Frozen world of Eris looks a lot like Pluto
Both are covered predominantly with nitrogen ice, scientists say
The following link will take you to the full article that is partially reproduced below.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39574417/ns ... ence-space
Recreating a dwarf planet's surface in the lab
Grundy and his colleagues used a comparative method to determine what the surface of Eris is made of.
In a laboratory at Northern Arizona University, scientists grew ice samples of methane, nitrogen, argon, methane-nitrogen mixtures and methane-argon mixtures in a vacuum chamber at temperatures as low as minus 390 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 234 Celsius) mimicking the freezing-cold surfaces of Eris and Pluto.
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..Light passing through the samples revealed the "chemical fingerprints" of certain molecules and atoms, which were then compared to telescopic observations of sunlight reflected from the surfaces of Eris and Pluto.
Both are covered predominantly with nitrogen ice, scientists say
The following link will take you to the full article that is partially reproduced below.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39574417/ns ... ence-space
Recreating a dwarf planet's surface in the lab
Grundy and his colleagues used a comparative method to determine what the surface of Eris is made of.
In a laboratory at Northern Arizona University, scientists grew ice samples of methane, nitrogen, argon, methane-nitrogen mixtures and methane-argon mixtures in a vacuum chamber at temperatures as low as minus 390 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 234 Celsius) mimicking the freezing-cold surfaces of Eris and Pluto.
The planet boom Hunt for new worlds goes into overdrive
Looking for alien Earths? Here they come
Interactive: The new solar system
Pluto debate is about more than one little world
Cosmic Log: Planets on the Web
Interactive: The search for extrasolar planets
..Light passing through the samples revealed the "chemical fingerprints" of certain molecules and atoms, which were then compared to telescopic observations of sunlight reflected from the surfaces of Eris and Pluto.
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