The dwarf planet Pluto travels an unusual orbital path near the edge of the solar system. Its long term stability is controlled by a mean motion resonance with Neptune and a secular resonance related to the von Zeipel-Lidov-Kozai effect, the latter involving all the giant planets. Understanding the interplay of these resonances has been a topic of deep dynamical analysis ever since Pluto was discovered nearly a century ago. Observational surveys of the outer solar system have now discovered several hundred co-travelers of Pluto. In this presentation I will describe the orbital dynamics of Pluto and co-travelers, share recent insights, and sketch their connections with planet migration in the ancient solar system.
Renu Malhotra, Professor, University of Arizona
Host: Yoram Lithwick