They used a technique called principal component analysis to highlight subtle differences on the surface.
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An enhanced false color of Pluto shows its distinct surface and texture.
Since the New Horizons spacecraft drifted by Pluto, at a phenomenal speed mind you, we have received thousands of close, high-resolution images of the dwarf planet which revealed many, many details NASA scientists weren’t even expecting.
The original image was taken by the Ralph/MVIC color camera on NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft during its July flyby.
If not, NASA has a special treat for you – a stunning psychedelic image of the dwarf planet.
Scientists were shocked to see that Pluto wasn’t just a cratered, icy ball when New Horizons flew past the dwarf planet.
Presented at the Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in National Harbor, Maryland, Will Grundy of the New Horizon’s surface composition team, the photo shows which regions on Pluto’s surface are similar and those who are massively different.
Volcanoes are common on the solar system’s rocky inner planets, but they weren’t expected so far out.
“These are big mountains with a large hole in their summit, and on Earth that generally means one thing – a volcano”, Oliver White, New Horizons postdoctoral researcher, said in a statement. “Whatever they are, they’re definitely weird”, he added.
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On Pluto, a slurry of nitrogen and water ice melted by subsurface heat stands in for lava, the team suggests, freezing solid once it is exposed at the surface.
