climate myths: mars and pluto are warming too - all in one solar street light
Michael Le PageSee tells all the climate myths in our special edition.
The warming of Mars and Pluto has been claimed to prove that the Earth's recent warming is caused by an increase in solar activity rather than greenhouse gases.
But we can say for sure that even if Mars, Pluto, or other planets have warmed up in recent years, it is not due to changes in solar activity.
Since the direct measurement began in 1978, the energy output of the sun has not increased (
See the climate myth and Cologne in particular;
Global warming is caused by the sun, not by humans).
If the increase in solar production is really the reason, we should see that all the planets and their satellites are warming, not just Mars and Pluto.
Our solar system has 8 planets, 3 dwarf planets, and quite a few satellites, of which there is at least one basic atmosphere and therefore a climate.
Their climate will be affected by local factors such as orbital change, reflection ratio change (albedo)
Even volcanic eruptions, so it's not surprising if several planets and satellites are warming at any time.
However, given that the year on Mars is nearly two years on Earth, the year on Pluto is the time on Earth in 248, and now it is beginning
Long-term climate trends of celestial bodies outside the solar system. What do we know?
Mars images show that between 1999 and 2005, some of the frozen carbon dioxide that covers the Antarctic region becomes a gas (sublimated).
This may be the result of the whole warming of the Earth (
View Mars image tips for recent climate fluctuations).
One theory is that the wind has recently swept through some areas of Mars, darkening the surface, warming the red planet and causing further increases in the wind-a positive feedback effect (
See the dust of Mars warming).
However, there is a lot of uncertainty.
Warming may be a regional effect.
The latest results of the thermal imaging system on the Mars Odyssey probe show that the polar cap has not shrunk at all, but the annual changes from one Mars year to the next Mars are very large, although the details have not yet been announced.
Observations of Pluto's atmospheric thickness in 2002 suggest that even if the orbit of the dwarf planet is farther away from the sun, it is warming.
The discovery was confusing to astronomers at the time, and the reason is not yet certain.
Since then, it has been argued that this is due to the greenhouse effect and the colon;
As Pluto gets closer to the sun, some of the methane ice on its surface may warm and become a gas.
This will lead to further warming, and even if Pluto's orbit begins to take it away from the sun, it will continue for a while.