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NASA's JWST Detects Methane on Dwarf Planet Makemake

9/19/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Researchers identified methane gas on the dwarf planet Makemake using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), making it the second trans-Neptunian object confirmed to have gas after Pluto.
Methane indicates possible geological activity or a thin atmosphere, akin to Pluto.
The gas was detected through solar-excited fluorescence, suggesting outgassing or sublimation.
Future JWST observations are necessary to determine the methane source.
Current models estimate a gas temperature of 40 Kelvin with surface pressure much lower than Earth's.

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Story summary

Researchers identified methane gas on the dwarf planet Makemake using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), making it the second trans-Neptunian object confirmed to have gas after Pluto.
Methane indicates possible geological activity or a thin atmosphere, akin to Pluto.
The gas was detected through solar-excited fluorescence, suggesting outgassing or sublimation.
Future JWST observations are necessary to determine the methane source.
Current models estimate a gas temperature of 40 Kelvin with surface pressure much lower than Earth's.