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The arctic climate of Pluto is defined as the latitude ranges that, during one orbit, experience both continuous sunlight during summer season and continuous darkness during winter season. The permanent arctic zones of the dwarf planet range from 90°N to 37°N in the northern hemisphere and from 90°S to 37°S in the southern hemisphere.
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 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]
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The geography of Pluto refers to the study and mapping of physical features across the dwarf planet Pluto. On 14 July 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft became the first spacecraft to fly by Pluto. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] During its brief flyby, New Horizons made detailed geographical measurements and observations of Pluto and its moons .
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 ...
The definition of a planet has been a hot topic ever since a change kicked Pluto out of our planetary lineup in 2006. Now, a group of researchers is proposing a new definition yet again—one with ...
The dwarf planet Pluto is too cold to sustain life on the surface. It has an average of -232 °C, and surface water only exists in a rocky state. The interior of Pluto may be warmer and perhaps contain a subsurface ocean. Also, the possibility of geothermal activity comes into play.