The recent discovery was presented by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI – USA) at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Astronomical Society on planetary science.
The fragile and beautiful atmosphere of the “ninth planet” – (Photo: NASA/Johns Hopkins University/Southwest Research Institute).
According to Sci-News, while observing Pluto as it passed in front of a star from the perspective of Earth, scientists recorded a condensation phenomenon in the nitrogen-rich atmosphere of the dwarf planet.
Condensation means that nitrogen in the atmosphere is no longer in gaseous form but gradually collects on the surface, turning into frost. This phenomenon occurs as Pluto moves away from the Sun in its elliptical orbit.
This aligns with a mystery that has been discussed for several years: NASA’s New Horizons mission collected an impressive dataset from its flyby in 2015, showing that Pluto’s atmospheric mass doubled every decade, but by 2018, this increase was no longer observed. This was simply due to the gradual loss of its atmosphere.
In fact, Pluto has been moving away from the Sun for the past quarter-century, but according to Dr. Leslie Young, a member of the research team, the “thermal inertia” phenomenon helped the atmosphere continue to increase before entering a phase of reverse transformation. “Thermal inertia” is similar to how beach sand absorbs sunlight: the hottest moment is not when the Sun is at its peak but a while later, due to the heat “accumulated” that has been absorbed, which then gradually dissipates.
Thus, 2018 marked a transitional period when the process of nitrogen frost sublimating thickened the atmosphere peaked and halted; transitioning to a phase where nitrogen in the air reverses back into frost.
Pluto takes up to 248 Earth years to complete one orbit around the Sun, making it incredibly valuable for our generation to witness this transitional moment, providing a new turning point for the study of this mysterious dwarf planet.
Pluto was “downgraded” from the ninth planet to a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2006; however, NASA has recently made continuous statements and studies indicating the need to restore planetary status for this celestial body, even suggesting that it could potentially harbor life.
