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A long strip of Pluto

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  • A long strip of Pluto

    The New Horizons spacecraft launched on January 19, 2006 — beginning its odyssey to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. New Horizons now continues on its unparalleled journey of exploration with the close flyby of a Kuiper Belt object called 2014 MU69 — officially named Arrokoth — on January 1, 2019.


    Zigzagging across Pluto

    Release Date: December 16, 2015
    Keywords: LEISA, LORRI, Pluto, Ralph

    This high-resolution swath of Pluto (right) sweeps over the cratered plains at the west of the New Horizons’ encounter hemisphere and across numerous prominent faults, skimming the eastern margin of the dark, forbidding region informally known as Cthulhu Regio, and finally passing over the mysterious, possibly cryovolcanic edifice Wright Mons, before reaching the terminator or day-night line. Among the many notable details shown are the overlapping and infilling relationships between units of the relatively smooth, bright volatile ices from Sputnik Planum (at the edge of the mosaic) and the dark edge or “shore” of Cthulhu. The pictures in this mosaic were taken by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) in “ride-along” mode with the LEISA spectrometer, which accounts for the ‘zigzag’ or step pattern. Taken shortly before New Horizons’ July 14 closest approach to Pluto, details as small as 500 yards (500 meters) can be seen. NOTE: Click on the image and ZOOM IN for optimal viewing.

    Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
    Dr. Mordrid
    ----------------------------
    An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

    I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

  • #2
    Awesome!!! I wonder what created those streaks/valleys.
    Lava flows?

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    • #3
      Ice flows of various types. Pluto has an active geology based on cryovolcanism - even tectonics. It's a quite active world.

      Ceres, Europa and Enceladus are also looking interesting, subsurface briny oveans, and atcthecleast will get more prones.

      Musk recently hinted Ceres may be a target for their upcoming manned interplanetary spacecraft after the Moon and Mars. Damned thing's looking to be a monster in size, up to 100 passengers, and it flies in <10 years. Its engines will be partly paid for by the USAF (a new upper stage for military satellite launches based on it) and it hits the test stand this year.
      Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 14 February 2016, 08:39.
      Dr. Mordrid
      ----------------------------
      An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

      I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

      Comment

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