Pluto’s ocean is super salty, scientists say

How Pluto got its heart

Are Eris and Pluto different on the inside?

Pluto became a dwarf planet on today’s date

Pluto terrain in rainbow colors

How Pluto got its name

Pluto’s giant ice volcanoes may still be erupting

February 18, 1930: Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto

Pluto’s atmosphere is disappearing

Is ‘Oumuamua a frozen piece of an exoPluto?

Celebrate the 91st anniversary of Pluto’s discovery

Pluto’s landscape more like Earth’s than previously thought

Jupiter gives us Pluto in 2020

Pluto’s snowcapped mountains are unlike any on Earth

5 years after New Horizons flyby, 10 cool things about Pluto

Life inside Pluto?