{
  "id": 248500,
  "title": "Scientists Watch as a Distant World's Atmosphere Shrinks and Thins",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/07/scientists-watch-as-a-distant-worlds-atmosphere-shrinks-and-thins",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-07T02:06:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Universe Today",
    "slug": "universe-today",
    "url": "https://www.universetoday.com/articles/scientists-watch-as-a-distant-worlds-atmosphere-shrinks-and-thins"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "As dwarf planet Pluto traverses its distant, high-obliquity 248-year orbit, its atmosphere experiences changes due to entering colder, darker regions of the outer Solar System. Scientists predict that Pluto's mostly-nitrogen atmosphere will gradually thin and freeze over decades. To monitor this process, researchers led by Planetary Science Institute's Amanda Sickafoose use starlight passing through Pluto's tenuous atmosphere, measuring its attenuation. Recent observations reveal a 16% decrease in atmospheric pressure between mid-2021 and July 2023, with surface pressure previously remaining constant around 1 Pascal (~10 millibars). This pressure change is about 1/100,000 of Earth's surface pressure. By examining occultations of distant stars by Pluto, scientists track atmospheric structures and changes over time. As Pluto approaches perihelion (closest point to the Sun), it receives more heat, causing atmospheric variations. Despite once believing that Pluto's atmosphere would freeze and fall to the surface at aphelion, recent models suggest the atmosphere retains some part throughout its 248-year orbit. The researchers must rely on changes in the existing atmosphere as Pluto travels through space.",
  "summary": "As dwarf planet Pluto moves along in its distant, high-obliquity 248-year orbit, its atmosphere is changing. That's because it's beginning to travel through colder, darker parts of the outer Solar System for the next 88 years. As a consequence, the mostly-nitrogen atmosphere is expected to grow gradually thinner and eventually freeze out over the coming decades. When that happens, the atmosphere…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}