IAU definition of planet who had theorized on the existence of the large trans-Neptunian object Planet X, and Tombaugh been searching for Planet X when he found Pluto. Almost immediately after its discovery, however, astronomers questioned whether Pluto could be Planet X. Willy Ley wrote a column in 1956 titled "The Demotion of Pluto", stating that it "simply failed to live up to the advance publicity it received as 'Planet X' before its discovery. It has been a disappointment all along, for it did not turn out to be what one could reasonably have expected". In 1978, Pluto's moon Charon was discovered. By measuring
Atmosphere of Pluto (but also changes in viewing geometry) results in appreciable changes of brightness and color of Pluto. Methane and carbon monoxide, despite their low abundance, are significant for thermal structure of the atmosphere: methane is a strong heating agent and carbon monoxide is a cooling one (although amount of this cooling is not completely clear). "New Horizons" discovered in the atmosphere of Pluto a multi-layered haze, which covers the entirety of the dwarf planet and reaches altitude over 200 km. The best images show about 20 layers of the haze. Horizontal extent of the layers is no less than 1000 km;