His assessment was based on photographic images and other data collected by NASA’s New Horizons space probe.
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The last planet of the Solar System has been making headlines since the New Horizons spacecraft was able to get incredible images of it. The planet was a mystery in itself to begin with, as it was initially thought to be a planet of ice, and proved science wrong when the images were released.
Two mountain ranges have been discovered on Pluto, one with large mountains that has been compared to the Rocky Mountains and a smaller range that has been compared to the Appalachian Mountains.
Flowing ice and a surprising extended haze are among the newest discoveries from NASA’s New Horizons mission, which reveal distant Pluto to be an icy world of wonders.
“For many years we referred to Pluto as the Everest of planetary exploration”.
“My jaw was on the ground when I saw this first image of an alien atmosphere in the Kuiper Belt”, said New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern.
Now New Horizons is approximately 9.3 million miles (15 million km) from the Pluto system.
Nasa believes this rarefied atmosphere forms when sunlight stimulates the creation of complex hydrocarbons, such as ethylene and acetylene, from the breakdown of methane.
New Horizons was crowned first spacecraft to take a trip to Pluto and also its particular staff of moons therefore far is back about 5% of one’s pics and skill records gathered in days and nights prior to, during and right away after July 14 flyby.
Also, there has been a lot of speculation about the bright, heart-shaped region of Pluto, the tail of nitrogen gas that the dwarf planet emits, and the newer-looking parts of Pluto’s surface possibly being younger. There, a sheet of ice clearly appears to have flowed – and may still be flowing – in a manner similar to glaciers on Earth.
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Additionally, new compositional data from New Horizons’ Ralph instrument indicate the center of Sputnik Planum is rich in nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane ices.
