NASA finds 'hanging valleys' to show glacial activity on Pluto
NASA has found a geological evidence, in the form of eroded “hanging valleys,” of glacial activity on Pluto in the past as well as the present.
The latest findings have come from the New Horizons spacecraft science team, which says the valleys, that are similar to those in Yellowstone National Park, provide geographic evidence of widespread glacial activity on the planet.
A new mosaic image released by NASA shows rugged terrain, in stark contrast to the icy, craterless plains seen in flyby photographs released earlier in 2015 by New Horizons. The photographs are related to a region termed by scientists as Sputnik Planum, reports ABC.
In a statement, NASA said the great blocks of Pluto’s water-ice crust appear jammed together in the informally named al-Idrisi mountains. Some mountain sides appear coated in dark material, while other sides are bright. Several sheer faces appear to show crustal layering, perhaps related to the layers seen in some of Pluto’s crater walls.
According to NASA, the mountains end abruptly at the shoreline of Sputnik Planum. At this point, one can an almost level surface formed by the soft, nitrogen-rich ices of the plain. The surface is intermittently broken by fine traces of cellular boundaries and the textured ices of the plains.
NASA says the new numerical models it has come up with “not only explain the numerous polygonal ice features seen on Sputnik Planum's surface but indicate this layer may be up to a few miles thick.”
Further, additional numerical models of nitrogen ice flow show how Pluto's landscape has been and is still being transformed.
Outlining Pluto's geology and composition, along with details about the unexpected haze in the planet's atmosphere and its interaction with the solar winds, New Horizons is all set to provide new insights on the solar system's farthest planet, reports Zee News.
New Horizons has also sent some excellent images of Nix - the third-largest moon of the dwarf planet Pluto. These pictures give scientists more information about the satellite’s geology.
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