--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Decade by decade: estimates of Pluto’s…" description: "\"“Decade by decade: estimates of Pluto’s size got smaller and smaller.”\" — Neil deGrasse Tyson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_pluto_decade-by-decade-estimates-of-pluto-s-si_2843790.png" --- # Decade by decade: estimates of Pluto’s size got smaller… ![“Decade by decade: estimates of Pluto’s size got smaller and smaller.” quote by Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_pluto_decade-by-decade-estimates-of-pluto-s-si_2843790.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_pluto_decade-by-decade-estimates-of-pluto-s-si_2843790.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_pluto_decade-by-decade-estimates-of-pluto-s-si_2843790.png) > ““Decade by decade: estimates of Pluto’s size got smaller and smaller.”” [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pluto's estimated size has been revised downward repeatedly as measurements improve. **In simple terms:** Pluto is getting smaller in estimates over time. Key Takeaway Accept that scientific estimates evolve. Themes science astronomy knowledge Mood informative curious Type educational scientific When to use this quote - space education - media reporting - scientific research Key Concepts measurement uncertainty Questions to Reflect On - What does this say about scientific progress? - How do we handle changing facts? A Different Perspective Estimates can be limited by technology. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Pluto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pluto/) ## Related quotes > [Just like when I was in the NFL, you've got to find those smaller dudes - and when you get your hands on them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-corbin/just-like-when-i-was-in-the-nfl-you-ve-got-to-find-those-smaller/) [Baron Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-corbin/) > [I've lived my career backwards - I started off huge and I've got smaller and more personal, and I'm much more comfortable now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-simpson/i-ve-lived-my-career-backwards-i-started-off-huge-and-i-ve-got/) [Charlie Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-simpson/) > [Fu\*k you squares, the circle got smaller. The castle got bigger, the walls got taller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/fu-k-you-squares-the-circle-got-smaller-the-castle-got-bigger-the/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [The circle got smaller. The castle got bigger. The walls got taller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watch-the-throne/the-circle-got-smaller-the-castle-got-bigger-the-walls-got-taller/) Watch The Throne > [I knew Pluto was popular among elementary schoolkids, but I had no idea they would mobilize into a 'Save Pluto' campaign. I now have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-knew-pluto-was-popular-among-elementary-schoolkids-but-i-had-no/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [If you slid Pluto to where Earth is right now, heat from the sun would evaporate that ice, and it would grow a tail.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/if-you-slid-pluto-to-where-earth-is-right-now-heat-from-the-sun-would/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“….. Neptune, the outermost planet. No, it’s not Pluto. Get over it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/neptune-the-outermost-planet-no-it-s-not-pluto-get-over-it/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“No, it’s not Pluto. Get over it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/no-it-s-not-pluto-get-over-it/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [All Plutophiles are based in America. If you go to other countries, they have much less of an attachment to either the existence or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/all-plutophiles-are-based-in-america-if-you-go-to-other-countries-2/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I bet most of the crowd does not know that there are six moons in the solar system bigger than Pluto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-bet-most-of-the-crowd-does-not-know-that-there-are-six-moons-in-the/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [All Plutophiles are based in America. If you go to other countries, they have much less of an attachment to either the existence or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/all-plutophiles-are-based-in-america-if-you-go-to-other-countries/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [If Neptune were analogized with a Chevy Impala in mass, then how big is pluto compared to that? Pluto would be a matchbox car…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/if-neptune-were-analogized-with-a-chevy-impala-in-mass-then-how-big/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Why can't Pluto be a planet? Some people like Pluto. And if it doesn't exist then they don't have a favorite planet. Right? Please…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/why-can-t-pluto-be-a-planet-some-people-like-pluto-and-if-it-doesn-t/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Pluto's orbit is so elongated that it crosses the orbit of another planet. Now that's... you've got no business doing that if you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/pluto-s-orbit-is-so-elongated-that-it-crosses-the-orbit-of-another/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I'm a fan of the planets in any combination. When I was born, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, the Sun, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-m-a-fan-of-the-planets-in-any-combination-when-i-was-born-mercury/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## More by Neil deGrasse Tyson > [I don't want to go into space because of war. I think we would if it was triggered. If China said they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-go-into-space-because-of-war-i-think-we-would-if-it/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. 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People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [If you seek only easy problems to solve, then ultimately, there'll be nothing about you to distinguish yourself from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/if-you-seek-only-easy-problems-to-solve-then-ultimately-there-ll-be/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The caricature of science is that we hold tight to the theories we have, and shun challenges to them. That's just not true. 