Pluto is surprising. The analysis of the images taken by the New Horizons probe reveals the deployment of a variety of colors, showing that this planet has a great geological diversity, according to a study published in the journal “Science”.
From the dark and red areas of Ecuador to the bright blue regions of higher latitudes, Pluto has a surprisingly rich color palette, explains the study.
“We knew surface Pluto was heterogeneous thanks to the data we had land on the planet, but I have been surprised to see those colors as spectacular and that huge geological diversity, “said astronomer Silvia Protopapa, the University of Maryland (USA) and co-author of the study.
“The data we have received so far show a surprising variety of landscapes and land in Pluto and varieties in color, composition and albedo (reflection surface), “he said, meanwhile, NASA.
The scientific teams were making public the results of observations as receiving images and data transmitted by the New Horizons probe, which is currently away from Pluto and enters in the Kuiper belt.
To determine whether the diversity of colors is due to the composition of the soil, the researchers analyzed the data transmitted by a spectrometer that can map the surface composition of Pluto and its five moons.
This device, which analyzes the frequency spectrum of a wave motion, also revealed the existence of many small areas of water ice exposed at the surface.
This discovery is not among the results published on Thursday, but it was announced last week by NASA week as well as the fact that the sky Pluto is blue.
AFP
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