New Horizons atmosphere tinted blue.

New Horizons atmosphere tinted blue.

• A. Not observed
• B. Cannot determine
• C. False
• D. True

Answer: (D)

New Horizons showed that Pluto’s atmosphere has a blue tint because light from the Sun is scattered by the tiny haze particles in the upper atmosphere. This scattering preferentially sends shorter wavelengths (blue) toward us, so the atmosphere around Pluto appears bluish in the color images. The data reveal a thin atmosphere with a noticeable blue haze around the disk, similar in idea to why Earth’s sky looks blue, though produced by Pluto’s distinct haze and composition. So the blue tint is supported by direct observations from New Horizons’ color imaging; the other possibilities would require there to be no blue color or no usable data, which isn’t the case here.

New Horizons showed that Pluto’s atmosphere has a blue tint because light from the Sun is scattered by the tiny haze particles in the upper atmosphere. This scattering preferentially sends shorter wavelengths (blue) toward us, so the atmosphere around Pluto appears bluish in the color images. The data reveal a thin atmosphere with a noticeable blue haze around the disk, similar in idea to why Earth’s sky looks blue, though produced by Pluto’s distinct haze and composition.

So the blue tint is supported by direct observations from New Horizons’ color imaging; the other possibilities would require there to be no blue color or no usable data, which isn’t the case here.