Surprising Signs of an Atmosphere Around a Tiny World, Billions of Miles Away
The New York Times • • general
Key Points:
- Astronomers have discovered that the distant celestial body 2002 XV93, about 300 miles wide and nearly as far from the sun as Pluto, appears to have a thin atmosphere.
- This finding is surprising because the object's weak gravity should not be able to retain an atmosphere, and the extremely cold temperatures at its distance from the sun would typically cause gases to freeze and fall to the surface.
- The discovery was made during a brief observation on January 10, 2024, when 2002 XV93 passed in front of a distant star, causing its light to dim for about 16-18 seconds as recorded by telescopes in Kyoto and Kiso, Japan.
- Experts like Michael Brown from Caltech expressed skepticism about the atmosphere's existence but acknowledged that the observational data seem convincing, leaving scientists baffled by the phenomenon.
