It's just a space, baby: New Horizons sent hi-res photos of Charon

Pluto - the most interesting object of study, and Earth scientists have received about this dwarf planet the vast amounts of information thanks to the work station, New Horizons, which is now removed from Pluto. During the flyby of the planetoid, the probe was able to photograph and Pluto. Now, these photos are gradually coming to Earth. Recently the agency NASA has posted a net high resolution images of Charon in color (process). Let me remind you that Charon - Pluto's largest moon, and now we have the opportunity to see the fascinating surface of the object. With new photos, astronomers were able to clarify the history of the origin of Pluto.

Charon's size is about two times less than most planetoid. Pluto and Charon always face each other on one side, a similar situation and that of the Earth to the Moon. But the similarity ends, because Charon - not dead celestial body with impact craters and lots of dust. No, there are huge canyons, mountains and the surface coated with various chemical compounds in different colors. By the way, the north pole of Charon - red. There are likely many hydrocarbon compounds that somehow get on with Pluto, Charon.

The most interesting object on the surface of Pluto are "scars", located a belt. This is the main system of canyons stretching for 1,600 kilometers on the surface of Charon, probably it is, and on the reverse side of the planetoid. According to experts of NASA, the size of this formation is four times larger than the Grand Canyon. This type of geological structure, which could be formed only by the existence of a geologically active processes. In general, canyons geology of the Earth expected to see at least Charon.



However, this is not the only surprise that made the earthly astronomers New Horizons. Few scientists expect to see on Pluto and Charon mountains, exotic ice flows, the atmosphere of methane and dunes. Probably, astronomers have not just surprised, because New Horizons passed only 10% of the accumulated information, and another 90% will be transferred to a long time.







Source: geektimes.ru/post/263298/