A team of scientists from India, Brazil and France have successfully derived the accurate value of Pluto’s atmospheric pressure.

According to the study, Pluto’s atmospheric pressure on its surface is 80,000 times less than that on Earth.

The astronomers analysed atmospheric pressure on the surface by observing an occultation using the 3.6m Devasthal optical telescope, India’s largest optical telescope, and the 1.3-m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT) telescope.

The telescopes are based in India’s northern Nainital city in Uttarakhand state.

In astronomy, an occultation happens when a celestial object gets hidden from the view of the observer due to another celestial object passing in between them.

A compilation of twelve stellar occultations by Pluto observed between 1988 and 2016 showed a three-fold monotonic increase of atmospheric pressure during this period, India’s Department of Science and Technology said in a statement.

The scientists, including members from Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), used signal-to-noise ratio light curves obtained from the sophisticated instruments used in the observations to derive an accurate value of Pluto’s atmospheric pressure at its surface.

It was found to be 12.23 μbar —80,000 times less than the atmospheric pressure at mean sea level on Earth. They also found that the pressure at the surface is close to the seasonal peak of Pluto.

The study also confirms earlier findings that Pluto suffers intense seasonal episodes because of large depression, known as Sputnik Planitia.

For decades, Pluto's poles remain in permanent sunlight or darkness over its 248-year long orbital period leading to strong effects on its Nitrogen atmosphere.

Moreover, as Pluto is now moving away from the Galactic plane as seen from Earth, stellar occultations by the dwarf planet are becoming increasingly rare, making this event a decisive one.

(With inputs from agencies)