February 18th, 2025
| Company: | NASA |
| Web site: | http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/dwarf-planets/pluto/overview/ |
Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ discovered Pluto on February 18, 1930. It was considered the ninth planet of the solar system and was given the name of Pluto after the Roman god of the underworld. In 2006 Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet on August 24th.
Did you know? Pluto is smaller than the Earth's moon and is around 40 times further away from the sun than Earth. A year on Pluto is 248 Earth years; a day on Pluto lasts 153 hours, or about six Earth days.
