Pluto Facts
Formerly the smallest planet in the Solar System. In August 2006 the International Astronomical Union redefined the term planet. Now Pluto is classified as a dwarf planet. Pluto is a small rocky object that lies at the edge of our solar system. The planet is so far out, it takes light from the sun about 5 and a half hours to reach Pluto in contrast to the 8 minutes it takes to reach Earth. Its orbit of about 248 years sometimes takes it inside Neptune’s orbit. Pluto is so cold that nitrogen and oxygen, which we breathe so easily on Earth, become frozen solid. Pluto is only about two-thirds the size of our moon and recently was the biggest known object in the Kuiper Belt (an asteroid zone). 2