In the "heart" of Pluto discovered a second ridge

A bright region of Pluto, a form somewhat reminiscent of the heart, opens scientist interesting details of the surface structure of the dwarf planet. Thus, recently, scientists with the help of New Horizons обнаружили It is the second in a row mountain range in the area. The mountains of this education is not more than 1, 5 km, and is located between the ice ridge plains and dark Pluto.

Scientists determined the age of the majority of craters Pluto 1 billion years, while the age of the rock formations is estimated at one hundred million years. Some experts believe it is a sign of the existence of active geological processes on the dwarf planet. "There are significant differences between the structure of young ice plains in the east and the dark terrain with craters in the West" - says Jeff Moore, one of the members of the project team New Horizons.

Moore also noted that older surfaces have a dark color due to the gradual impact craters fill sediments. However, scientists still quite difficult to explain the proximity of such different structures in the structure. As for the photos, which scientists have discovered mountain ranges, they won 14 of July this year. Then the New Horizons Pluto could take pictures from a distance of about 70 thousand kilometers.




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First detected ridge includes high mountains, up to 3, 5 kilometers away.

Earlier scientists concluded that the thickness of the atmospheric layer Pluto is about 1, 6 thousand kilometers. The upper layer is a molecular nitrogen near the surface and in the composition of the atmosphere detected methane and complex hydrocarbon compounds. In addition, Pluto is no magnetosphere.

Source: geektimes.ru/post/259144/