Astronomers find ice and possibly methane on Snow White, a distant dwarf planet
Monday, August 22, 2011 - 12:30
in Astronomy & Space
Astronomers have discovered that the dwarf planet 2007 OR10 -- nicknamed Snow White -- is an icy world, with about half its surface covered in water ice that once flowed from ancient, slush-spewing volcanoes. The new findings also suggest that the red-tinged dwarf planet may be covered in a thin layer of methane, the remnants of an atmosphere that's slowly being lost into space.