Surprising Signs of an Atmosphere Around a Tiny World, Billions of Miles Away

Surprising Signs of an Atmosphere Around a Tiny World, Billions of Miles Away: An animation compares the effect of an atmosphere on a stellar occultation. When an atmosphere is present, top, starlight bends around the planetary body and fades gradually; without one, the star disappears and reappears abruptly.CreditCredit...Shingo Iwashita/NAOJ A gradual dimming and brightening when a star passed behind it suggested the mini-Pluto was wrapped in a thin