Pluto's weird orbit was one of the main reasons why it got demoted to the status of a dwarf planet. Three things about its orbit make it an oddball among the planets: Firstly, it's highly inclined to the ecliptic. Pluto's inclination to the ecliptic is 17º, way more than any planet in the solar system. Secondly, the orbit is highly elliptical. And finally, it takes Pluto a whopping 248 Earth years to complete one revolution around the Sun.

Pluto also crosses Neptune's orbit, and astronomers have long wondered why don't the two celestial bodies collide? Some simulations predict that Pluto should have collided with Neptune or escaped the solar system. So what's keeping Pluto stable in its technically chaotic orbit?

The 13th episode of the Sunday Discovery Series answers these questions.

All Episodes Of The Series: https://bit.ly/369kG4p
Basics of Astrophysics series: https://bit.ly/3xII54M

REFERENCES:
Paper: https://bit.ly/3Nhhio5
vZLK oscillations: https://bit.ly/3OHM0aZ

Created By: Rishabh Nakra and Simran Buttar
Narrated By: Jeffrey Smith

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