So what/if/Pluto is warming

Irrelevant Comment: “Pluto is warming too, which proves that humans aren't causing global warming.”

seedling article
This article is incomplete. It might be useful as a reference, but avoid offering it as a definitive presentation. Information about the dates of Pluto's nearest aphelion and perihelion would be useful.

Claim

Pluto is warming too, therefore humans can't be causing global warming.

Reality

Aside from the fact that Pluto's warming has not been correlated with increased solar radiation, it should be noted that Pluto's orbit is a far greater factor in its current temperature than any likely changes in solar output could ever be. Pluto's orbit is highly eccentric and lasts 247 years, so it should be expected to have warming trends that last for about 223 years as it approaches the sun, each followed by a cooling trend that lasts for about the same.

Although Pluto is currently receding from the sun (its last perihelion was in 1989), increased solar radiation cannot be the explanation – even if such an increase could overcome the increasing orbital distance – since the sun's output has also been cooling during this time. It seems highly likely (almost inevitable, given that Pluto has mass) that the peak in Pluto's temperature lags somewhat behind perihelion; this is probably what we are seeing.

Links

• Skeptical Science: Pluto is warming
• Wikipedia: Pluto

Related

This is one form of the other planets are warming irrelevancy.