This dwarf planet enters the viewing window period, with Pluto colliding with Uranus on the 22nd | Position | Planet
Astronomical popular science experts introduce that on July 22nd, Pluto ascended to the sun, and this dwarf planet entered the viewing window period, gradually unveiling its mysterious veil.
People are not unfamiliar with Pluto, as it once entered the ranks of planets and was later downgraded to a dwarf planet.
Pluto's solar eclipse refers to an astronomical phenomenon in which Pluto moves approximately in a straight line with the Earth and Sun during its orbit around the sun, and the Earth happens to be located between the Sun and Pluto. At this time, Pluto is closest to Earth, has the largest apparent diameter, the highest brightness, and can be observed all night, providing a good opportunity for people to further understand it.
Lai Dihui, a member of the Chinese Astronomical Society and a director of the Tianjin Astronomical Society, introduced that due to Pluto's distance from the sun, its brightness is not very high and is quite dim, making it difficult to observe with ordinary small astronomical telescopes.
Before the emergence of astronomical telescopes, people only knew that there were five planets in the solar system: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. In 1781, British astronomer William Herschel discovered Uranus through a telescope. Later, astronomers discovered that the actual observation position of Uranus always deviated from the results calculated using mechanical formulas. Some people believed that there may be an undiscovered planet whose gravitational force affects Uranus's movement, resulting in position deviation.
In 1846, Neptune was discovered by humans. However, even after removing the influence of Neptune on Uranus, the calculated position and actual observation results of Uranus still cannot fully match, and Neptune's motion is also abnormal and seems to be being disturbed. People continue to speculate that there may be another planet outside the orbit of Neptune interfering with the movements of Uranus and Neptune. Some astronomers calculated the position of this unknown planet and began observing it, but were never successful.
In 1930, by chance, American Clyde Tombaugh discovered this celestial body, which later became known as Pluto.
The public interested in Pluto should hurry up as Pluto is moving away from Earth. "Pluto has a revolution period of 248 years, which caused it to be closer to the Sun than Neptune around perihelion in 1989. Afterwards, it began to move towards aphelion, so that every year when Pluto rushes, it is farther away from Earth, and its brightness naturally decreases year by year. During this solar eclipse, Pluto's brightness was 14.4 degrees, located in the constellation Sagittarius. In a light free environment, experienced astronomy enthusiasts can challenge themselves with a large aperture telescope to see if they can see Pluto's true appearance." Lai Dihui said.
