Pluto Day 2023: Date, History, facts about Pluto

Pluto Day 2023 is observed yearly on February 18 to mark the 1930 anniversary of Pluto’s discovery. The planet was discovered by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh and, until 2006, was considered one of the nine planets in the solar system, along with Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. About 84 years after the discovery of Neptune, Clyde discovered Pluto at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.

HISTORY OF PLUTO DAY

Pluto Day is observed yearly to mark the anniversary of Pluto’s discovery in 1930. Pluto was found in 1930, but the story of its discovery began in 1840, when French astronomer Urbain Le Verrier detected abnormalities in Uranus’ orbit that indicated the existence of a planet beyond Uranus. This led to the eventual discovery of Neptune.

After the discovery of Neptune, which is commonly seen as a validation of a subset of the astronomical technique known as celestial mechanics, the practise gained widespread acceptance. When the irregularities in Uranus’s orbit persisted, it was determined that another planet was perturbing the planet’s orbit. This led to Percival Lowell leading the hunt for Pluto, which was initially known as Planet X. After Lowell’s death, the quest for Pluto was taken over by Clyde Tombaugh, who eventually identified it.

Before to 2006, Pluto was considered one among the nine planets in the solar system. It was named after the Roman deity of the underworld. The International Astronomical Union reclassified it as a ‘dwarf’ planet because it does not match the standards for a full-sized planet and is only one-third the size of the earth. It is believed that the first two letters of ‘Pluto’ were chosen to honour Percival Lowell, whose belief in the existence of planets beyond Neptune contributed to the finding of Pluto.

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5 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT PLUTO

There are five known moons.

Five satellites orbit the dwarf planet, according to astronomers.

Uranium and nitrogen

The majority of Pluto’s atmosphere is reportedly composed of nitrogen gas.

Pluto’s day is 153.3 hours long.

Pluto is 40 times further from the sun than the earth, which causes its orbit to be sluggish; it requires 6.4 Earth days or 153.3 hours to complete one round.

Lowell Telescope and Pluto

Pluto was possibly named for the founder of the observatory where it was discovered.

Pluto and the divine

The planet is claimed to have been named after Pluto, the Roman deity of the Underworld, at the proposal of an 11-year-old English girl from Oxford.

PLUTO DAY 2023 DATES