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Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I've said multiple times that the world's first trillionaire is going to be the person who exploits the resources of asteroids, the natural resources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-ve-said-multiple-times-that-the-world-s-first-trillionaire-is-going/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [ They \[scientists of centuries past\] call on God only from the lonely and precarious edge of incomprehension. Where they feel certain about their explanations,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/they-scientists-of-centuries-past-call-on-god-only-from-the-lonely/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We explore our environment, more than we are compelled to utter poetry, when we're toddlers. We start doing that later. Before that happens, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/we-explore-our-environment-more-than-we-are-compelled-to-utter-poetry/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [You can't have people making decisions about the future of the world who are scientifically illiterate. That's a recipe for disaster. And I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/you-can-t-have-people-making-decisions-about-the-future-of-the-world/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Science surrounds you. It's not something that you can step aside, step over or push out of your way because you were never good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/science-surrounds-you-it-s-not-something-that-you-can-step-aside-step/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The idea that God resides in the unknown is what philosophers call the God of the gaps. And we have this thing called science,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-idea-that-god-resides-in-the-unknown-is-what-philosophers-call/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Everybody's got money for vacation time. Look at how much we all spend just to get - well, I get sick on the loop-the-loop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/everybody-s-got-money-for-vacation-time-look-at-how-much-we-all-spend/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) [Explore all 1,143 Neil deGrasse Tyson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## More Pluto quotes > [“I am Pluto. You can break me, reject me, and hurt me but I will never stop being a human being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-sedlacek/i-am-pluto-you-can-break-me-reject-me-and-hurt-me-but-i-will-never/) Angelina Sedlacek > [Of course Pluto is a planet: It's massive enough to have its shape controlled by gravity rather than material strength, which is the hallmark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/of-course-pluto-is-a-planet-it-s-massive-enough-to-have-its-shape/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [It used to be said that Pluto is a misfit. But now we know Earth is the misfit. This is the most populous class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/it-used-to-be-said-that-pluto-is-a-misfit-but-now-we-know-earth-is/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Imagine we could accelerate continuously at 1 g-what we're comfortable with on good old terra firma-to the midpoint of our voyage, and decelerate continuously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/imagine-we-could-accelerate-continuously-at-1-g-what-we-re/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Pluto was part of their mental landscape, the one they had constructed to organize their thinking about the solar system and their own place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-brown/pluto-was-part-of-their-mental-landscape-the-one-they-had-constructed/) [Mike Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-brown/) > [The Stone trembled and threw herself outward bound, toward Saturn. In her train followed hundreds and thousands and hundreds of thousands of thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/the-stone-trembled-and-threw-herself-outward-bound-toward-saturn-in/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Nafasi yako peponi itapotea iwapo utamruhusu Pluto (kiongozi wa ahera) akukaribishe bazarai (makao makuu ya ahera) kwa kuchukua maisha yako mwenyewe. Kujiua ni kujipenda…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/nafasi-yako-peponi-itapotea-iwapo-utamruhusu-pluto-kiongozi-wa-ahera/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [We sat in silence, both of us looking up at the stars. He was probably envisioning a machine headed for Pluto. I wished i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-chandler/we-sat-in-silence-both-of-us-looking-up-at-the-stars-he-was-probably/) [Elizabeth Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-chandler/) > [We explore because we are human and we want to know. I hope that Pluto will help us on that journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/we-explore-because-we-are-human-and-we-want-to-know-i-hope-that-pluto/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [he cut through the 21st Century Gallery, past the big plastic statues of Pluto and Mickey, animal headed gods of lost America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-reeve/he-cut-through-the-21st-century-gallery-past-the-big-plastic-statues/) [Philip Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-reeve/) > [Among the gods, there is a dispute as to which one of them originally thought of Christianity; or, as they call it, the Great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-holt/among-the-gods-there-is-a-dispute-as-to-which-one-of-them-originally/) [Tom Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-holt/) > [I think that the first men to land on Pluto are going to make some very astonishing discoveries. But I am also sure that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-a-wollheim/i-think-that-the-first-men-to-land-on-pluto-are-going-to-make-some/) [Donald A. Wollheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-a-wollheim/) > [“Pluto's pauldrons,” Reyna cursed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/pluto-s-pauldrons-reyna-cursed/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Future's Pluto is my favorite album of the year. It's so emo. Future is the number one dude I'd love to produce for -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-hemsworth/future-s-pluto-is-my-favorite-album-of-the-year-it-s-so-emo-future-is/) [Ryan Hemsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-hemsworth/) > [Pluto is still active four and a half billion years into its history. It was expected that small planets like Pluto would cool off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/pluto-is-still-active-four-and-a-half-billion-years-into-its-history/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) [Browse all 124 Pluto quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pluto/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Decade by decade: estimates of Pluto’s size got smaller and smaller.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil deGrasse Tyson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/decade-by-decade-estimates-of-pluto-s-size-got-smaller-and-smaller/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Pluto" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/decade-by-decade-estimates-of-pluto-s-size-got-smaller-and-smaller/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_pluto_decade-by-decade-estimates-of-pluto-s-si_2843790.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_pluto_decade-by-decade-estimates-of-pluto-s-si_2843790.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_pluto_decade-by-decade-estimates-of-pluto-s-si_2843790.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Decade by decade: estimates of Pluto’s size got smaller and smaller.” — Neil deGrasse Tyson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Neil deGrasse Tyson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Decade by decade: estimates of Pluto’s...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/decade-by-decade-estimates-of-pluto-s-size-got-smaller-and-smaller/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/decade-by-decade-estimates-of-pluto-s-size-got-smaller-and-smaller/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```