Does pluto have an atmosphere?

Question

Does pluto have an atmosphere?

Answer 1

When Pluto is closer to the sun in its orbit, the warmth from the sun heats up the frozen ices of nitrogen, methane and carbon monoxide on Pluto's surface. These ices vaporize and form a temporary atmosphere. When Pluto moves farther from the sun, the atmosphere freezes and falls back onto Pluto's surface.

Answer 2

The composition is correct above, but add that its only seasonal because of Pluto's elliptical orbit. As it gets further away from the sun the atmosphere freezes.

Answer 3

lets wait for new horizons to arrive

Answer 4

yes, and it's COLD! brrrrr! the surface of Pluto is like steel! eeek!

Answer 5

Pluto's atmosphere consists of a thin envelope of nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide, derived from the ices on its surface

Answer 6

Yes pluto does have an atmosphere. Because of pluto's orbit when it nears the sun the ice sublimate sublimation is a process when solids turns into gas without turning into liquid. Since Pluto has frozen nitrogen when it sublimates it turns into nitrogen and it produces clouds. But because the planet is so small the gravity can't hold on to the atmosphere too long. That means the atmosphere is not equilibrium.

Answer 7

Also note that Pluto has, again, been demoted from planet to planetoid.

Answer 8

Yvette got it right.

Pluto gets an atmosphere close to perihelion (closest point to the sun on its orbit).

But it isn't massive enough to hold onto it.

Basically the gas molecules can easily achieve escape velocity which is low (mass-dependent).

Once Pluto is further from the sun, there is no atmosphere because most of the molecules remain frozen, and those in gas phase have escaped.

Actually the behavior is somewhat comet-like. At large distances from the sun, comets are just dirty snowballs, but as they approach the sun the ices sublimate (become gassy) and the comet gets a coma (an atmosphere) which escapes and makes the tail!

This is one of the (many) reasons people prefer not to regard Pluto as a planet!

Answer 9

Yes, it does, but it also ejects it upon it's orbit about the sun.  As it gets nearer the sun, etc., etc., then as it gets further away it's atmosphere freezes away.