Pluto (redirected from Physical characteristics of Pluto)

Plu·to  (plt)

n.

1. Roman Mythology The god of the dead and the ruler of the underworld.

2. A dwarf planet that until 2006 was classified as the ninth planet in our solar sytem, having a sidereal period of revolution about the sun of 248.5 years, 4.4 billion kilometers (2.8 billion miles) distant at perihelion and 7.4 billion kilometers (4.6 billion miles) at aphelion, and a diameter less than half that of Earth. See Usage Note at planet.

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[Latin Plt, Pltn-, from Greek Ploutn, from ploutos, wealth (from the belief that the underworld was the source of wealth from the ground); see pleu- in Indo-European roots.]

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PLUTO [ˈpluːtəʊ]

n

(Historical Terms) the code name of pipelines laid under the English Channel to supply fuel to the Allied forces landing in Normandy in 1944

[from p(ipe)l(ine) u(nder) t(he) o(cean)]

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Pluto¹

n

(Myth & Legend / Classical Myth & Legend) Classical myth the god of the underworld; Hades

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Pluto²

n

(Astronomy & Space / Celestial Objects) the smallest planet and the farthest known from the sun. Discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh (1906-97), it has one known satellite, Charon. Mean distance from sun: 5907 million km; period of revolution around sun: 248.6 years; period of axial rotation: 6.4 days; diameter and mass: 18 and 0.3 per cent that of earth respectively

[Latin, from Greek Ploutōn, literally: the rich one]

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Pluto  (plt)

The ninth and usually farthest planet from the Sun as well as the smallest in size, with a diameter about one-sixth that of Earth. Pluto was not discovered until 1930, when Clyde Tombaugh noticed it while searching for an unknown planet thought to influence Uranus's orbit. Pluto's surface is covered with frozen methane and other ices, and its extremely thin atmosphere consists primarily of methane and nitrogen. Between 1979 and 1999 Pluto crossed inside Neptune's orbit and became, temporarily, the eighth planet in distance from the Sun. Because of its small size (it is smaller than Earth's moon) and the unusual eccentricity and inclination of its orbit, many astronomers have questioned whether it should be regarded as a planet at all, suggesting that Pluto and its moon, Charon, are actually large Kuiper belt objects. See Table at solar system.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	Pluto - a cartoon character created by Walt Disney
	2.	Pluto - (Greek mythology) the god of the underworld in ancient mythology; brother of Zeus and husband of Persephone Aides, Aidoneus, Hades Greek mythology - the mythology of the ancient Greeks
	3.	Pluto - a small planet and the farthest known planet from the sun; it has the most elliptical orbit of all the planets; "Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930" solar system - the sun with the celestial bodies that revolve around it in its gravitational field

Translations

Pluto [ˈpluːtəʊ] N (Astron, Myth) → Plutón m

Pluto

n (Myth) → Pluto m, → Pluton m; (Astron) → Pluto m

Pluto [ˈpluːtəʊ] n (Astron, Myth) → Plutone m