Planets Alive
Pluto
General Info Structure and Atmosphere Rings and Satellites Missions Physical Parameters

Structure and Atmosphere

Pluto and Earth compared

Very little is known about the distant planet but estimates of its density (2g/cm3) suggests that it is perhaps 70% rock and 30% water ice. The bright areas, have been postulated to consist of frozen nitrogen, solid methane and carbon dioxide. Its thin atmosphere is likely a combination of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane. Its eccentric orbit though, means that the atmosphere would only exist at perihelion and would freeze as it moves away from the sun.