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New Horizons has sent a picture of probable kriovulkana on Pluto
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Photo: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI i>
The probe New Horizons recently sent a high-quality picture of the surface of Pluto, made another 14 July last year. The distance at the time from the station to the surface of the planetoid was 48 thousand kilometers. The photograph was taken using instruments such as LORRI (Long Range Reconnaissance Imager) and MVIC (Ralph / Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera).
Scientists believe that the picture may be seen kriovulkan. It is situated in the region, called Wright Mons. This locality stretches for about 150 kilometers, and its height is 4 kilometers. If this is really what it seems, you have discovered Pluto's largest kriovulkan on the external borders of the solar system.
Experts studying the photo, were surprised unusual spread of the material red - it is small, and it is not uniform across the surface. In addition, there is only one impact crater that may indicate that the surface is relatively young. Other impact craters may have been filled with material ejected kriovulkanom.
Recently station handed additional images of Pluto quality. They can distinguish between the structural features of the surface of the planetoid. The picture went to the Earth on December 24 after nearly five months after the passage of New Horizons spacecraft at a distance of 12, 5 thousand kilometers from Pluto. The transmission of information will be carried out continuously until August 2016 or longer. This duration is due to a large amount of accumulated information and low-bandwidth communication channels New Horizons - Earth.
New Horizons is now gradually moving away from Pluto. The main task of the station now - closer to the subject in 2014 MU69. This planetoid is located at a distance of more than 1, 6 billion kilometers from Pluto. Getting to your destination station should by 2019.
Source: geektimes.ru/post/269232/
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