Life May Exist On Pluto? Organic Molecules Discovered
The Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered evidence of possible organic molecules on Pluto’s cold surface.
These molecules, believed to be the building blocks of life, have caught the attention of scientists who detected that some substances on the dwarf planet are absorbing more ultraviolet light than others.
The substances in question are believed to be hydrocarbons or nitrogen obtaining molecules, according to Space.com.
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"This is an exciting finding because complex Plutonian hydrocarbons and other molecules that could be responsible for the ultraviolet spectral features we found with Hubble may, among other things, be responsible for giving Pluto its ruddy color," said Alan Stern, of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo., in a statement.
Scientist believe the absorption is occurring because chemicals within the sunlight mixed together sub-atomically with the frozen methane, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen on Pluto's surface.
The researchers behind The Hubble Space Telescope also mentioned Pluto has changed in color and in terrain since they last studied it in the early 90s, Space.com reported.
Studies have found that Pluto's atmospheric pressure has dropped, which could have effected the surface change.
"The discovery we made with Hubble reminds us that even more exciting discoveries about Pluto's composition and surface evolution are likely to be in store when NASA's New Horizons spacecraft arrives at Pluto in 2015," Stern said.
The spacecraft, launched in 2006, will be closest to the planet in July 2015 and yet will be 7,767 miles away from it.
The entire journey is four billion miles.
Pluto was dropped as a planet because of the discovery of the Kuiper Belt. Within this belt, Pluto is just one of several large bodies.
The dwarf planet takes 248 years to complete one orbit around the Sun, and takes around 6.39 earth days to rotate on its axis.
