The surface of the largest known 'plutoid' appears to have changed in recent years, according to new measurements of how elements are layered on its icy surface. But astronomers cannot explain the cause of the apparent change.
Eris is the largest known object beyond the orbit of Neptune, weighing nearly a third more than Pluto. It travels on an elongated path around the Sun that takes about 560 years to complete.
By studying different wavelengths - or 'bands' - of light in Eris's spectrum using the 6.5-metre MMT observatory in Arizona, the researchers concluded that the concentration of nitrogen seems to increase with depth.
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