Webb Detects Methane Gas on Dwarf Planet Makemake

Protopapa et al. used Webb observations (white) to detect methane gas on Makemake; sharp emission peaks near 3.3 microns reveal methane in the gas phase above Makemake’s surface; a continuum model (cyan) is overlaid for comparison; the gas emission peaks are identified where the observed spectrum rises above the continuum. Image credit: S. Protopapa / I. Wong / SwRI / STScI / NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb.

Reported in a paper in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, this discovery challenges the traditional view of Makemake as a quiescent, frozen body and makes it only the second trans-Neptunian object, after Pluto, where the presence of gas has been confirmed.

The post Webb Detects Methane Gas on Dwarf Planet Makemake appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

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