# Pluto vs Earth **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 17, 2016, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859 "2016-10-17T17:46:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Potestas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@Potestas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Potestas)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/1 "2016-10-17T17:46:42Z")
What would happen if the planet pluto slammed into earth and landed in the ocean? Would it cause tsunamis? What would it do to our environment? Could one plausibly go hopping around the planet if it landed in earth? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/2 "2016-10-17T17:56:24Z")
If Pluto (the space object, not the dog) hit the Earth, it would vaporize a huge amount of the planet, and possibly create another Moon. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/3 "2016-10-17T18:01:19Z")
You can’t seriously think an object as large as Pluto wouldn’t create mass devastation. [Anyway…assuming it hits at 30 km/s at 45 degrees in 5000m of water and you’re standing 10,000km away.](http://impact.ese.ic.ac.uk/cgi-bin/crater.cgi?dist=10000&distanceUnits=1&diam=1187&diameterUnits=2&pdens=1833&pdens_select=0&vel=30&velocityUnits=1&theta=45&tdens=1000&wdepth=5000&wdepthUnits=1) The major seismic shaking will arrive approximately 33.3 minutes after impact. Richter Scale Magnitude: 14.1 (This is greater than any earthquake in recorded history) Time for maximum radiation: 9.97 minutes after impact Your position is inside the fireball. The fireball appears 263 times larger than the sun Thermal Exposure: 1.92 x 1012 Joules/m2 Duration of Irradiation: 64.8 hours Radiant flux (relative to the sun): 8250 The air blast will arrive approximately 8.42 hours after impact. Peak Overpressure: 3.41e+07 Pa = 341 bars = 4840 psi Max wind velocity: 4690 m/s = 10500 mph Sound Intensity: 151 dB (Dangerously Loud) Tsunami wave amplitude is between: 1.1 km ( = 0.7 miles) and 2.3 km ( = 1.4 miles). I’d call it a suboptimal day. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/4 "2016-10-17T18:01:34Z")
You would crack the mantel and expose the outer core as you vaporized anything solid or liquid that gets in your way. Instead of a tsunamis, substitute a shockwave of superheated gases and plasma caused by the energetic conversion of everything. Till it slows down a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Potestas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@Potestas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Potestas)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/5 "2016-10-17T18:03:30Z")
I thought pluto was the smallest planet ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/6 "2016-10-17T18:10:07Z")
Even a small planet is still a world. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/7 "2016-10-17T18:12:23Z")
> [@Potestas](#): > > I thought pluto was the smallest planet Or largest former planet ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/8 "2016-10-17T18:12:31Z")
Planets are big. The smallest big thing is still big. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/9 "2016-10-17T18:13:27Z")
So I fired [Pluto at the Earth](http://i.imgur.com/Y7Pe4e3.jpg) in _Universe Sandbox 2_ and…yeah. [Big boom](http://i.imgur.com/S5w0r0j.jpg), fragments of [crust flying around](http://i.imgur.com/3KoDLUr.jpg), things get [very hot](http://i.imgur.com/4n8Mpuy.jpg) and then [things cool down and Earth has a few unsightly craters.](http://i.imgur.com/Rl9CIjl.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/10 "2016-10-17T18:13:40Z")
> [@Potestas](#): > > I thought pluto was the smallest planet It is but it’s still massive and moving very fast. The KT impact was likely caused by a body ~5km in radius. Pluto is at 1187km. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/11 "2016-10-17T18:15:59Z")
Pluto was indeed the smallest planet (when it was still classified as a planet). But it is still enormously larger than anything that has ever impacted the earth since Theia hit the earth 4 billion years ago and formed the moon. The Chicxulub impact 66 million years ago that caused the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs was caused by an object about 6 miles in diameter with a mass of about a trillion tons. Pluto is over 700 miles in diameter with a mass ten million times greater. –Mark ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/12 "2016-10-17T18:20:39Z")
> [@Potestas](#): > > I thought pluto was the smallest planet Pluto’s diameter is nearly 1500 miles, or more than half the size of the moon. That’s big enough to cause significant damage to the earth. By comparison, the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs is estimated to have been six miles in diameter. @ **Markn+** , I think you confused Pluto’s radius with its diameter. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/13 "2016-10-17T18:35:32Z")
