Is the Pluto plaque installed?
Yes, the Pluto plaque was installed on May 23rd, 2024 and is now available for visitors!
Why was the Pluto plaque delayed?
Pluto itself has been a topic of controversy since the beloved planet was demoted by the International Astronomical Union to a dwarf planet in 2006, and in this case, it seems that art really does imitate life. Due to its large distance from the Sun, Pluto is the only solar system object not located on University of Arizona property. While this presented some unique challenges for installation, we are pleased to report that these have been successfully resolved. Thank you for your patience and we hope you enjoy visiting the Pluto plaque!
Every planet orbits the Sun in an orbit that is very slightly elliptical. Ellipticity refers to far away from circular an orbit is. The placement of all the objects is as close as possible to their semi-major axis, which is basically the average distance from the Sun. An elliptical orbit means that sometimes the planet is closer to and sometimes it is further away from this distance. All the stanchions have been placed within the inner and outermost edges of this region.
AU stands for an astronomical unit and represents the average distance between the Earth and the Sun. One au is equal to 150 million kilometers.