The New Horizons mission made an exciting flyby of Pluto on July 14, 2015. This mission challenged what scientists thought they knew about the outer planets and their moons. Here are some important discoveries from the mission:
Pluto's Surface: New Horizons showed that Pluto's surface is very varied. There are huge areas covered in nitrogen ice, tall mountains made of water ice that rise about 11,500 feet, and places filled with interesting chemicals called tholins. Scientists were surprised by these findings. It suggests that Pluto is more active than they thought.
Pluto's Atmosphere: The spacecraft discovered that Pluto’s atmosphere is thicker than expected. It measured the air pressure at about 1.5 microbars, which is much more than scientists had predicted. There is also a hazy layer in the atmosphere, which surprised researchers who believed outer planet atmospheres were really thin.
Geological Activity: Some parts of Pluto, like Sputnik Planitia, showed signs of recent geological activity. This means that things like ice movements and maybe even icy volcanoes might still be happening on Pluto. Some of the features on its surface are only about 100 million years old, which is quite young in cosmic terms.
Moons of Pluto: Pluto has five moons, and the way they interact is quite complex. The mission gave us new insights, especially about Charon, Pluto's biggest moon. This helps scientists understand how moons form and stay stable, changing some of the old ideas about moon creation.
These findings have changed what we think in planetary science. They show that dwarf planets like Pluto can have complex geology and active atmospheres, just like larger planets do.
The New Horizons mission made an exciting flyby of Pluto on July 14, 2015. This mission challenged what scientists thought they knew about the outer planets and their moons. Here are some important discoveries from the mission:
Pluto's Surface: New Horizons showed that Pluto's surface is very varied. There are huge areas covered in nitrogen ice, tall mountains made of water ice that rise about 11,500 feet, and places filled with interesting chemicals called tholins. Scientists were surprised by these findings. It suggests that Pluto is more active than they thought.
Pluto's Atmosphere: The spacecraft discovered that Pluto’s atmosphere is thicker than expected. It measured the air pressure at about 1.5 microbars, which is much more than scientists had predicted. There is also a hazy layer in the atmosphere, which surprised researchers who believed outer planet atmospheres were really thin.
Geological Activity: Some parts of Pluto, like Sputnik Planitia, showed signs of recent geological activity. This means that things like ice movements and maybe even icy volcanoes might still be happening on Pluto. Some of the features on its surface are only about 100 million years old, which is quite young in cosmic terms.
Moons of Pluto: Pluto has five moons, and the way they interact is quite complex. The mission gave us new insights, especially about Charon, Pluto's biggest moon. This helps scientists understand how moons form and stay stable, changing some of the old ideas about moon creation.
These findings have changed what we think in planetary science. They show that dwarf planets like Pluto can have complex geology and active atmospheres, just like larger planets do.