News Planetary Science

A small object past Pluto may have a thin atmosphere

The possible atmosphere around 2002 XV93 would be a first for a small object beyond Pluto

A distant icy world appears as a dark disk with a thin glowing halo, with a line of repeated bright points showing a distant star at multiple positions.

Observations in January 2024 showed the distant solar system body 2002 XV93 (illustrated) gradually attenuating light from a background star. That suggests the starlight was being filtered through a tenuous atmosphere.

Ko Arimatsu/NAOJ

By Lisa Grossman

A small solar system denizen farther from the sun than Pluto may be shrouded in a thin atmosphere.