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When you finish this page, try the Pluto Quiz.
Pluto is the ninth and most distant known planet from the sun. . Plato's distance from the sun is 3.67 billion miles or 5.91 billion kilometers. It takes Pluto 248 years to orbit the sun. Because of the tilt in Pluto's orbit, the planet is at times closer than Neptune to the sun.
Because it is so far away, it is hard for scientists to know what Pluto is like. Scientists think Pluto's surface is made up of frozen nitrogen. They think it has a rocky core. Pluto's atmosphere is thin and would be harmful to humans. It is made up of carbon monoxide and nitrogen.
Pluto's surface temperature is thought to be about -360 degrees Fahrenheit (-218 degrees Celsius).
Pluto has one moon, Charon. Pluto and Charon form a double planet system. Plato's diameter is around 1,400 miles or 2,300 kilometers. Charon's is around 728 miles or 1,172 kilometers. Charon completes one orbit in about 6.4 earth days. Pluto and Charon are unique in that they always keep the same side towards one another.
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