Pluto

A Bimodal Distribution Of Haze In Pluto's Atmosphere

Pluto's atmosphere

Pluto, Titan, and Triton make up a unique class of solar system bodies, with icy surfaces and chemically reducing atmospheres rich in organic photochemistry and haze formation.

Mystery Behind Formation Of Surface Ice-shapes On Pluto Unravelled

Scientists have unravelled a fascinating new insight into how the landscape of the dwarf-planet Pluto has formed.

Planet Decision That Booted Out Pluto Is Rooted In Folklore, Astrology, Study Suggests

As the new space race continues, a team of top researchers says one thing needs to be cleared up - what exactly is a planet?

The Dark Side of Pluto

During its departure from Pluto, New Horizons used its LORRI camera to image a portion of Pluto's southern hemisphere that was in a decades-long seasonal winter darkness, but still very faintly illuminated by sunlight reflected by Charon.

Pluto

The Tidal-Thermal Evolution of the Pluto-Charon System

Existence of subsurface oceans on the satellites of the giant planets and Trans-Neptunian objects has been predicted for some time.

Pluto

SwRI Scientists Confirm Decrease In Pluto's Atmospheric Density

When Pluto passed in front of a star on the night of August 15, 2018, a Southwest Research Institute-led team of astronomers had deployed telescopes at numerous sites in the U.S. and Mexico.

Pluto

Occultation Confirms Haze in Pluto's Atmosphere

SOFIA observed the occultation by Pluto of a bright star on 29 June 2015, enabling scientists to measure pressure, density, and temperature profiles of the atmosphere of the dwarf planet.

Pluto

The Mountains Of Pluto Are Snowcapped - But Not For The Same Reasons As On Earth

In 2015, the New Horizons space probe discovered spectacular snowcapped mountains on Pluto, which are strikingly similar to mountains on Earth.

Pluto

Evidence for Hot Start And Early Ocean Formation on Pluto

The accretion of new material during Pluto's formation may have generated enough heat to create a liquid ocean that has persisted beneath an icy crust to the present day, despite the dwarf planet's orbit far from the sun in the cold outer reaches of the solar system.

Pluto

SOFIA Finds Hidden Clues in Pluto's Haze

Observations made with the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) -- a Boeing 747SP jetliner modified to carry a 106-inch diameter telescope -- help explain how Pluto's haze is formed and how the distant Sun affects the dwarf planet from 3.7 billion miles away.

Pluto

Pluto's Icy Heart Makes Winds Blow

A "beating heart" of frozen nitrogen controls Pluto's winds and may give rise to features on its surface, according to a new study.

Pluto

Gas Insulation Could Be Protecting An Ocean Inside Pluto

A gassy insulating layer beneath the icy surfaces of distant celestial objects could mean there are more oceans in the universe than previously thought.

Pluto

New Horizons Team Publishes Ultima Thule Flyby Science Results

NASA's New Horizons mission team has published the first profile of the farthest world ever explored, a planetary building block and Kuiper Belt object called 2014 MU69.

Pluto

Evidence for Ancient Glaciation on Pluto

A letter authored by SETI Institute scientist Oliver White was published by Nature Astronomy today. Co-authors included researchers Jeff Moore, Tanguy Bertrand and Kimberly Ennico at NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley.