Pluto
Pluto and Other Kuiper Belt Objects Started Out With Water Oceans, and Have Been Slowly Freezing Solid for Billions of Years
It seems unlikely that an ocean could persist on a world that never gets closer than 30 astronomical units from…
Astronomers Continue to Analyze Pluto’s Atmosphere
When NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew past Pluto, studying the atmosphere was a key scientific objective. Most of what we…
There Are Winds Blowing On Pluto, Driven by Frozen Nitrogen
Earth and Pluto don't have much in common. Earth is a vibrant, living world, whereas Pluto is cold, distant and…
NASA is Now Considering a Pluto Orbiter Mission
NASA's New Horizons mission taught us a lot about Pluto, the ice dwarf planet. But the spacecraft sped past Pluto…
New Horizons Team Pieces Together the Best Images They Have of Pluto’s Far Side
Pluto was discovered in 1930 by astronomer Clyde Tombaugh. For decades, not much detail was known about the erstwhile planet.…
A Bunch of New Names for Pluto’s Surface Features Were Just Approved
Pluto is getting some new names. In the past, prior to the New Horizons mission, there wasn't much to name.…
An Insulating Layer of Gas Could Keep a Liquid Ocean Inside Pluto
A new study led by Japanese researchers indicates that Pluto could have a subsurface ocean, provided there is an "insulating…
Pluto and Charon Don’t Have Enough Small Craters
The New Horizons team just shared new findings about the lack of small craters on Pluto and Charon's surface, which…
Planetpalooza: All Bright Planets Visible in the July Dusk Sky
Missed the planets in the dusk sky in early 2018? This summer's astronomical blockbuster sees the return of all the…
Pluto has “Sand Dunes”, but Instead of Sand, it’s Grains of Frozen Methane
After reviewing data from the New Horizons mission, an international team of scientists determined that Pluto has dunes made of…