Pluto's Atmosphere Predicted to Collapse by 2030

Pluto is the smallest, coldest and most distant dwarf planet with an atmosphere in the Solar System.

It orbits the Sun every 248 years, and its surface temperature is between minus 378 and minus 396 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 228 – minus 238 degrees Celsius). Its atmosphere consists of nitrogen, with traces of methane and carbon monoxide.

University of Tasmania astronomer Andrew Cole and colleagues:
“We were able to construct seasonal models of Pluto and how it responds to changes with the amount of sunlight it receives as it orbits the Sun,” Dr. Cole said.

“What we found was when Pluto is farthest away from the Sun, and during its winter in the northern hemisphere, nitrogen freezes out of the atmosphere.”

“The atmospheric pressure has tripled over the past three decades, but as the dwarf planet orbits, our modeling showed that most of the atmosphere would condense out to almost nothing left.”

“What our predictions show is that by 2030 the atmosphere is going to frost out and vanish around the whole planet.”

The findings will be published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy/plutos-atmosphere-collapse-07129.html