A Tiny World Beyond Neptune Has An Atmosphere That Shouldn’t Be Possible

Four billion miles from the Sun, astronomers found an atmosphere around a frozen world only about 310 miles wide.

The problem is that it shouldn’t be able to keep one.

2002 XV93 has such weak gravity that its atmosphere should escape into space in hundreds to roughly 1,000 years — yet the object itself has existed for about 4.5 billion years.

Then James Webb made the mystery even stranger.

Astronomers searched for methane and carbon monoxide, two of the most obvious gases that could explain the detection. Neither appeared at the levels expected.

So where is the atmosphere coming from?

A recent collision may have exposed volatile ice, or this tiny frozen world could still be releasing material from its interior.

And unlike many astronomical mysteries, this one may actually be solved soon.

The next stellar occultations could reveal whether the atmosphere is disappearing — or continuously being replaced.
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Credits: Ron Miller, Mark A. Garlick / MarkGarlick.com ,Elon Musk/SpaceX/ Flickr
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0:00 The Star That Faded Too Slowly
1:02 What This Frozen World Actually Is
2:52 How You Detect Invisible Air
5:10 The Number That Breaks Everything
7:05 Where Is the Gas Coming From?
8:59 Then Webb Made It Worse
11:22 This Mystery Can Be Solved
12:53 Why One Tiny World Matters
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#insanecuriosity #atmosphere #planetatmosphere