homehome Home chatchat Notifications


Pluto is changing colors

Pluto is so upset that it’s no longer a planet, that it’s turning all red with anger ! No, seriously. There’s been a whole lot of “Pluto-related news” these days including the 2006 chalking off of the planet list, and naming it a “dwarf planet”, and the news just gets better and better. Recently, astronomers […]

Mihai Andrei
February 8, 2010 @ 5:09 pm

share Share

pluto2

Pluto is so upset that it’s no longer a planet, that it’s turning all red with anger ! No, seriously. There’s been a whole lot of “Pluto-related news” these days including the 2006 chalking off of the planet list, and naming it a “dwarf planet”, and the news just gets better and better.

Recently, astronomers were stunned to find out that the planet is actually changing colors, and turning more and more red. The official color is still orange-yellow, but the red pigmentation has increased with about 20 percent in a relatively extremely short period.

Due to the great distance and the the fact that one Pluto year has 248 Earth years it’s hard to explain why this happens, but the most satisfying theory is that the hydrogen atoms are being stripped from Pluto’s methane by solar winds, leaving carbon rich areas that look redder. My theory is that Pluto is crazy angry because of the whole “you’re not a planet thing”… so let’s just call it a planet again, and I’m sure it’ll all go back to normal.

share Share

This underwater eruption sent gravitational ripples to the edge of the atmosphere

The colossal Tonga eruption didn’t just shake the seas — it sent shockwaves into space.

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Spotted Driving Across Mars From Space for the First Time

An orbiter captured Curiosity mid-drive on the Red Planet.

Japan Plans to Beam Solar Power from Space to Earth

The Sun never sets in space — and Japan has found a way to harness this unlimited energy.

Giant Planet Was Just Caught Falling Into Its Star and It Changes What We Thought About Planetary Death

A rare cosmic crime reveals a planet’s slow-motion death spiral into its star.

Japanese Scientists Just Summoned Lightning with a Drone. Here’s Why

The drone is essentially a mobile, customizable, lightning rod.

This Planet Is So Close to Its Star It Is Literally Falling Apart, Leaving a Comet-like Tail of Dust in Space

This dying planet sheds a “Mount Everest” of rock each day.

We Could One Day Power a Galactic Civilization with Spinning Black Holes

Could future civilizations plug into the spin of space-time itself?

Elon Musk could soon sell missile defense to the Pentagon like a Netflix subscription

In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring missile attacks the gravest threat to America. It was the official greenlight for one of the most ambitious military undertakings in recent history: the so-called “Golden Dome.” Now, just months later, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and two of its tech allies—Palantir and Anduril—have emerged as leading […]

Have scientists really found signs of alien life on K2-18b?

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. We're not quite there.

How a suitcase-sized NASA device could map shrinking aquifers from space

Next‑gen gravity maps could help track groundwater, ice loss, and magma.