NASA's New Horizons mission has been revealing stunning details of Pluto, and the latest observations have shown it is an "icy world of wonders."
The most recent New Horizons discoveries indicate the presence of flowing ice and haze on the mysterious dwarf planet, NASA reported.
"We knew that a mission to Pluto would bring some surprises, and now -- 10 days after closest approach -- we can say that our expectation has been more than surpassed," said John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate. "With flowing ices, exotic surface chemistry, mountain ranges, and vast haze, Pluto is showing a diversity of planetary geology that is truly thrilling."
In its closest approach to date, New Horizons aimed its Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) at Pluto, and noticed an eerie haze above the surface. There appeared to be two distinct layers, one about 50 miles above Pluto's surface (but reaching as high as 80 miles) and the other about 30 miles high.
"My jaw was on the ground when I saw this first image of an alien atmosphere in the Kuiper Belt," said Alan Stern, principal investigator for New Horizons at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado. "It reminds us that exploration brings us more than just incredible discoveries -- it brings incredible beauty."
The hazes are believed to hold the complex hydrocarbon compounds that give Pluto its reddish hue. The haze likely forms when ultraviolet sunlight breaks up methane gas particles, causing a buildup of more complex hydrocarbon gases. When these hydrocarbons fall into the lower and colder portion's of Pluto's atmosphere, they create hazy ice particles. The sunlight converts the hazes into tholins, leading to Pluto's perceived dark color. In the past, researchers calculated temperatures would be too warm for hazes to form at altitudes higher than 20 miles, so these new observations are surprising.
New Horizons also revealed evidence of exotic ices flowing across Pluto's surface, which could indicate geologic activity. The finding was made within the Texas-sized plain called Sputnik Planum. The sheet of ice seems to have flowed (or be flowing) in a manner similar to Earthly glaciers. These types of features have only ever been detected on Earth and Mars. The center of Sputnik Planum appears to be rich in nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane ices.
"At Pluto's temperatures of minus-390 degrees Fahrenheit, these ices can flow like a glacier," said Bill McKinnon, deputy leader of the New Horizons Geology, Geophysics and Imaging team at Washington University in St. Louis. "In the southernmost region of the heart, adjacent to the dark equatorial region, it appears that ancient, heavily-cratered terrain has been invaded by much newer icy deposits."
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