Current Events

  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

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    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

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    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.

Pluto Statistics

Planetary Symbol: Name in Roman/Greek Mythology: Pluto / Hades
Diameter: 2,390 km (1,485 miles)
[0.187 x Earth's]
Orbital Semimajor Axis:
(average distance from Sun)
39.48 AU
(Earth = 1 AU)
Mass: 12.5 x 1021 kilograms
(0.0021 x Earth's)
Orbital Eccentricity: 0.2488
Density: 1,750 kg/m3
(0.317 x Earth's)
Maximum Distance from Sun: 49.31 AU
( 7.376 billion km or
4.583 billion miles )
Surface Gravity: 0.58 m/s2
(0.06 x Earth's)
Minimum Distance from Sun: 29.66 AU
( 4.437 billion km or
2.757 billion miles )
Surface Temperature: 40 to 50 K
( -233° to -223° C or
-387° to -369° F )
Minimum Distance from Earth: 28.6 AU
( 4.28 billion km or
2.66 billion miles )
Tilt of Axis: 123o Orbital Inclination:
(tilt of orbit plane)
17.16°
Rotation Period about Axis:
(length of Pluto's day)
6.387 days (retrograde) Revolution Period about the Sun:
(length of Pluto's year)
248 years

Satellites: known

Pluto Image Archive

Comparative Planetary Statistics -- in table form

Comparative Orbital Statistics -- in table form

Actual Distance to Earth

Last modified January 25, 2006 by Randy Russell.

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