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You are here: Home / Space / Why Don’t Pluto and Neptune Collide When They Orbit the Sun and What Is the Planet Pluto’s Orbital Inclination?

Why Don’t Pluto and Neptune Collide When They Orbit the Sun and What Is the Planet Pluto’s Orbital Inclination?

June 1, 2020 by Karen Hill

Since the tiny Pluto crosses the gas giant’s path, it is reasonable to think that the two would collide.

Perhaps Pluto would get caught by the larger planet’s gravitational force and become a satellite.

This doesn’t happen because Pluto’s orbital inclination, the angle of its orbital plane is 17°, while Neptune’s is 1.8°.

The two will never meet because they orbit the Sun at such different angles.

Pluto’s irregular orbit sometimes causes the farthest planet in the solar system to be the second farthest.

When Pluto crosses inside Neptune’s path, as is the case until 1999, Neptune is the farthest planet in the solar system.

Related Facts

  • What Is the Ninth Planet From the Sun, How Far Away Is Pluto, and Is Pluto a Planet, a Moon, or an Asteroid?
  • How Is Pluto’s Orbit Around the Sun Irregular and What Is the Planet Pluto’s Perihelion and Aphelion?
  • How Is Pluto Different From the Other Outer Planets and Why Is Pluto’s Orbit Around the Sun So Chaotic?
  • Where Did Pluto Come From, How Did the Planet Pluto Get Its Name, and What Is the Planet Pluto Like?
  • Will the planets Pluto and Neptune collide when their orbits cross?
  • What Is a Planet’s Orbital Plane and Why Does Each Planet In the Solar System Have a Different Orbital Plane?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What Is the Planet Pluto Made of and How Much of Pluto Is Made of Ice?
Next Post: How Is Pluto’s Orbit Around the Sun Irregular and What Is the Planet Pluto’s Perihelion and Aphelion? »

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