News Planetary Science

X-ray mystery shrouds Pluto

Despite wrong conditions, handful-plus of photons detected streaming from dwarf planet

Pluto

X-RAY SURPRISE An unexpected trickle of X-rays (blue) surrounds Pluto, possibly from a tail of gas dragging behind the dwarf planet.

X-ray: NASA, CXC, JHUAPL, R.McNutt et al; Optical: NASA, JHUAPL

By Christopher Crockett

- More than 2 years ago

X-rays appear to be trickling away from Pluto, even though the dwarf planet has no obvious way of making the high-energy photons, a new study reports.