NASA releases clearest images of Pluto the world has never seen
The images, taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, show craters, mountains and glacial terrain along a strip 50 miles (80 kilometers) wide. The spacecraft took them in July during its closest flyby of Pluto — which is at a distance from Earth that varies from 4.67 billion miles (7.5 billion kilometers) to 2.66 billion miles (4.28 billion kilometers) — and they were among the most recent batch sent to back to our planet.<IMG alt="This image shows the layered interior walls of the planet's many craters. According to NASA, "layers in geology usually mean an important change in composition or event." However, NASA says the New Horizons team members do not know if they are seeing local, regional or global layering.
Most of the craters seen here lie within the 155-mile (250-kilometer)-wide Burney Basin
NASA releases clearest images of Pluto the world has never seen[/caption]
The higher resolution photos will allow scientists to better understand Pluto’s puzzling geology, which has surprised with an active surface that indicates the presence of interior heating.
“New Horizons thrilled us during the July flyby with the first close images of Pluto, and as the spacecraft transmits the treasure trove of images in its onboard memory back to us, we continue to be amazed by what we see,” said John Grunsfeld, a former astronaut and the associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.
See more at: seonsem.net
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