Youthful Frozen Plains Cover Pluto’s Big ‘Heart’ – Spectacular New Images from New Horizons

universetoady.com ^ | on July 17, 2015 | Ken Kremer

[BenLurkin]

A vast, craterless plain of Plutonian ice no more than 100 million years old and centered amidst Pluto’s big ‘heart’ was unveiled in spectacular new imagery taken by NASA’s resounding successful New Horizons mission, during its history making rapid transit through the Pluto-Charon binary planet system barely three days ago, on Tuesday, July 14.

The jaw dropping new imagery was publicly released today, July 17, by NASA and scientists leading the New Horizons mission during a media briefing, and has already resulted in ground breaking new scientific discoveries at the last planet in our solar system to be visited by a spacecraft from Earth.

...

“Over 50 gigabits of data were collected during the encounter and flyby periods,” New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado, said during the media briefing.

“So far less than 1 gigabit of data has been returned.”

It will take some 16 months for all the Pluto flyby data to be transmitted back to Earth.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks colorado tanker.

join or quit view topics view or post blog bookmark post new topic subscribe

[brivette]

you’re right.

[brivette]

nice!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks colorado tanker, extra to APoD.

[Monkey Face]

This was SUCH a good article! Thanks!

[JPG]

How cool would it be to explore that landscape in person? The lack of O2 and -400F temp might be a bit of a problem, though.

[stuck_in_new_orleans]

Still waiting for all of the amazing photos we were promised

[SunkenCiv]

My pleasure!

[Monkey Face]

<3