The Last Frontier: Pluto
Pluto, the mysterious planet of time and death. What is Pluto? Let's see...
MYTHS:
Pluto, or Hades (Hade-ees), is the Roman god of Death. He fell in love with
the beautiful Persephone, whom Aphrodite, or Venus, hated so much. Aphrodite
hated Persephone because of her beauty, that almost outranked her own. Aphrodite
was glad to see it when Hades took Persephone to the underworld to live there with him.
While there, she ate six seeds of a fruit. Because of this, she had to stay in
the underworld six months out of the year.
Her mother was the goddess of nature. Every six months that Persephone was away,
she mourned, and everything wilted (fall/winter). When Persephone came back, she
was happy, and made everything bloom (spring/summer). This is how the Greeks thought
the seasons occured.
MISSIONS:
Actually, NONE! No missions have been sent to Pluto, although the Pluto-Kuiper Express
is soon to be sent, to arrive around 2010 as a fly-by.
FACTS:
FUN FACT: Pluto has a very strange orbit, or movement around the sun! Sometimes,
Pluto becomes the eighth planet, switching with Neptune, which becomes the ninth!
Here's what this site said:
"Pluto's unique orbit causes it to periodically come within the orbit of
Neptune. Pluto was the eighth planet from the Sun from February 7th,
1979 through February 11, 1999. Now Pluto will remain the ninth planet
through the 23rd century."
Cool!
Pluto has a very thin atmophere when it becomes the 8th planet from
the sun. Its ice melts and forms a VERY VERY thin atmosphere... HARD TO
BELIEVE! Pluto's air is made out of these few chemicals: nitrogen gas,
carbon monoxide and methane.
Pluto has one moon, Charon, which is pratically a "double planet" with
Pluto, because they orbit each other, and they are similar in size!
For more info on Pluto, check out the link above.
What do you think? Have any questions?
Y-mail me @ Etrnl *.
Thanx, Etrnl *
