{addthis off}Pluto has always been shrouded in mystery, drifting on the fringes of our Solar System some 3.5 billion miles from planet Earth. Until recently, images of the dwarf planet have been hazy at best, hinting at a fuzzy grey sphere of frozen gases.
NASA released last week never-before-seen images of Pluto that reveal hues of orange, white, and grey, providing astronomers with the clearest images of the icy planet since its discovery in 1930. The new images are a composite of 384 different photographs taken by the Hubble Space Telescope from 2002 to 2003, compiled by Dr. Marc Buie of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, CO.
The rich, swirling colors on the Pluto's surface now prompt a startling new theory: the dwarf planet undergoes seasonal changes, much like our own planet Earth. For example, when researchers compare photos taken by Hubble in 1994 with those taken in 2002 to 2003, they observe that the planet's northern polar region has grown significantly brighter. Buie believes the change is due to the fact that Pluto is exposed to large amounts of solar radiation during its 'spring' season.
As the northern hemisphere is brightening, the southern half grows more obscure and emits a variety of reds and browns that suggest a cold, Plutonian 'autumn'. At this point, planetary experts such as Mike Brown, a professor of Geological and Planetary Sciences at Caltech, can only speculate as to what is actually happening on this far-reaching planetary object.
Brown notes that the climatic changes on Pluto are by far the most dramatic in our Solar System, due to its orbit around the sun: "Right now, Pluto is nearly in its closest position to the Sun. If you go to the year 2108, it's in its furthest position from the Sun. In that time period temperatures on Pluto will change dramatically."
In fact, Buie estimates temperatures on Pluto to range anywhere from minus 378 to 369 degrees Fahrenheit, the equivalent on Earth to fluctuating from the mid-60's in the springtime day to a hyperboreal minus 90 degree in autumn.
Contemplating our Solar System's extreme temperatures, it's hard not to bring our thoughts "back down to Earth" and reflect on matters here at home. As global temperatures are gradually rising, we are witnessing first hand just how remarkably delicate our ecosystems are. Although our own climate change crisis pales in comparison to the drastic climatic disparities on neighboring planets, we realize that even the slightest variation in global temperatures can jeopardize life as we have known it for so long.
The recent Hubble images undoubtedly have provided an amazing breakthrough for the scientific community. May these images also serve as a sobering reminder of our responsibility as caretakers of this very fragile Earth.
