What is Eris made up of?

What is Eris made up of?

Researchers think Eris’ surface is probably composed of a nitrogen-rich ice mixed with frozen methane in a layer less than 1 millimeter thick. This ice layer could be the result of the dwarf planet’s atmosphere condensing as frost on the surface as it moves away from the sun, they said.

Is Eris made of gas or rock?

The interiors of planets like Earth and Mars are made of rock. The interiors of Pluto, Eris, Haumea and Makemake are made of ice instead. Their surfaces are also covered with ice. It is so cold on these dwarf planets that even the “air” freezes.

What is the internal composition of Eris?

Structure, Surface and Atmosphere Internal heating via radioactive decay suggests that Eris could have an internal ocean of liquid water at the mantle-core boundary. The presence of methane ice indicates that its surface is very similar to that of Pluto and of Neptune’s largest moon Triton.

Is Eris atmosphere thick or thin?

Eris appears to have a very reflective surface, suggesting that it is uniformly covered in a thin layer of ice, probably a frozen atmosphere.

What are special features of Eris?

Eris has a very small moon called Dysnomia. Dysnomia has a nearly circular orbit lasting about 16 days. This moon is named after Eris’ daughter, the demon goddess of lawlessness. Dysnomia and other small moons around planets and dwarf planets allow astronomers to calculate the mass of the parent body.

What are Eris characteristics?

As Eris orbits the Sun, it completes one rotation every 25.9 hours, making its day length similar to Earth’s. However, other sources disagree on the rotation period. It has one large known moon, Dysnomia….Eris (dwarf planet)

Discovery
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	2326±12 km
Mean radius	1163±6 km
Surface area	(1.70±0.02)×107 km2