we should at last see what Pluto really
looks like
but until 10 weeks ago we had no idea
even with the world’s finest space
telescope Hubble I’m gonna show you the
best images that we have of Pluto now
can you bring that up for a second and
here you see the best images we’ve ever
done of Pluto just a pixelated mess
taken with the Hubble Space Telescope
that’s it
from Hubble it was powerful telescope we
have you would love to see a more
detailed picture all of us would but the
problem is putto is just so far away
but even in this fuzzy blob there are
tantalizing clues if you look hard
enough
analyzing it in different wavelengths of
light reveals traces of nitrogen methane
and carbon monoxide and because Pluto is
so far from the Sun it has to be one of
the most frigid places in the solar
system
and Pluto it’s about negative 390
degrees Fahrenheit
gases on earth would freeze solid on
Pluto planetary scientist cathy olkin
imagines what it would be like to stand
on Pluto if we were walking on Pluto you
would see rocks and ice but the ice
would be very different it’s not water
ice like we see here
it’s nitrogen ice and carbon monoxide
ice and methane ice but scientists also
think that where the weak Sun hits the
surface of Pluto some of the ice could
get heated turning directly into gas
Pluto could be a mountainous world of
exotic ice and primordial rock gases
spewing out of its surface it may look
similar to how liquid nitrogen
evaporates here on Pluto
I think the sunlight warms the nice and
that ice goes up into the atmosphere
it’s transported by winds to places on
Pluto where it’s colder and there it
will condense perhaps even flat forming
clouds and then you could be seeing snow
or frost falling and condensing onto the
surface
[Music]
so we believe that Pluto has weather
Hubble also reveals that Pluto has moons
its largest named Sharon is half Pluto’s
size they both dance around each other
unlike any other planetary body in the
solar system understanding this might
reveal how Pluto was formed and that
could tell us how the earth was formed
which is what led to you and me we’ve
got a real mystery on our hands with
this planet moon system you have to
wonder how did it get there Pluto is a
very primordial object it’s been out in
a deep freeze you can think of it as a
storage area your attic of some of the
building blocks of our solar system
Pluto’s essentially a gold mine for
teaching us about the formation of even
larger planets like the earth
looks like
but until 10 weeks ago we had no idea
even with the world’s finest space
telescope Hubble I’m gonna show you the
best images that we have of Pluto now
can you bring that up for a second and
here you see the best images we’ve ever
done of Pluto just a pixelated mess
taken with the Hubble Space Telescope
that’s it
from Hubble it was powerful telescope we
have you would love to see a more
detailed picture all of us would but the
problem is putto is just so far away
but even in this fuzzy blob there are
tantalizing clues if you look hard
enough
analyzing it in different wavelengths of
light reveals traces of nitrogen methane
and carbon monoxide and because Pluto is
so far from the Sun it has to be one of
the most frigid places in the solar
system
and Pluto it’s about negative 390
degrees Fahrenheit
gases on earth would freeze solid on
Pluto planetary scientist cathy olkin
imagines what it would be like to stand
on Pluto if we were walking on Pluto you
would see rocks and ice but the ice
would be very different it’s not water
ice like we see here
it’s nitrogen ice and carbon monoxide
ice and methane ice but scientists also
think that where the weak Sun hits the
surface of Pluto some of the ice could
get heated turning directly into gas
Pluto could be a mountainous world of
exotic ice and primordial rock gases
spewing out of its surface it may look
similar to how liquid nitrogen
evaporates here on Pluto
I think the sunlight warms the nice and
that ice goes up into the atmosphere
it’s transported by winds to places on
Pluto where it’s colder and there it
will condense perhaps even flat forming
clouds and then you could be seeing snow
or frost falling and condensing onto the
surface
[Music]
so we believe that Pluto has weather
Hubble also reveals that Pluto has moons
its largest named Sharon is half Pluto’s
size they both dance around each other
unlike any other planetary body in the
solar system understanding this might
reveal how Pluto was formed and that
could tell us how the earth was formed
which is what led to you and me we’ve
got a real mystery on our hands with
this planet moon system you have to
wonder how did it get there Pluto is a
very primordial object it’s been out in
a deep freeze you can think of it as a
storage area your attic of some of the
building blocks of our solar system
Pluto’s essentially a gold mine for
teaching us about the formation of even
larger planets like the earth
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