Astronomy AST-A 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Kuiper Belt, Dwarf Planet, Tunguska Event
27 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
Dwarf planet that resides in the kuiper belt. Pluto is 2,300 km across and has a moon, charon, which is 1,300 km across. Based o(cid:374) the (cid:373)otio(cid:374) of charo(cid:374), pluto"s (cid:373)ass is (cid:1004). (cid:1004)(cid:1004)(cid:1006) mearth. Density is 2,000 km/m3, mix of ice, rock, and voids. Spin axis is o(cid:374) it"s side, (cid:1005)(cid:1005)(cid:1007) degrees, this is due to a (cid:272)ollisio(cid:374) that k(cid:374)o(cid:272)ked pluto o(cid:374) it"s side. Dis(cid:272)o(cid:448)ered i(cid:374) (cid:1006)(cid:1004)(cid:1004)5, it"s also i(cid:374) kuiper (cid:271)elt, a(cid:374)d is a d(cid:449)arf pla(cid:374)et. Eris is larger then pluto, diameter= 2,400 km. In about 300 years, eris will be closer to us than neptune. We face the possibility of extinction in the next 10 million years. A (cid:272)o(cid:373)et or asteroid greater tha(cid:374) (cid:1005) k(cid:373) a(cid:272)ross (cid:449)ill i(cid:373)pa(cid:272)t earth"s surfa(cid:272)e. this (cid:449)ill (cid:272)ause wide spread destruction, climate change, and mass extinction. In 1994 the comet known as shoemaker-levy 9 impacted jupiter and the original size of sl9 before impact was a few km across.
