With the New Horizons probe at the precipice of the Pluto flyby, scientists and science enthusiasts are tweeting facts about the dwarf planet with the hashtag #PlutoFacts. Astronomer, science communicator, and hero of the Internet, Neil deGrasse Tyson, is leading the charge.
#PlutoFacts: More than half of Pluto’s volume is ice. I’m just saying.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) July 12, 2015
#PlutoFacts: Earth’s Moon is five times more massive than Pluto. Get over it.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) July 12, 2015
#PlutoFacts: Ever since Pluto was discovered in 1930, it has completed barely 1/3 of its own 248 year orbit around the Sun.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) July 12, 2015
#PlutoFacts: In 1979, Pluto crossed Neptune’s orbit, and for 20 years was the eighth “planet” in the solar system.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) July 12, 2015
#PlutoFacts: The moons Ganymede Titan Callisto Europa Io Titan & our Moon are all bigger than Pluto. Get over that one too.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) July 12, 2015
#PlutoFacts: As reported in the @NYTimes in 1930, when discovered, Pluto was presumed to be the size of Earth.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) July 12, 2015
How High Can You Jump On #Pluto? #PlutoFlyby #PlutoFacts #NewHorizons pic.twitter.com/GBEAPgEB4y
— SkySafari (@skysafariastro) July 12, 2015
#PlutoFacts You could jump 15 feet or more on Pluto, and you'd shatter like glass when you landed, because you'd be frozen solid.
— Lockwood DeWitt (@lockwooddewitt) July 13, 2015
#PlutoFacts Pluto probably formed much closer to the sun until Neptune was flung outward and pushed it 4Byrs ago. #PlutoFlyby
— Dr. Phil Metzger (@DrPhiltill) July 13, 2015
The Size Of Pluto’s Atmosphere Compared To Earth #PlutoFlyby #PlutoFacts #NewHorizons #Pluto pic.twitter.com/RtYwLDOCYQ
— SkySafari (@skysafariastro) July 13, 2015
#PlutoFacts heat advisory today for Birmingham, highs around 98 all week. #Pluto only reachs -369 on its hot summer days! @spann
— SamfordU Planetarium (@Planetarium_SU) July 13, 2015
Pluto is a little bit bigger than we thought: It's 2,370 km (1470 miles) across. http://t.co/8W6IAHjUIF pic.twitter.com/oemrjs15dN
— Slate (@Slate) July 13, 2015
We are learning so much more about Pluto thanks to the New Horizons probe NASA launched in July 2009. You can follow along the action here.
Photo via Scott a hurst/Wikimedia (CC BY 3.0)