The dwarf planet Pluto has an unusual set of climate zones, due to its atypical axial configuration. Five climate zones are assigned on the dwarf planet: tropics, arctic, tropical arctic, diurnal, and polar. These climate zones are delineated based on astronomically defined boundaries or sub-solar latitudes, which are not associated with the atmospheric circulations on the dwarf planet. Charon, the largest moon of Pluto, is tidally locked with it, and thus has the same climate zone structure as Pluto itself. 318x318px|Haze with multiple layers in the atmosphere of Pluto. Part of the plain Sputnik Planitia with nearby mountains is seen below. Photo by New Horizons, taken 15 min after the closest approach to Pluto. Pluto is an icy body, the most prominent object in the solar system's Kuiper belt. Its surface is primarily composed of methane (CH4), nitrogen (N2), and carbon monoxide (CO) volatile ices in various spatial abundances and distribution. Though Pluto is small compared to typical planets, it has an atmosphere, though much thinner than Earth's. Consisting of multiple layers of haze, its atmosphere is composed mainly of nitrogen (N2) with trace amount of methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO). Long-term climate cycles of planetary bodies (e.g., Earth) are associated with the obliquity variation of the parent body, orbital eccentricitycycle, and axial precession cycles . However, in the case of Pluto, the orbital eccentricity cycle and axial precession cycles have less influence in the climate cycles of the dwarf planet than the obliquity variation. Consequently, the climate zones of Pluto were determined based on the obliquity variation only.
The dwarf planet Pluto has an unusual set of climate zones, due to its atypical axial configuration. Five climate zones are assigned on the dwarf planet: tropics, arctic, tropical arctic, diurnal, and polar. These climate zones are delineated based on astronomically defined boundaries or sub-solar latitudes, which are not associated with the atmospheric circulations on the dwarf planet. Charon, the largest moon of Pluto, is tidally locked with it, and thus has the same climate zone structure as Pluto itself. 318x318px|Haze with multiple layers in the atmosphere of Pluto. Part of the plain Sputnik Planitia with nearby mountains is seen below. Photo by New Horizons, taken 15 min after the closest approach to Pluto. Pluto is an icy body, the most prominent object in the solar system's Kuiper belt. Its surface is primarily composed of methane (CH4), nitrogen (N2), and carbon monoxide (CO) volatile ices in various spatial abundances and distribution. Though Pluto is small compared to typical planets, it has an atmosphere, though much thinner than Earth's. Containing multiple layers of haze, its atmosphere is composed mainly of nitrogen (N2) with trace amount of methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO). Long-term climate cycles of planetary bodies (e.g., Earth) are associated with axial precession and variations in the obliquity and orbital eccentricity . However, in the case of Pluto, the orbital eccentricity and axial precession cycles have less influence on the climate cycles of the dwarf planet than the obliquity variation. Consequently, the climate zones of Pluto were determined based on the obliquity variation only.
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