What Is The Gravity On Pluto?
QUICK ANSWER
Pluto has surface gravity of about 0.62 m/s², roughly 6 percent of Earth's gravity. A 150-pound person on Earth would weigh just 9 pounds on Pluto. The very low gravity is a consequence of Pluto's small size, smaller than Earth's Moon and only slightly larger than some asteroids.
Pluto has the weakest surface gravity of any major body in our solar system other than the smallest moons and asteroids. It's so weak that a human visitor could jump several feet into the air just by flexing their leg muscles. The low gravity is part of what made Pluto so contentious to classify: it's small enough to behave more like a moon than a traditional planet.
How strong is Pluto's gravity?
About 0.62 m/s², or roughly 6 percent of Earth's 9.81 m/s². According to NASA, Pluto's gravity is weaker than the Moon's (about 17 percent of Earth's), which makes sense because Pluto is only slightly larger than the Moon but has less mass for its size. Pluto is the smallest body in our solar system that's officially classified as round and large enough to qualify as a dwarf planet under the IAU's definition.
How much would I weigh on Pluto?
Take your Earth weight and multiply by about 0.063. A 150-pound person on Earth would weigh just over 9 pounds on Pluto. A 200-pound person would weigh about 12.5 pounds. The same person on the Moon would weigh about 25 pounds for comparison. Pluto's gravity is so weak that you could jump several feet straight up just by walking briskly. Astronauts on a hypothetical Pluto mission would need to be careful not to accidentally launch themselves into low orbit just by jumping.
Why is Pluto's gravity so weak?
Because Pluto is small. Gravity depends on mass and on distance from the body's center. Pluto's diameter is only about 1,477 miles, smaller than Earth's Moon (about 2,160 miles), and its mass is just 1.3 percent of Earth's Moon. Despite being mostly rock and ice rather than the lower-density materials of the giant planets, Pluto's tiny mass overwhelms any density advantage. The weak gravity is also part of why Pluto can barely hold onto its thin atmosphere of nitrogen and methane.
Does Pluto's gravity have weird effects?
Yes, especially regarding the atmosphere. Pluto has a thin atmosphere of nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide, with surface pressure about 1/100,000th of Earth's. The weak gravity means atmospheric particles can easily escape into space when Pluto warms up near perihelion. The atmosphere may also be partly responsible for Pluto's geological activity: as Pluto moves away from the Sun and cools, atmospheric nitrogen condenses onto the surface as frost, redistributing material across the planet. The cycle continues over Pluto's 248-year orbit.
Pluto has the weakest gravity of any major body in our solar system, about 6 percent of Earth's. The weak gravity is a direct consequence of Pluto's small size, smaller than the Moon. It affects everything from how the atmosphere behaves to how easily material redistributes across the surface. A human visitor would weigh almost nothing, which is one of the few things about Pluto that would feel obviously different from Earth.
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