Chapter 1: The Hypothetical Scenario

Recently, a thought-provoking question was posed to me on my Ukrainian channel:

"What would happen if Pluto orbited the Earth instead of the Moon?"

While in reality, relocating such massive celestial bodies is impossible, let's imagine a scenario where the Moon vanishes and Pluto takes its place, orbiting at the same speed as the Moon currently does. This thought experiment leads to several intriguing and unexpected outcomes.

Initially, Pluto would follow the same orbit around Earth as the Moon.

In terms of brightness, Pluto would outshine the Moon. With an albedo of around 50% and a diameter of 2,370 km, it would appear roughly twice as luminous as the Moon, which has an albedo of just 12% and a diameter of 3,474 km, despite being slightly smaller.

Being positioned so close to Earth, Pluto would absorb significantly more sunlight and heat. Its surface, predominantly composed of frozen nitrogen and hydrocarbons, would begin to thaw and evaporate under solar radiation!

This evaporation would create a coma around Pluto, transforming it into a gigantic comet encircled by a thick atmosphere of gases, predominantly nitrogen, along with a small amount of dust.

The comet-like coma would reflect a substantial amount of sunlight, making Earth's nights somewhat brighter while slightly dimming daytime brightness. With nitrogen's average thermal velocity being approximately 470 m/s at Earth's average temperature (293K), it closely approaches Pluto's second cosmic velocity of 1,200 m/s. Consequently, the solar wind would cause Pluto's coma to lose gas molecules, forming a tail reminiscent of a comet!

As Pluto orbits Earth, its tail would intermittently interact with our atmosphere. While this interaction would not drastically alter Earth's nitrogen-rich atmosphere, it would create stunning meteor showers as dust particles from Pluto's tail incinerate upon entry.

Due to Pluto's vigorous degassing, it would gradually shed sizable rocky fragments, leading to a notable increase in meteorite impacts across Earth's surface. Additionally, the ongoing degassing could result in unpredictable alterations to Pluto's orbit, potentially bringing it within the Roche limit, where tidal forces could tear it apart.

After this disintegration, the frozen gases and ice within Pluto would begin to warm and evaporate under solar influence. Over time, Earth would find itself enveloped in a vast cloud of gas. Some of this gas might eventually drift back to Earth, replenishing our atmosphere with various gases, including greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide, while the solar wind would carry some of it into space.

In this hypothetical scenario, the remnants of Pluto would likely form a ring system around Earth, reminiscent of Saturn's rings. However, the inner rings would gradually succumb to atmospheric drag and fall toward Earth.

It's important to acknowledge that humanity would likely face dire consequences as these events unfolded, especially in the later stages.

For more intriguing content about space, feel free to clap, subscribe, and send in your questions for future articles!

If you appreciate my work, consider supporting me on Medium for just $5 a month, helping us create even better content.

Chapter 2: Exploring the Implications

In this video, we explore the fascinating concept of "If Pluto Became a Moon of Earth." Discover the potential changes in Earth's environment and the night sky if Pluto took the Moon's place.

The second video, "What If Each Planet Replaced Our Moon?" delves into the imaginative possibilities that arise when considering the impact of various celestial bodies on our planet.