It would kill all life on Earth with the exception of bacteria and maybe a few other organisms with resistant spores. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/14 "2016-10-17T18:57:13Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > @ **Markn+** , I think you confused Pluto’s radius with its diameter. Well, I said “over 700 miles”, which is technically correct. :smack: Thanks for the correction. –Mark ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/15 "2016-10-17T20:09:51Z")
Now that that (massive death and destruction) is clear, what happens if you just\* lightly\* place Pluto against the surface of the earth? Imagine a 1500 mile diameter boil on the surface of the Earth. How long before earth’s gravity flattened Pluto, how big would the resulting mountain be, how much would the Earth’s rotation be affected, and would life survive the change? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/16 "2016-10-17T20:25:08Z")
Pluto is not the smallest object that’s ever been considered a planet: That would be Ceres, or possibly Juno, Pallas, or Vesta (I’m not sure if the latter three were ever actually considered planets, but Ceres certainly was). Nor is Pluto the largest dwarf planet in the Solar System: Eris, at least, is larger, and there are probably others larger than Eris that just haven’t been discovered yet. Nor, again, is Pluto the largest object which was once considered a planet, but which is not considered one any more. The ancients counted both the Moon and the Sun as planets, both of which (especially the Sun) are significantly larger than Pluto. I’m not sure what superlative, if any, one can really attach to Pluto with regards to its size. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/17 "2016-10-17T20:30:52Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m not sure what superlative, if any, one can really attach to Pluto with regards to its size. Largest object whose perihelion and aphelion straddle the perihelion and aphelion of a planet in the Sol system. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/18 "2016-10-17T20:31:20Z")
> [@](#): > > Now that that (massive death and destruction) is clear, what happens if you just lightly place Pluto against the surface of the earth? Imagine a 1500 mile diameter boil on the surface of the Earth. How long before earth’s gravity flattened Pluto, how big would the resulting mountain be, how much would the Earth’s rotation be affected, and would life survive the change? I’m not sure about the other questions, but the resulting mountain would be somewhere between about 3 and 9 km, probably on the lower end of that scale. About 9 km is the maximum possible height for a rock mountain on Earth (see Everest), but Pluto is made mostly of ice, not rock. The maximum for ice is probably close to what you find on top of Greenland, which is about 3 km. Then again, though, with an object that size, there’s no such thing as “gently” setting it on the surface. It’s going to splatter, and splatter big. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/19 "2016-10-17T21:59:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Pluto is not the smallest object that’s ever been considered a planet: That would be Ceres, or possibly Juno, Pallas, or Vesta (I’m not sure if the latter three were ever actually considered planets, but Ceres certainly was). They were [considered planets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet#Objects_formerly_considered_planets), complete with [symbols](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4_Vesta#Name) and such. There was a long gap between Vesta (1807) and Astraea (1845). But then the floodgates opened and by 1854 the designation “asteroid” was used categorize these bodies. Also, in the early days of telescopes, Jupiter’s big 4 moons were considered planets at first. Etc. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859/20 "2016-10-17T22:33:31Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Now that that (massive death and destruction) is clear, what happens if you just\* lightly\* place Pluto against the surface of the earth? Imagine a 1500 mile diameter boil on the surface of the Earth. How long before earth’s gravity flattened Pluto, how big would the resulting mountain be, how much would the Earth’s rotation be affected, and would life survive the change? Even “lightly” placing Pluto’s surface against the Earth’s surface puts its center of mass 750 miles above the surface. So you still have a supersonic avalanche with the mass of a continent. There’s nothing gentle about that, and I suspect you’ll still end up with enough energy to create a fireball shockwave that will circle the globe. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-vs-earth/768859.md?page=2)