Scientists discover dwarf planet 'Makemake' sans atmosphere
Astronomers have discovered that a distant dwarf planet, about two thirds the size of Pluto, lacks atmosphere.
The planet 'Makemake' travels around the Sun in a distant path that lies beyond that of Pluto but closer to the Sun than Eris, the most massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System.
Previous observations of chilly Makemake have shown it to be similar to its fellow dwarf planets, leading some astronomers to expect its atmosphere, if present, to be similar to that of Pluto.
But astronomers led by Jose Luis Ortiz (Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, CSIC, Spain) in a new study have found that like Eris, Makemake is not surrounded by a significant atmosphere.
The team combined multiple observations using three telescopes at European Southern Observatory's (ESO) La Silla and Paranal observing sites in Chile - the Very Large Telescope (VLT), New Technology Telescope (NTT), and TRAPPIST (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope) – with data from other small telescopes in South America , to look at Makemake as it passed in front of a distant star.
"As Makemake passed in front of the star and blocked it out, the star disappeared and reappeared very abruptly, rather than fading and brightening gradually. This means that the little dwarf planet has no significant atmosphere," said Jose Luis Ortiz.
"It was thought that Makemake had a good chance of having developed an atmosphere - that it has no sign of one at all shows just how much we have yet to learn about these mysterious bodies. Finding out
