NASA reports new images of Pluto – El Universal (Venezuela)

Washington . – NASA today released new images of Pluto captured by US spacecraft “New Horizons” and revealed that the reddish dwarf planet has much to do with fog its surface covers over plates of ice.

The “New Horizons”, which last week came the closest he has been the unknown Pluto on a mission that began almost a decade ago, continues to send information to the Earth, and today the American Space Agency (NASA) shared the latest revelations.

“Our expectations were more than exceeded. With loose ice, an exotic chemical on the surface, ridges and extensive fog, Pluto is showing a truly thrilling diversity of planetary geology, “he said in a statement John Grunsfeld, one of the deputy directors of NASA.

The spacecraft captured images showing mists of up to 130 kilometers above the surface of Pluto, with two distinct layers, one of up to 80 kilometers and one of about 50 kilometers, Efe reported.

“The Mists detected in this image are a key element in the creation of complex hydrocarbon compounds onto the surface of Pluto its reddish “said Michael Summers in the news a co-investigator of” New Horizons “at George Mason University in Fairfax (Virginia).

Alan Stern The principal investigator for “New Horizons” in Boulder (Colorado), described the environment as “an alien atmosphere” of an “incredible beauty.”

So far, scientists have calculated that temperatures on Pluto would be too warm for mists are formed at altitudes of 30 kilometers above the surface of the dwarf planet.

“We need new ideas to find out what is happening,” Summers said.

The mission of “New Horizons” images also detected evidence of “exotic ices” along the surface of Pluto and signs of recent geological activity.

In a plain size the state of Texas, informally called Sputnik Planum and located on the west side of a region of Pluto that is heart-shaped, an ice sheet seems to have shifted, and could continue to shift, similar to glaciers on Earth, according NASA.

“We have only seen surfaces and active worlds like Earth and Mars,” said co-investigator John Spencer mission.

Last week, NASA announced that He had discovered “a mountain range with peaks up to 3,500 meters above the ice body” on Pluto, formed “over 100 million years ago no” in a system that has more than 4,500 million years.

The ship “New Horizons” blasted off from Cape Canaveral (Florida) in January 2006, and until last July 14 failed to approach the surface of the dwarf planet after nearly 5,000 million km cruise.