2015 The Pluto Year'' Explore Pluto

Pluto is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt, a region of icy bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system, and was once considered the ninth planet. However, in 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet due to its small size and unusual orbit.

The only spacecraft to visit Pluto is NASA's New Horizons, which flew by the dwarf planet in July 2015. New Horizons revealed that Pluto is a complex and diverse world, with a variety of geological features. The dwarf planet has a large heart-shaped region of ice, mountains, valleys, and craters.

One of the most surprising discoveries made by New Horizons was the presence of a thin atmosphere on Pluto. The atmosphere is composed mostly of nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide. The atmosphere is so thin that it would be crushed by the weight of a human being.

Pluto also has five moons: Charon, Nix, Hydra, Kerberos, and Styx. Charon is the largest moon and is about half the size of Pluto. The other moons are much smaller.

The exploration of Pluto is just beginning. New Horizons has given us a glimpse of this fascinating world, but there is still much that we do not know. Future missions to Pluto will help us to learn more about its geology, atmosphere, and moons.