A NASA spacecraft has been on the road for some time now, and as it travels space slowly approaches Pluto, gravitates around its surface and sends back precious images. These days, New Horizons returns most detailed pictures of Pluto ever seen.
As the spacecraft approaches the dwarf planet, what seems to be a little point caught by the eye from a distance, transforms into a mass of fascinating galactic fabric.
New Horizons walks towards the surface of Pluto with 750.000 miles per day, sending back detailed images that share precious secrets about the dwarf planet.
The images have been taken from a 50 million miles distance, using New Horizons’ telescopic camera. NASA has been able to capture this pictures through a technical method called image deconvolution. With the help of advanced technology, the photos appear more sharp and clear, thus revealing surface markings and a very bright spot at Pluto’s Pole.
Currently, NASA is working on improving its photographic equipment, to enhance the image resolutions and offer even better and clearer images from Pluto. June is the month expected to reveal more relevant images, as New Horizons finds its way towards the dwarf planet, getting closer and closer to its surface.
The first ever fly-by will be captured with a camera able to zoom within 7800 miles on the dwarf planet’s surface.
Beyond the fascinating looks and the precious insights on what happens in our outer world, images show us that Pluto has differing faces, with distinct structures and appearances. This could mean that its surface geology is more complex than previously thought, with variations in composition from place to place.
Consequently, all the visual information comes to support the previous beliefs in regards to its polar cap. Pluto does own a polar cap, whose extent varies with longitude.
The broad differences in surface morphology of Pluto can now be analyzed by scientists and turned into historical information about outer space. Further research will unveil secrets of this distant and tiny planet, present in our solar system since the times our eyes and minds could not conceive an alternative world. Pluto has regions of surface that can absorb more light, as the images reveal, and its bright polar ice caps appear to be more than a hypothesis.
For those of us who are fascinated by space and like to create sci-fi scenarios but with consistent and realistic data, now we can enjoy a new app that keeps tabs on New Horizons, counting its close encounter down to the second. Also, it teaches us, users who are not used to the space realm, about the frigid and distant outer world. Pluto Safari App is available for both Apple and Android devices and it’s free of charge.
Image Source: business2community.com
