Why does Pluto orbit differently?

Pluto's orbit is chaotic. Let's take a look at it. Pluto orbits the sun in an ellipse. read more

Pluto travels around the sun in an elliptical (oval-shaped) orbit. At some point in its orbit, it comes closer to the sun than Neptune, the outermost planet. It stays inside Neptune's orbit for about 20 Earth years. read more

That means that sometimes Pluto is a lot nearer to the Sun than at other times, At times Pluto's orbit brings it closer to the Sun than Neptune. The last time this happened was from 1979 to 1999. It won't happen again until 2227. Like the planet Uranus, Pluto rotates on its side, its axis tilted about 120 degrees. read more

Pluto's orbit is very different. It's highly elliptical, travelling around the Sun in a squashed circle. And Pluto's orbit is highly inclined, travelling at an angle of 17-degrees. This strange orbit gives Pluto some unusual characteristics, sometimes bringing it within the orbit of Neptune. Pluto's orbit is also highly inclined. read more