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Xinhua News Agency, Tianjin, July 22 (Reporter Zhou Runjian) Pluto will reach opposition on July 24. Around the opposition, Pluto is closest to the Earth, has the largest apparent diameter, and is the brightest, providing a good opportunity for humans to understand this dwarf planet.

According to astronomical science experts, during this opposition, Pluto's brightness will be about 14.4 magnitude, which is too dim to be detected by ordinary binoculars or small astronomical telescopes. Therefore, this astronomical phenomenon cannot be observed by most people, and they can only take this opportunity to learn about Pluto.

People are familiar with Pluto because it was once a planet and the ninth largest planet in the solar system, but it was later "cleared" from the planet team and downgraded to a dwarf planet.

Although it has been classified as a dwarf planet, due to its dramatic history and special orbit, it is still talked about by many astronomy enthusiasts today. Every year when it is in opposition to the Sun, they do not forget to pay attention to where Pluto is.

Pluto opposition refers to an astronomical phenomenon in which Pluto moves in a roughly straight line with the Earth and the Sun during its revolution around the Sun, with the Earth located exactly between the Sun and Pluto.

Song Yuanyuan, director of the Tianjin Astronomical Society and an astronomy expert at the Tianjin Science and Technology Museum, said that Pluto is now moving toward aphelion (the point farthest from the sun), and will be farther away and dimmer every year when it is in opposition. In 1989, Pluto passed perihelion (the point closest to the sun), and its brightness reached 13.7 magnitude when it was in opposition that year. After that, Pluto began to move toward aphelion, and its distance to the sun is farther every year, so its brightness will decrease year by year. When it reaches aphelion in 2114, even at opposition, Pluto will only be 16 magnitude in brightness, and it will be difficult to see it with a large-aperture telescope.

"During this opposition, in an environment without light pollution, experienced astronomy enthusiasts can use large-aperture astronomical telescopes to try their hand at catching a glimpse of Pluto's true appearance," said Song Yuanyuan.

In the era of the "Nine Planets", Pluto is the planet farthest from the sun and with the smallest mass. In the eyes of scientists, Pluto has always been shrouded in mystery. Currently, only the US "New Horizons" probe did some exploration when it flew past Pluto in 2015, and found that there are mountains, ice sheets, deep valleys and sand dunes on Pluto.

Song Yuanyuan introduced that although Pluto has withdrawn from the planetary stage, humans have never stopped looking for the "ninth planet". Many astronomers believe that the "ninth planet" must be lurking somewhere in the solar system waiting for humans to discover it. Will there really be such a planet that "appears out of nowhere"? Let us wait and see. (End)