LONDON: NASA’s New Horizons is transmitting the most remarkable photos of Pluto and its moon Charon even if they are fuzzy and just a handful of pixels which offer the first unprecedented views of the unexplored icy world, revealing the two distinct colors of dwarf planet and its moon.
According to New Horizons’ camera manufacturer Ball Aerospace’s manager, Lisa Hardaway, scientists are expecting that Pluto and its moon Charon were supposed to be made from the same material but visually they are not.
Before the scientists obtained images from Pluto and Charon, they already knew that there would be some differences in color since scientists believe that Charon was a remnant from space debris from an object that smashed into Pluto that is also similar to Earth’s moon.
Also similar to Earth’s moon, Charon has one side of its face that is permanently locked to its parent body, Pluto, which is an event more commonly known as tidal locking. However, Charon is not observed on Pluto rising or setting as it is permanently pinned on Pluto’s horizon on the same patch of the sky.
Similar to gas giant neighbor Uranus, Pluto and Charon rotate the sun when they are tipped on their sides that could also show evidence of a past, destructive impact. New Horizons will also finally be able to learn if Pluto’s atmosphere is also getting sucked by Charon.
According to New Horizons lead researcher Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado computer models show that Pluto’s atmosphere has escaping particles that also pass Charon’s orbit.
