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The Lower Atmosphere of Pluto Revealed

Matt_dk writes "Using ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomers have gained valuable new insights about the atmosphere of the dwarf planet Pluto. The scientists found unexpectedly large amounts of methane in the atmosphere, and also discovered that the atmosphere is hotter than the surface by about 40 degrees, although it still only reaches a frigid minus 180 degrees Celsius. These properties of Pluto's atmosphere may be due to the presence of pure methane patches or of a methane-rich layer covering the dwarf planet's surface."

4 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. Re:What have we learned? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    methane doesn't smell of anything. its the other stuff such as SO2 that causes farts to smell.

    if methane smelt bad we wouldn't have to add thiols(really stinky molecules) to mains gas to detect leaks.

  2. Re:Quite a long and interesting article... by Canazza · · Score: 5, Informative

    um, Charon?

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    It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
  3. Eris by corsec67 · · Score: 3, Informative

    If Pluto gets called a planet, then Eris would also be called a planet, since it is bigger than Pluto. Otherwise "Planet" would be a very arbitrary definition.

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  4. Re:liquid methane by jschen · · Score: 4, Informative

    The boiling point depends on the atmospheric pressure. Boiling points are typically reported based on sea level on Earth. With a much lower atmospheric pressure on Pluto, boiling points will drop.