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https://astronomy.com/news/2020/05/plutos-strange-atmosphere-just-collapsed?utm_source=Yesmail&utm_medium=email&utm_email= [login to see] &utm_campaign=News0_ASY_200529_000000
Fascinating. Another astronomical mystery
Fascinating. Another astronomical mystery
Astronomy
Science
Space
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
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Interesting speculation given the distances involved and the fact that Pluto is continuing to its distant apogee from Earth...where it's surface and atmosphere are probably greatly changing...
Here is some information on Pluto's Atmosphere provided from NASA:
"Atmosphere
Pluto has a thin, tenuous atmosphere that expands when it comes closer to the sun and collapses as it moves farther away—similar to a comet. The main constituent is molecular nitrogen, though molecules of methane and carbon monoxide have also been detected.
When Pluto is close to the sun, its surface ices sublimate (changing directly from solid to gas) and rise to temporarily form a thin atmosphere. Pluto's low gravity (about six percent of Earth's) causes the atmosphere to be much more extended in altitude than our planet's atmosphere. Pluto becomes much colder during the part of each year when it is traveling far away from the sun. During this time, the bulk of the planet's atmosphere may freeze and fall as snow to the surface.
Orbit and Rotation
Pluto's orbit around the sun is unusual compared to the planets: it's both elliptical and tilted. Pluto's 248-year-long, oval-shaped orbit can take it as far as 49.3 astronomical units (AU) from the sun, and as close as 30 AU. (One AU is the mean distance between Earth and the sun: about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers.) But on average, Pluto is 3.7 billion miles (5.9 billion kilometers) away from the sun, or 39 AU.
From 1979 to 1999, Pluto was near perihelion, when it is closest to the sun. During this time, Pluto was actually closer to the sun than Neptune.
One day on Pluto takes about 153 hours. Its axis of rotation is tilted 57 degrees with respect to the plane of its orbit around the sun, so it spins almost on its side. Pluto also exhibits a retrograde rotation; spinning from east to west like Venus and Uranus."
Here is some information on Pluto's Atmosphere provided from NASA:
"Atmosphere
Pluto has a thin, tenuous atmosphere that expands when it comes closer to the sun and collapses as it moves farther away—similar to a comet. The main constituent is molecular nitrogen, though molecules of methane and carbon monoxide have also been detected.
When Pluto is close to the sun, its surface ices sublimate (changing directly from solid to gas) and rise to temporarily form a thin atmosphere. Pluto's low gravity (about six percent of Earth's) causes the atmosphere to be much more extended in altitude than our planet's atmosphere. Pluto becomes much colder during the part of each year when it is traveling far away from the sun. During this time, the bulk of the planet's atmosphere may freeze and fall as snow to the surface.
Orbit and Rotation
Pluto's orbit around the sun is unusual compared to the planets: it's both elliptical and tilted. Pluto's 248-year-long, oval-shaped orbit can take it as far as 49.3 astronomical units (AU) from the sun, and as close as 30 AU. (One AU is the mean distance between Earth and the sun: about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers.) But on average, Pluto is 3.7 billion miles (5.9 billion kilometers) away from the sun, or 39 AU.
From 1979 to 1999, Pluto was near perihelion, when it is closest to the sun. During this time, Pluto was actually closer to the sun than Neptune.
One day on Pluto takes about 153 hours. Its axis of rotation is tilted 57 degrees with respect to the plane of its orbit around the sun, so it spins almost on its side. Pluto also exhibits a retrograde rotation; spinning from east to west like Venus and Uranus."
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