Posted on 07/15/2017 4:37:40 AM PDT by LibWhacker
Using actual New Horizons data and digital elevation models of Pluto and its largest moon Charon, mission scientists have created flyover movies that offer spectacular new perspectives of the many unusual features that were discovered and which have reshaped our views of the Pluto system – from a vantage point even closer than the spacecraft itself.
This dramatic Pluto flyover begins over the highlands to the southwest of the great expanse of nitrogen ice plain informally named Sputnik Planitia. The viewer first passes over the western margin of Sputnik, where it borders the dark, cratered terrain of Cthulhu Macula, with the blocky mountain ranges located within the plains seen on the right. The tour moves north past the rugged and fractured highlands of Voyager Terra and then turns southward over Pioneer Terra -- which exhibits deep and wide pits -- before concluding over the bladed terrain of Tartarus Dorsa in the far east of the encounter hemisphere.
Digital mapping and rendering were performed by Paul Schenk and John Blackwell of the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston.
Looks like a relatively recent crater on Charon.
Truly a planetologist’s dream vacation.
For later.
L
Watching this, I just had to look up how cold it is at Pluto, a very chilly high temp of -218c/-360f. Don’t forget your footies!
Cool. Pluto should be recognized as a planet again.
Awesome! Thanks for posting.
Absolute zero is -273C, so it’s still “warm” enough to support life.
bttt
CGI
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