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Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest known trans-Neptunian object by volume, by a small margin, but is less massive than Eris.
The surface constitutional data of Pluto shows that the permanent arctic zones are co-located with N 2-rich surface. [14] A long period of continuous winter, typically lasting more than a century, is experienced by the permanent arctic zones in every Pluto orbital period of 248 years over the 2.8 million year obliquity cycle. [1]
The temperature on the surface is 40 to 60 K (−230 to −210 °C), [6] but it quickly rises with altitude due to a methane-generated greenhouse effect. Near the altitude of 30 km it reaches 110 K (−163 °C), where it then slowly decreases afterwards with height. [7] Pluto is the only trans-Neptunian object with a known atmosphere. [7]
The solar wind's pressure varies far more rapidly than the outside pressure of the ISM at any given location. ... in the temperature of ... past Pluto. [73] In 2012 ...
Pluto needs 248 years for one complete orbit, and has been observed for less than one third of that time. It has an average distance of 39 AU from the Sun, hence in-depth data from Pluto is sparse and difficult to gather. Temperature is inferred indirectly for Pluto; when it passes in front of a star, observers note how fast the light drops off.
NASA has released a map of Pluto's surface made from images recently taken by the New Horizons probe and it includes some quite mysterious features. Particularly notable is the lightened area ...
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A simulated view of the Pluto–Charon system showing that Pluto orbits a point outside itself. Also visible is the mutual tidal locking between the two bodies. Charon and Pluto orbit each other every 6.387 days. The two objects are gravitationally locked to one another, so each keeps the same face towards the other. This is a case of mutual ...