Living on Pluto: Dwarf Planet Facts Explained (Infographic)

By Karl Tate
published

Chart shows conditions on Pluto.
Pluto was considered a planet until 2006, when it was reclassified as a dwarf planet. (Image credit: By Karl Tate, Infographics Artist)

Pluto, one of the  most  massive objects known in the Kuiper Belt region of the solar system, orbits between 30 and 50 times farther from the sun than the Earth does.

 

Now classed as a dwarf planet, Pluto was only discovered in 1930.

 

Half the diameter of Pluto itself, the moon Charon would loom large over the hemisphere of Pluto that permanently faces it.

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Karl Tate
Karl Tate
Space.com contributor

Karl's association with Space.com goes back to 2000, when he was hired to produce interactive Flash graphics. From 2010 to 2016, Karl worked as an infographics specialist across all editorial properties of Purch (formerly known as TechMediaNetwork).  Before joining Space.com, Karl spent 11 years at the New York headquarters of The Associated Press, creating news graphics for use around the world in newspapers and on the web.  He has a degree in graphic design from Louisiana State University and now works as a freelance graphic designer in New York City.