* Distance: Pluto is much farther away from the sun than Earth. Its average distance is about 3.67 billion miles, compared to Earth's 93 million miles.
* Orbital Velocity: The farther a planet is from the sun, the slower its orbital velocity. This is because the sun's gravitational pull weakens with distance. Since Pluto is so far away, it experiences a weaker pull and therefore moves more slowly.
Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion explain this relationship:
* Kepler's Third Law: The square of a planet's orbital period is proportional to the cube of its average distance from the sun. This means that planets farther from the sun have longer orbital periods.
Therefore, Pluto's long orbital period of 248 Earth years is directly related to its vast distance from the sun and its slower orbital velocity.
