Pluto and Hilda : A tale of Two and Three

Guest Speaker

Thursday, 24th October 2024 (19:45 - 22:00)

Venue: Meeting Room

The orbits of Neptune and Pluto interact, which has recently led to the re-classification of Pluto within the Solar System. However, the interaction of the orbits goes so much further than a mere crossing and has, at its core, the fact that Pluto makes two orbits of the Sun in approximately the time that Neptune takes to do three orbits. A similar but subtly different situation exists for the minor planet Hilda to Jupiter. Hilda makes three orbits around the same time that Jupiter takes to make two. However, both, Pluto and Hilda are the proto-types of a larger collection of objects. This talk will consider some of the aspects of the orbits and the surprises that can be unearthed by considering the orbits.

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Speaker: Dr. Colin Steele

A member of the School of Mathematics, University of Manchester and a resident of Dore, Sheffield. He has a keen interest in many aspects of Astronomy including both theoretical and observational astronomy. 

Teaching Mathematics to students in many parts of the University of Manchester, since 1993. Studies into Equilibria and Stability of Structures in solar atmosphere Dynamics of orbits of Trojan Asteroids. He has been a member of the British Astronomical Association since 1984, a former president of the Scottish Astronomers Group and has a doctorate in some aspects of the Sun’s Atmosphere.

Learn more about Dr. Colin Steele