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Is it true that the orbits of Pluto and Neptune overlap each other at times?
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
Despite the fact that Pluto and Neptune temporarily change places in their distance from the Sun, they will never collide. This is due to two reasons: First, Pluto's orbit is inclined to the ecliptic by 17 degrees. So even though we say their orbits "cross," Pluto is actually quite a distance "above" Neptune. Secondly, Pluto orbits the Sun twice for every three orbits of Neptune. The two planets are said to be in a "resonance orbit." For such orbits, the two bodies never get close to each other. In fact, the closest the two planets come to each other is 2 billion kilometers.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
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Is Uranus close to Neptune?
According to the astronauts, there is a very small chance that at one time Pluto will ever come close to Neptune. This assertion has been discussed in many forums bearing in mind that their orbit intersects. Gravitational resonance is the condition that prevents Pluto and Neptune from colliding.
If Pluto has not cleared its neighborhood of objects in its orbit then neither has Neptune since Pluto crosses its orbit Why is Neptune not excluded from the list of planets?
It crosses another planet's orbital path. Since Pluto is not a planet, it does not matter. Comets always pass other planets' orbital paths. They are still called planets. Countless asteriods and comets orbits the sun and crosses every planets orbital path. Pluto is somewhat a part of them.There is something circular about the logic in the above answer; see discussion.Probably a stronger answer is the fact that even though a section of the orbit of Pluto comes within the orbit of Neptune, the harmonic relationship between the two bodies is such that they can never collide, barring some catastrophic event that alters one or both orbits. Neptune and Pluto are locked in this harmonic relationship where for every three orbits of Neptune there is exactly two orbits of Pluto. So Pluto cannot be seen as an object that Neptune must clear. Pluto is more like an unusual moon of Neptune.
Does the orbit of Pluto sometimes cross that of the planet Neptune?
Pluto has a highly elliptical orbit which is at a steep angle to the ecliptic.The ecliptic is the plane that contains the sun's apparent motion through the skies from earth's point of view. Pluto is a K.O. (Kuyper Object, an object from the Kuyper Belt, more like an icy comet than an asteroid). It does travel within the orbit of Neptune for a few years out of its long orbit, but never in a way that will bring it crashing down onto Neptune. Pluto is locked into a special harmonic relationship with Neptune which prevents that from happening. For every 2 orbits of Pluto there are 3 orbits of Neptune. They are never close enough to collide. Pluto spends the vast majority of its orbital time in the Kuyper Belt, beyond Neptune's orbit.
What planets have orbits that cross?
inner planets <<>> Pluto has a very elliptical orbit and Pluto crosses inside the orbit of Neptune during its travel. However Pluto has a highly inclined orbit as well so there is no likelihood of a collision.
Is Neptune's orbit unusual?
The orbits of Neptune and Pluto appear to cross each other. However, because of their alignment, they can never collide or even approach close to each other.Pluto orbits in a very long elliptical shape. Its orbit sometimes passes within that of Neptune. Then, for about 20 years, it becomes closer to the sun than Neptune.
Why don't the orbits of Neptune and Pluto collide?
Because the two orbits don't intersect with each other.
Is Uranus close to Neptune?
According to the astronauts, there is a very small chance that at one time Pluto will ever come close to Neptune. This assertion has been discussed in many forums bearing in mind that their orbit intersects. Gravitational resonance is the condition that prevents Pluto and Neptune from colliding.
How does Pluto not hit Neptune?
Looking at the orbits drawn out on paper, it appears that the two orbits intersect. However, that is misleading. In three dimensions, The orbits are several million miles apart when Pluto passes inside Neptune's orbit. One is above the other and there is no common point that they both move through.
If Pluto has not cleared its neighborhood of objects in its orbit then neither has Neptune since Pluto crosses its orbit Why is Neptune not excluded from the list of planets?
