Distant Dwarf Planet Nicknamed 'Snow White' is Red

The Dwarf planet 2007 OR10 was nicknamed Snow White, after astronomers found that half the surface of the planet is covered in ice but the surface of the planet looks like a rosy, red-tinged M&M, which has led to the possibility that the planet will be re-named.

Astronomers from the California Institute of Technology have found water ice that once flowed from ancient volcanoes. It was thought to have once been part of the dwarf planet Haumea, receiving its moniker due to its presumed white color.

According to the astronomers the outer reddish color of the planet is down to a thin layer of methane in its atmosphere.

We're basically looking at the last gasp of Snow White. For four and a half billion years, Snow White has been sitting out there, slowly losing its atmosphere, and now there's just a little bit left, said some of the planet's discoverers, Mike Brown, Geek System reported.

The dwarf planet was first discovered by graduate student Meg Schwamb and Professor Mike Brown in 2007 as it orbited the sun. It is half the size of Pluto and the fifth largest dwarf planet that has been discovered.

Though ice has been confirmed on the planet, astronomers are still looking to confirm the presence of methane.