PLUTO PUP BLUSHES
February 7th 2010 06:20
Hubble bubble toil and trouble, our dear little ex-planet, Pluto, has been turning redder in recent times, according to Marc Buie, of the South West Research Institute (Colorado, USA). Buie has been studying these amazing photos of Pluto for some years, they were taken by the Hubble Space Telescope between 2000 and 2002.
According to NASA and Buie et al, Pluto's surface is also changing, and the redness is due to hydrogen being stripped off its methane-nitrogen-carbon dioxide atmosphere by solar winds, which is a normal occurrence. However, everyone is at a loss, so far, to explain the reason why the current change has happened so rapidly? Pluto has had little change since its discovery in 1930, then a comparatively sudden change from 2000 to 2002, when it became slightly redder, they say from 20 to 30 per cent more red.
One of the main problems for Pluto's analysis is the fact that we have not been observing Pluto for very long, and its orbit around the Sun takes aorund 248 years! Pluto was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh, in 1930. Tombaugh, a 23-year old at the time, made the discovery at the Lowell Observatory, when asked to establish if there was a "planet X". He proved Pluto's existence after painstaking comparisons (using a blink comparator) to show if an object was moving over two week comparison photographs.
The next problem was to name the newly discovered 'Planet X'. An international competition was held. The winner was an eleven year old English schoolgirl, Venetia Burney, who was living in Oxford. Venetia selected Pluto because she thought it would be a dark and cold world, and since Pluto was an alternate name for Hades, it seemed appropriate to the budding classical mythologist.
Her grandfather, Falconer Madan, was the former librarian of Oxford University's Bodleian Library. Madan passed on Venetia's idea to Professor Herbert Hall Turner, who sent it on to colleagues in America. All members of the Lowell Observatroy were allowed to vote, Pluto won hands down. Imagine that! An eleven year old naming a new planet! Why hasn't someone made a film about her life I wonder? Is she still alive? What does she think of Pluto's undeserved demotion, I wonder?
Observations have also proved that the nitorgen surface of Pluto is changing in size and thickness, along with the colouring from dark to light, as shown in the Hubble photos.
So, maybe Pluto has taken offence at being demoted to a 'dwarf planet? Or, maybe Pluto is just getting ready for its photo shoot in 2015, by the New Horizons spacecraft, by applying some planetary make up? One nice touch by NASA, some of the ashes of Clyde W. Tombaugh are onboard the rocket. I wonder what the Plutonians will think? Well, with a name like that, they should be okay about it, being all plutonic...(tee hee...guffaw!)
Or is Pluto just red with rage at being called a dwarf? I like to believe so, and hereby declare my support for Pluto's return to the brotherhood of our Solar System's full sized planets!
VOTE HERE IF YOU WANT PLUTO RETURNED TO FULL PLANET STATUS
IMAGE CREDITS AND PERMISSIONS: These files are in the public domain because they were created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". Above work courtesy of Marc W. Buie, of the South West Research Institute, Colorado, U.S.A..
Pluto Images courtesy of Marc W. Buie, Southwest Research Institute
According to NASA and Buie et al, Pluto's surface is also changing, and the redness is due to hydrogen being stripped off its methane-nitrogen-carbon dioxide atmosphere by solar winds, which is a normal occurrence. However, everyone is at a loss, so far, to explain the reason why the current change has happened so rapidly? Pluto has had little change since its discovery in 1930, then a comparatively sudden change from 2000 to 2002, when it became slightly redder, they say from 20 to 30 per cent more red.
One of the main problems for Pluto's analysis is the fact that we have not been observing Pluto for very long, and its orbit around the Sun takes aorund 248 years! Pluto was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh, in 1930. Tombaugh, a 23-year old at the time, made the discovery at the Lowell Observatory, when asked to establish if there was a "planet X". He proved Pluto's existence after painstaking comparisons (using a blink comparator) to show if an object was moving over two week comparison photographs.
Clyde W. Tombaugh, Pluto's discoverer. NASA photo archive.
The next problem was to name the newly discovered 'Planet X'. An international competition was held. The winner was an eleven year old English schoolgirl, Venetia Burney, who was living in Oxford. Venetia selected Pluto because she thought it would be a dark and cold world, and since Pluto was an alternate name for Hades, it seemed appropriate to the budding classical mythologist.
Her grandfather, Falconer Madan, was the former librarian of Oxford University's Bodleian Library. Madan passed on Venetia's idea to Professor Herbert Hall Turner, who sent it on to colleagues in America. All members of the Lowell Observatroy were allowed to vote, Pluto won hands down. Imagine that! An eleven year old naming a new planet! Why hasn't someone made a film about her life I wonder? Is she still alive? What does she think of Pluto's undeserved demotion, I wonder?
Pluto blushes: Images are courtesy of Marc W. Buie, Southwest Research Institute
Observations have also proved that the nitorgen surface of Pluto is changing in size and thickness, along with the colouring from dark to light, as shown in the Hubble photos.
So, maybe Pluto has taken offence at being demoted to a 'dwarf planet? Or, maybe Pluto is just getting ready for its photo shoot in 2015, by the New Horizons spacecraft, by applying some planetary make up? One nice touch by NASA, some of the ashes of Clyde W. Tombaugh are onboard the rocket. I wonder what the Plutonians will think? Well, with a name like that, they should be okay about it, being all plutonic...(tee hee...guffaw!)
New Horizons launched by NASA Jan 19 2006
Or is Pluto just red with rage at being called a dwarf? I like to believe so, and hereby declare my support for Pluto's return to the brotherhood of our Solar System's full sized planets!
VOTE HERE IF YOU WANT PLUTO RETURNED TO FULL PLANET STATUS
IMAGE CREDITS AND PERMISSIONS: These files are in the public domain because they were created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". Above work courtesy of Marc W. Buie, of the South West Research Institute, Colorado, U.S.A..
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Comment by Janet Collins
Acceptable Etiquette
The Social Critic
Janet Collins Blog
I totally agree. Why hasn't someone done a movie about this or even a book? Perhaps you should send the idea to Hollywood
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
yes it is interesting... and if I sent Hollywood anything, it would be unacknowledged as being received, then the idea ripped off... still happens all the time!
cheers
fog