Pluto colder than expected

[TechBear_Seattle]

Earth-bound astronomers taking Pluto's temperature have confirmed suspicions that the planet is colder than it should be. It's thought that the planet's lower temperature is the result of interactions between its icy surface and thin nitrogen atmosphere.

Using the Submillimeter Array, or SMA, a network of radio telescopes located in Hawaii, astronomers found that Pluto's average surface temperature was about 43 K (-382 degrees F) instead of the expected 53 K (-364 degrees F), which is what the temperature of Pluto's largest moon, Charon, is.

Unlike Pluto, Charon has no atmosphere, so its surface temperature was what astronomers predicted based on its geological makeup and reflectivity.

The article continues at http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060103/sc_space/plutocolderthanexpected

[Atman]

1. Oh, I though "Pluto" was W's pet name for Laura

Never mind.

[Wilms]

2. I hope they packed extra blankets on the New Horizons probe.

[htuttle]

3. I think that's what the uranium's for

It's so cold, normal batteries would go dead far too quickly.

[1620rock]

4. The only thing colder...

...is a repuk's heart at absolute zero,

[Wilms]

5. That, and solar panel effectiveness at that great distance. n/t

[NNadir]

6. Correction: It's plutonium.

Plutonium-238 is the heat source driving the RTG.

However a portion of it, about 8% if the mission takes 10 years, will be uranium when it gets there, ignoring any relativistic correction.