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."

Comments

Re:i see the future

[morgan_greywolf]

No, Uranus does!

Cowabunga

[flyingfsck]

Well, obviously there must be super cool space cows living on Pluto - if we have to believe that all hydrocarbons are the result of organic life - and not the other way around.

It sounds like we really need to start working on reversing the anthropogenic global warming of Pluto.

All of those pollutants!

[tjstork]

Gee, the solar system is filled methane, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. If we are to say that were are going to a natural universe, then, if anything is a pollutant, it is our planet's low CO2 and low methane atmosphere.