How is Pluto’s orbit different from the orbits of the eight planets?

Pluto’s orbit is atypical compared to the eight planets in several distinct ways:

• Eccentricity: Pluto’s path is more elongated, or eccentric, than any of the planetary orbits. While planets generally follow nearly circular paths, Pluto’s distance from the Sun varies significantly, ranging from 29.7 astronomical units (AU) at perihelion to 49.5 AU at aphelion.12
• Inclination: Pluto’s orbit is highly inclined at 17.1° to the ecliptic, the plane near which most planets orbit.2
• Resonance: Because of its eccentric path, Pluto occasionally comes closer to the Sun than Neptune. However, the two bodies never collide because Pluto is locked in a stable 3:2 mean motion resonance with Neptune, completing two orbits for every three of Neptune’s.23

These orbital characteristics, along with its physical properties, align Pluto more closely with other objects in the Kuiper belt than with the major planets.24