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Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Sputnik Planum vs. Krun Macula
NASA ^
| Saturday, June 18, 2016
| (see photo credit)
Posted on 06/18/2016 12:30:40 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Explanation: Pluto's pitted plains meet rugged highlands in this stunning view. On the left lies a southeastern extent of the bright region still informally known as Sputnik Planum. At right the edge of a dark region, informally Krun Macula, rises some 2.5 kilometers above the icy plains. Along the boundary, connected clusters of large pits form deep valleys, some over 40 kilometers long with shadowy floors. Nitrogen ice is likely responsible for the more reflective plains. The dark red color of the highlands is thought to be from complex compounds called tholins, a product of ultraviolet light induced chemical reactions with methane in Pluto's atmosphere. The enhanced color image includes portions of the highest and second highest resolution image data from the New Horizons July 2015 flyby of the distant world.
![Saturday, June 18, 2016](http://129.164.179.22/apod/image/1606/KrunMaculaNewHorizons1024c.jpg)
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; astronomy; krunmacula; newhorizons; ninthplanet; nitrogen; pluto; science; sputnikplanum; tholins; ultraviolet
[Image Credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins Univ./APL, Southwest Research Institute]
1
posted on
06/18/2016 12:30:40 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
![To Pluto -- And Far Beyond](http://i11.tinypic.com/44l331d.jpg) |
"To Pluto And Far Beyond" By David H. Levy, Parade, January 15, 2006 -- We don't have a dictionary definition yet that includes all the contingencies. In the wake of the new discovery, however, the International Astronomical Union has set up a group to develop a workable definition of planet. For our part, in consultation with several experienced planetary astronomers, Parade offers this definition: A planet is a body large enough that, when it formed, it condensed under its own gravity to be shaped like a sphere. It orbits a star directly and is not a moon of another planet. |
2
posted on
06/18/2016 12:32:15 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(I'll tell you what's wrong with society -- no one drinks from the skulls of their enemies anymore.)
To: brytlea; cripplecreek; decimon; disndat; KoRn; Grammy; steelyourfaith; Mmogamer; dayglored; ...
3
posted on
06/18/2016 12:32:58 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(I'll tell you what's wrong with society -- no one drinks from the skulls of their enemies anymore.)
To: SunkenCiv
Pluto’s a planet — welcome back.
4
posted on
06/18/2016 4:05:11 PM PDT
by
Orbiter
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