Pluto's Atmosphere Freezes as It Moves Away from the Sun
Pluto’s nitrogen‑rich atmosphere is starting to condense into frost as it drifts farther from the Sun on its 248‑year orbit. Surface temperatures are about -382°F (-230°C) and the upper atmosphere around -333°F (-203°C). Observations of ten stellar occultations from 2017–2023 show atmospheric pressure has declined ~16% since 2021 (likely haze settling to lower latitudes). NASA’s New Horizons had measured a baseline atmospheric pressure of about 10 microbars in 2015. Pluto’s aphelion will occur in 2114 at ~49 AU, and the atmosphere isn’t expected to be fully frozen by then; frost could sublimate and the atmosphere thicken again as Pluto heads back toward the Sun.
- Pluto's atmosphere is collapsing as it drifts away from the sun into a deep freeze Space
- Scientists Watch as a Distant World's Atmosphere Shrinks and Thins Universe Today
- Pluto‘s Atmosphere Has Begun to Disintegrate as It Moves Away from the Sun The European Times
- Pluto’s Atmosphere May Finally Be Starting to Collapse Gizmodo
- Pluto's hazy atmosphere may be collapsing as it moves farther from the sun Phys.org
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