Name: Five Facts About Pluto, the Largest Kuiper Belt Object
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Pluto has a thin atmosphere with a blue tint. Find out what else makes Pluto interesting.

Learn more about Pluto and its moon, Charon.

Five Facts About the Largest Kuiper Belt Object

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Pluto has a thin atmosphere with a blue tint. Find out what else makes Pluto interesting.

Learn more about Pluto and its moon, Charon.

Five Facts About Pluto, the Largest Kuiper Belt Object

Space & Flight

Five Facts About the Largest Kuiper Belt ObjectPublished: August 20, 2019Onscreen: Five facts about Pluto1. Pluto’s diameter is only about half the width of the contiguous United States.Diameter: ~1430 milesMass: ~1/456 mass of EarthDistance from the Sun: ~3.6 billion miles2. Pluto’s surface can get as cold as -396˚F—much colder than any of the 8 planets.3. Pluto and its moon Charon orbit each other in a binary system sometimes called a double planet.4. Pluto’s thin atmosphere has a blue tint. It consists of nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide.5. NASA’s New Horizons is the only spacecraft that has visited Pluto.Learn more about Pluto. Watch "The Planets: Ice Worlds" online or on the PBS Video App.

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Five Facts About the Largest Kuiper Belt Object

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The Planets: Ice Worlds

Pluto Shows Its True Colors

Pluto and Beyond

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Explore More

The Planets: Ice Worlds

Pluto Shows Its True Colors

Pluto and Beyond