Behold, the First Closeup Pictures From the Pluto Flyby Are Here
The Pluto System: A World of Surprises
New Horizons, NASA’s intrepid spacecraft, has beamed back the first closeup images of Pluto, revealing a world teeming with unexpected geological activity and intriguing features.
Pluto’s Ice Mountains
One of the most striking surprises is the presence of towering ice mountains on Pluto’s surface. These mountains, composed of water ice, reach heights of up to 11,000 feet and are located near the planet’s equator. Scientists believe that these mountains were formed by geological forces, rather than by impacts, and that they may be a sign of ongoing geological activity.
Charon’s Complex Surface
Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, also boasts a surprisingly complex surface. New Horizons images show a landscape adorned with geological features, including a dark region informally dubbed Mordor. The moon also exhibits a striking trough that stretches up to 600 miles across its face and a canyon that cuts four to six miles deep. These features suggest that Charon, like Pluto, has experienced significant geological activity.
Nitrogen Ice and Cryovolcanism
Pluto’s thin atmosphere contains nitrogen ice, which scientists believe settles on the planet’s surface as the atmosphere freezes. However, the new images show that these ices are too weak to form mountains, suggesting that they may be merely a veneer over a “bedrock” of water ice.
Intriguingly, scientists speculate that internal activity, such as cryovolcanism, may be dredging nitrogen up from Pluto’s interior. Cryovolcanism is the eruption of volatile materials, such as nitrogen or methane, on icy worlds. While no evidence of cryovolcanism has yet been found on Pluto, the presence of nitrogen ice and the ongoing geological activity provide tantalizing clues that it may exist.
Hydra’s Enigmatic Shape
New Horizons also captured the best view yet of Pluto’s farthest moon, Hydra. This enigmatic moon, reminiscent of an eight-bit video game character, measures 28 by 19 miles in size. Scientists are eager to learn more about Hydra’s composition and geological history.
Implications for Icy Worlds
The discoveries made by New Horizons have profound implications for our understanding of icy worlds. They challenge the long-held belief that tidal heating from a larger orbital partner is the primary driver of geological activity on these planets. Instead, Pluto’s isolated location and ongoing geological activity suggest that other mechanisms may be at play.
These findings will undoubtedly lead to a flurry of new research and may ultimately reshape our understanding of the evolution and diversity of icy worlds throughout the solar system.
