By investigating our solar system we broaden our perspectives and increase our understanding of the workings of the universe in broad-spectrum. An admirable approach to explore worlds is through comparative planetology, where we gain knowledge of a planet in context or comparison to another. Each planet has its own unique characteristics due to the span of time in which the structural processes have taken place. Many geological features of the planets are the result of …showed first 75 words of 1049 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1049 total…typical ice formed from water, but ice made of frozen nitrogen. On occasion, Pluto's orbit is altered putting it closer to the sun than Neptune, making it the eighth planet for approximately twenty years at a time. When this occurs, the ice on Pluto's surface evaporates and forms a different type of atmosphere. Pluto and its single moon, Charon, are relatively close in size, leaving some astronomers arguing for their qualification as a "double planet."