SpaceAbout Pluto
Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union. It has five known moons. The largest, Charon, is about half the size of Pluto itself. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft photographed Pluto's "heart" in July 2015.
Source: NASA, read on 12 November 2026.
Pluto compared with Earth
Size. Pluto is 2,376 km across. That is 19% of the width of Earth (12,756 km). You would need about 5.4 of it in a row to match the width of Earth. Its mass is 0.002 times Earth's.
Gravity and your weight. Gravity at the surface is 0.7 m/s², against 9.8 on Earth. So things weigh 7% of what they do on Earth. Someone who weighs 50 kg on Earth would feel like 3.6 kg there. Try your own weight in the weight calculator.
Day. Pluto turns once on its axis in 6.4 Earth days, and it turns backwards compared with Earth, which the fact sheet shows with a minus sign. From one noon to the next, its day lasts 6.4 Earth days.
Year. One trip round the Sun takes 90,560 Earth days, which is 247.97 Earth years. A ten-year-old on Earth would be 0 years old there, counting in that world's years. See the age calculator.
Distance. Pluto is on average 5,906.4 million km from the Sun, between 4,436.8 million km at its closest and 7,375.9 million km at its farthest. Sunlight takes 5.5 hours to arrive. That is 39.48 times Earth's distance.
Tilt and temperature. Its axis is tilted by 119.5°. It lies nearly on its side. The mean temperature in the fact sheet is −225 °C.
Moons, rings and magnetism. The fact sheet counts 5 moons for Pluto. Rings: no. A global magnetic field: unknown.
All the figures
| Diameter | 2,376 km |
|---|---|
| Mass | 0.013 × 10²⁴ kg |
| Density | 1,850 kg/m³ |
| Gravity | 0.7 m/s² |
| Escape velocity | 1.3 km/s |
| Rotation period | −153.3 hours |
| Length of day | 153.3 hours |
| Distance from the Sun | 5,906.4 million km |
| Closest | 4,436.8 million km |
| Farthest | 7,375.9 million km |
| Orbital period | 90,560 days |
| Orbital velocity | 4.7 km/s |
| Orbital inclination | 17.2° |
| Orbital eccentricity | 0.244 |
| Tilt of axis | 119.5° |
| Mean temperature | −225 °C |
| Surface pressure | 0.00001 bar |
| Moons | 5 |
| Rings | No |
| Global magnetic field | Unknown |
Figures: NASA NSSDCA Planetary Fact Sheet, last updated by NASA on 18 March 2025, read on 12 November 2026. NASA rounds these values. Counts of moons change as new ones are confirmed.
Common questions
How big is Pluto compared with Earth?
Pluto is 2,376 km across, 0.19 times the diameter of Earth.
How long is a day on Pluto?
From noon to noon, a day on Pluto lasts 6.4 Earth days.
How many moons does Pluto have?
The NASA fact sheet read on 12 November 2026 gives 5.