ASTRONOMERS IN INDIA USE THE WORLD'S LARGEST OPTICAL TELESCOPE TO VIEW PLUTO AND DISCOVER HIDDEN MYSTERIES

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Pluto, despite being downgraded from a full-fledged planet to a dwarf planet 16 years ago, continues to pique the interest of scientists all around the world. The precise value of Pluto's atmospheric pressure at its surface has now been determined by an international team of astronomers, including Indians.

Pluto's atmospheric pressure is 80,000 times lower than that of Earth's mean sea level. The pressure was computed using a 3.6-m Devasthal optical telescope (DOT) (India's largest optical telescope) and the 1.3-m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT) telescopes located at Devasthal, Nainital, which observed a star occultation by Pluto in June 2020.

Scientists at the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) were part of the team, and they used signal-to-noise ratio light curves acquired from the advanced instruments employed in the observations to calculate Pluto's air pressure at its surface.

PLUTO OBSERVATION

Astronomers analysed data from 12 occultations, which occur when a celestial object is obscured from the observer's vision due to another celestial object passing in front of it. These 11 occurrences occurred between 1988 and 2016, and demonstrated a three-fold rise in pressure throughout that time span. Pluto's atmosphere has been in a plateau phase, near to a peak, since mid-2015, according to research published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. This occultation was particularly relevant, according to the team, because it can verify the veracity of current models of Pluto's atmospheric evolution.

"A Pluto volatile transport model forecasts that the pressure will peak around 2020, which is consistent with the increase. Under the combined impacts of Pluto's receding from the Sun and the occurrence of the winter season over Sputnik Planitia, a steady fall should last for two centuries "According to the newspaper.

SEASONAL EPISODES ARE EXTREMELY EXTREME FOR PLUTO.

The new observations also confirmed that Sputnik Planitia, a huge depression on the planet, causes intense seasonal episodes. During its 248-year orbital phase, its poles remain in perpetual sunshine or darkness for decades. This has a significant impact on the nitrogen (N2) atmosphere, which is primarily governed by vapour pressure equilibrium with the surface N2 ice.

Sputnik Planitia, which appears to be the main engine that controls the seasonal variation of atmospheric pressure during one seasonal cycle, was discovered by the Nasa New Horizons flyby in July 2015. It is filled with N2 ice and appears to be the main engine that controls the seasonal variation of atmospheric pressure during one seasonal cycle.

Pluto is moving away from the Galactic plane as seen from Earth, and stellar occultations by the dwarf planet are becoming increasingly rare, making this occurrence crucial.

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