Pressure builds on Pluto

Ref: http://physicsweb.org/article/news/7/7/7

New observations of Pluto reveal that surprising changes have occurred
in the thin nitrogen atmosphere of the distant planet since 1988. Two
international teams of astronomers led by James Elliot of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US and Bruno Sicardy of the
Observatoire de Paris in France exploited Pluto's chance `occultation' of
background stars in July and August last year to probe the tiny planet's
atmosphere (Nature 424 165 and 168).

See: http://physicsweb.org/article/news/7/7/7

Sam Wormley wrote in message
...
Ref: http://physicsweb.org/article/news/7/7/7

New observations of Pluto reveal that surprising changes have occurred
in the thin nitrogen atmosphere of the distant planet since 1988. Two
international teams of astronomers led by James Elliot of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US and Bruno Sicardy of the
Observatoire de Paris in France exploited Pluto's chance `occultation'
of
background stars in July and August last year to probe the tiny planet's
atmosphere (Nature 424 165 and 168).

See: http://physicsweb.org/article/news/7/7/7

There's also the possibility that either the 1988 study or the current study
made an error. (The article doesn't mention how the "1988 study" identified
teh Plutonian atmospheric thickness, but I'm assuming the same method was
used.) Two point observations do not a good record make.

greywolf42
ubi dubium ibi libertas

"greywolf42" wrote in message ...
Sam Wormley wrote in message
...
Ref: http://physicsweb.org/article/news/7/7/7

New observations of Pluto reveal that surprising changes have occurred
in the thin nitrogen atmosphere of the distant planet since 1988. Two
international teams of astronomers led by James Elliot of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US and Bruno Sicardy of the
Observatoire de Paris in France exploited Pluto's chance `occultation'
of
background stars in July and August last year to probe the tiny planet's
atmosphere (Nature 424 165 and 168).

See: http://physicsweb.org/article/news/7/7/7

There's also the possibility that either the 1988 study or the current study
made an error. (The article doesn't mention how the "1988 study" identified
teh Plutonian atmospheric thickness, but I'm assuming the same method was
used.) Two point observations do not a good record make.

greywolf42
ubi dubium ibi libertas


Much of the information gathered from 1985 through 1990 was made
possible by fact that the orbital alignment of Charon was such at the
time that when viewed from the earth, Pluto and Chiron were eclipsing
each other on a regular interval. See:

http://www.solarviews.com/eng/pluto.htm

Double-A

Double-A wrote in message
om...
"greywolf42" wrote in message
...
Sam Wormley wrote in message
...
Ref: http://physicsweb.org/article/news/7/7/7

New observations of Pluto reveal that surprising changes have occurred
in the thin nitrogen atmosphere of the distant planet since 1988.
Two
international teams of astronomers led by James Elliot of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US and Bruno Sicardy of
the
Observatoire de Paris in France exploited Pluto's chance
`occultation'
of
background stars in July and August last year to probe the tiny
planet's
atmosphere (Nature 424 165 and 168).

See: http://physicsweb.org/article/news/7/7/7

There's also the possibility that either the 1988 study or the current
study
made an error. (The article doesn't mention how the "1988 study"
identified
teh Plutonian atmospheric thickness, but I'm assuming the same method
was
used.) Two point observations do not a good record make.

greywolf42
ubi dubium ibi libertas


Much of the information gathered from 1985 through 1990 was made
possible by fact that the orbital alignment of Charon was such at the
time that when viewed from the earth, Pluto and Chiron were eclipsing
each other on a regular interval. See:

http://www.solarviews.com/eng/pluto.htm


You'll note that the page does not include the thickness of Pluto's
atmosphere as one of the properties that could be measured by the mutual
eclipsing of Pluto and Charon. This has to do with the fact that you cannot
resolve the atmosphere of one, without assuming the atmosphere of the other
is zero. That's why stellar eclipses are used for atmospheric measurements.

greywolf42
ubi dubium ibi libertas