It crosses another planet's orbital path. Since Pluto is not a planet, it does not matter. Comets always pass other planets' orbital paths. They are still called planets. Countless asteriods and comets orbits the sun and crosses every planets orbital path. Pluto is somewhat a part of them.There is something circular about the logic in the above answer; see discussion.Probably a stronger answer is the fact that even though a section of the orbit of Pluto comes within the orbit of Neptune, the harmonic relationship between the two bodies is such that they can never collide, barring some catastrophic event that alters one or both orbits. Neptune and Pluto are locked in this harmonic relationship where for every three orbits of Neptune there is exactly two orbits of Pluto. So Pluto cannot be seen as an object that Neptune must clear. Pluto is more like an unusual moon of Neptune.
Does the orbit of Pluto sometimes cross that of the planet Neptune?
Pluto has a highly elliptical orbit which is at a steep angle to the ecliptic.The ecliptic is the plane that contains the sun's apparent motion through the skies from earth's point of view. Pluto is a K.O. (Kuyper Object, an object from the Kuyper Belt, more like an icy comet than an asteroid). It does travel within the orbit of Neptune for a few years out of its long orbit, but never in a way that will bring it crashing down onto Neptune. Pluto is locked into a special harmonic relationship with Neptune which prevents that from happening. For every 2 orbits of Pluto there are 3 orbits of Neptune. They are never close enough to collide. Pluto spends the vast majority of its orbital time in the Kuyper Belt, beyond Neptune's orbit.
What planets have orbits that cross?
inner planets <<>> Pluto has a very elliptical orbit and Pluto crosses inside the orbit of Neptune during its travel. However Pluto has a highly inclined orbit as well so there is no likelihood of a collision.
Why did Pluto get pushed so far away?
It is not clear that Pluto has been pushed anywhere, it is a large Kuiper belt object with an orbit that is not in the plane of the other the Solar System's planet orbits which indicates it is orbiting where it always did. It is Uranus and Neptune that have moved out in their orbits.
Since Pluto is alternately within and outside of the orbit of Neptune-- it is in Neptune's neighborhood-- is Neptune technically not a planet by the newly adopted definition?
It is true that Pluto is in Neptune's neighborhood, but there are many smaller objects around the orbits of the other planets as well. One idea is that those other objects are under the gravitational influence of the much larger planets, and are in place because of this gravitational influence. Pluto is locked with Neptune's gravity; for every three orbits of Neptune, there are two orbits of Pluto, and this is not coincidental. Since it is the powerful gravity of Neptune that keeps this dance in motion, Pluto is not an object of debris that Neptune must clear before taking the category of 'planet'. In a sense, one could argue that any planet with a moon is not a planet because the moon is obviously an object that has not been cleared from the planet's orbit. But moons are really gravitationally and in some cases tidally locked with their parent planets, and therefore do not classify as debris.
Is Pluto next to Neptune?
While Pluto is the next planet-sized object past Neptune, its elliptical orbit brings it closer to the Sun than Neptune for up to 20 years of its 248 Earth-year trip around the Sun. Also, because the gravitation of the outer planets interact, Pluto makes almost exactly 2 orbits for every 3 made by Neptune. Pluto's orbit is also sharply inclined to the plane of most other planetary orbits. These factors combine and result in Pluto getting closer to Uranus (11 AU) than it ever gets to Neptune (17 AU).
Is Neptune's orbit unusual?
The orbits of Neptune and Pluto appear to cross each other. However, because of their alignment, they can never collide or even approach close to each other.Pluto orbits in a very long elliptical shape. Its orbit sometimes passes within that of Neptune. Then, for about 20 years, it becomes closer to the sun than Neptune.
What orbits Pluto?
Pluto orbits the sun along with the other dwarf planets.
Is Pluto really a moon that floated away from Saturn?
Almost certainly not. Pluto is a member of a large group of bodies called KBOs (Kuiper Belt Objects) and is probably a left-over planetesimal from early in the Solar System's formation. Current theories suggest that Pluto and other bodies like it (called Plutinos) originally had nearly circular orbits, but were thrown into their current resonance orbits with Neptune due to a relatively sudden movement of Neptune which perturbed them, throwing some of them into highly elliptical orbits.
