Pluto is about 39 times as far from the sun as Earth is. Its mean distance from the sun is about 3,666,200,000 miles (5,900,100,000 kilometers). Pluto travels around the sun in an elliptical (oval-shaped) orbit.
At some point in its orbit, it comes closer to the sun than Neptune, usually the second farthest planet. It stays inside Neptune's orbit for about 20 earth-years.
This event occurs every 248 earth-years, which is about the same number of earth-years it takes Pluto to travel once around the sun. Pluto entered Neptune's orbit on Jan. 23, 1979, and will remain there until March 15, 1999. As it orbits the sun, Pluto spins on its axis, an imaginary line through its center. It spins around once in about six earth-days. |
