Pluto: Calls for rock to become a planet again mount after scientists suggest clouds have been spotted on its surface
The clouds wouldn’t allow it to satisfy the rule that got Pluto kicked out of the list of planets — but might show that list should be reformed, scientists say
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Pluto could be about to become a planet again, after scientists spotted what appears to be clouds on its surface.
As part of the New Horizons mission — which has already found far more complexity on Pluto than had been expected — scientists have spotted cloud-like parts of the images released from the mission. That could mean that the planet has an even richer atmosphere than had been thought, according to the New Scientist, which first reported the images.
Scientists aren’t yet sure that the images show clouds, and the discovery hasn’t been reported publicly. But emails seen by the magazine seem to indicate that the now dwarf planet might have clouds made up of the same things in its general atmosphere, which is mostly made up of nitrogen.
The discovery could lead to further calls for Pluto to be reinstated as a planet — a question that has already been asked more and more since New Horizons sent back detailed images of the dwarf planet’s rich surface.
Pluto still won’t satisfy the International Astronomical Union’s rules for what is and isn’t a planet. It was excluded on the basis of a criterion that it still doesn’t pass, whether or not the pictures show clouds: that a planet should have a clear neighbourhood of orbiting bodies.
But that IAU definition has proven controversial. Scientists including the head of the New Horizons team, Alan Stern, have argued that the definition is needlessly complicated and should be redefined around the ways that people actually use the words.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments