Study: Pluto's atmosphere may collapse by 2030

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A winter freeze will destroy Pluto's atmosphere by the year 2030, according to a 28-year study of the dwarf planet.

An international collaboration of scientists from eight countries has been studying Pluto's atmosphere and its evolution since 1988.

Pluto completes a long orbit around the sun every 248 years. Its distance from the sun means the surface temperature gets very cold.

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Researchers gathered information from ground-based telescopes and the New Horizons spacecraft fly-by of Pluto in 2015. From their data, scientists were able to predict that Pluto's atmosphere was going to frost-out and vanish by 2030.

If that happens, the author of the study says the dwarf planet may appear brighter in our sky because it will reflect more sunlight.

You can read more about the study in the recent journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.