
Pluto - Science@NASA
Mar 12, 2025 · Pluto is a dwarf planet located in a distant region of our solar system beyond Neptune known as the Kuiper Belt. Pluto was long considered our ninth planet, but the International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet in 2006.
Pluto - Wikipedia
Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most- massive known object to directly orbit the Sun .
New Horizons - NASA Science
Nov 5, 2024 · NASA's New Horizons spacecraft was the first spacecraft to explore Pluto up close, flying by the dwarf planet and its moons on July 14, 2015. In early 2019, New Horizons flew past its second major science target – Arrokoth (2014 MU69), the …
Pluto Facts - Science@NASA
Nov 5, 2024 · Pluto is a complex and mysterious world with mountains, valleys, plains, craters, and glaciers. It is located in the distant Kuiper Belt. Discovered in 1930, Pluto was long considered our solar system's ninth planet.
All About Pluto | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids
Mar 17, 2025 · Pluto is a dwarf planet that lies in the Kuiper [KI-per] Belt. It's an area full of icy bodies and other dwarf planets at the edge of our solar system. Pluto is known as the "King of the Kuiper Belt" – and it's the largest object in the region, even though another object similar in size, called Eris, has a slightly higher mass. One thing is ...
Pluto: Everything you need to know about the dwarf planet - Space.com
Jul 28, 2022 · Pluto is the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system and used to be considered the ninth and most distant planet from the sun.
In Depth | Pluto – NASA Solar System Exploration
Pluto is a complex and mysterious world with mountains, valleys, plains, craters, and maybe glaciers. Discovered in 1930, Pluto was long considered our solar system's ninth planet. But after the discovery of similar intriguing worlds deeper in the distant Kuiper Belt, icy Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet.
Five Years after New Horizons’ Historic Flyby, Here Are 10 ... - NASA
Jul 14, 2020 · Five years ago today, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft made history. After a voyage of nearly 10 years and more than 3 billion miles, the intrepid piano-sized probe flew within 7,800 miles of Pluto. For the first time ever, we saw the surface of this distant world in spectacular, colored detail.
NASA’s Three-Billion-Mile Journey to Pluto Reaches Historic …
Jul 14, 2015 · After a decade-long journey through our solar system, New Horizons made its closest approach to Pluto Tuesday, about 7,750 miles above the surface — roughly the same distance from New York to Mumbai, India – making it the first-ever space mission to explore a world so far from Earth.
Exploration of Pluto - Wikipedia
Pluto, discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930, is an interesting target for planetary exploration, but Pluto presents significant challenges for exploration because of its small mass and great distance from Earth.