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Dwarf planet · Solar System

Pluto

Above the horizon after darkHighest after dark 20:31 · south · 15°
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PlutoN ↑ E ← · 36° FIELD

Where is Pluto?

Times for LondonChange city

Look south, about 15° up at 20:31 in Capricornus. It sinks lower through the evening and sets at 00:18.

Rises
16:37
Highest
20:28
Sets
00:18
Best after dark
20:31 · 15°

Can I see Pluto tonight?

From London tonight, Pluto is above the horizon after dark. It’s highest soon after dark, around 20:31, in the south at 15°.

At magnitude 14.6 it needs a large telescope, a dark sky and a detailed chart.

This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.

When is the best time to see Pluto?

Pluto is best around opposition, when Earth passes between it and the Sun. Then it rises around sunset, is up all night and is at its brightest.

Pluto was at opposition on July 27, 2026, so it is still well placed in the evening sky. The next opposition is on July 29, 2027.

What does Pluto look like?

Eyes

Far too faint for the eye.

Binoculars

Still far too faint.

Telescope

With a telescope of about 250 mm (10 inches) or more, a dark sky and a detailed chart, a faint star-like dot that shifts slightly between nights. No telescope on Earth’s surface shows detail.

What you’re likely to see, not what a space telescope photographs.

About Pluto

Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 and counted as the ninth planet until 2006, when it was reclassified as a dwarf planet. It is smaller than our Moon and orbits in the Kuiper Belt, a vast ring of icy bodies beyond Neptune.

In 2015 NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew past and revealed a surprisingly active world: mountains of water ice, a heart-shaped plain of frozen nitrogen, and a thin, hazy atmosphere.

Pluto has five known moons. The largest, Charon, is about half Pluto’s width, so the two orbit a point in the space between them.

From Earth, Pluto is a challenge for experienced observers. It shines around magnitude 14 to 15 and is slowly fading as it moves away from the Sun.

Pluto’s orbit is tilted and stretched. For about 20 years of each orbit it comes closer to the Sun than Neptune does; the last time was from 1979 to 1999. The two never collide, because Pluto’s orbit is locked in step with Neptune’s: Pluto goes around the Sun twice for every three Neptune orbits.

Other dwarf planets

Brightness computed today from IAU Minor Planet Center orbits.

Questions

Why isn’t Pluto a planet anymore?
In 2006 the International Astronomical Union defined a planet as a body that has cleared its orbit of other objects. Pluto shares its region with many Kuiper Belt objects.
What size telescope do I need for Pluto?
Around 250 mm (10 inches) under dark skies, with a good chart. Smaller telescopes can reach it only in exceptional conditions and with experience.
How long is a year on Pluto?
About 248 Earth years. Since its discovery, it has completed only about a third of an orbit.
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Sources: SkyMate; IAU Minor Planet Center; star chart: Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences