This is a classic article from 快猫短视频’s archive, republished as part of our 50th anniversary celebrations
NEW spectroscopic observations, published this week in Science (vol 194, p 835) by three astronomers at the University of Hawaii, reveal that Pluto may be much smaller and lighter than hitherto imagined. No one knows for sure how big Pluto is 鈥 estimates have placed its diameter somewhere between 5000 and 7000 kilometres 鈥 nor its mass, tentatively put at 0.18 Earth masses.
The Hawaiian team looked at Pluto in the near-infrared spectrum with a 4-metre telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. Absorption spectra strongly…
