CANADA: NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft discovered towering ice mountains and ridges, rolling plains, and icebergs floating in lakes of frozen nitrogen
Pluto is a world of “spectacular” colours, dramatic surface features and dynamic geology, the first published results from a fly-by of the dwarf planet have shown.
The American space agency Nasa’s New Horizons spacecraft discovered towering ice mountains and ridges, rolling plains, and icebergs floating in lakes of frozen nitrogen.
Enhanced colour pictures from the probe’s multi-spectral visible imaging camera (MVIC) also revealed a striking assortment of colours, ranging from dark red regions at the equator to brighter, bluer regions at higher latitudes.
Another surprise was Pluto’s blue hazy atmosphere, which like Earth’s is chiefly composed of nitrogen.
New Horizons grabbed the snapshot of data as it sped past Pluto and its five moons in July to complete the first robotic mission to the dwarf planet.
What has been seen so far is just the first glimpse of a treasure trove of information from the spacecraft’s suite of seven instruments that will take scientists until late next year to download.
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