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[h=4]New Pluto images reveal frozen plains[/h]New Pluto images released Friday show a vast plain that scientists believe could be fewer than 100 million years old and still geologically active.
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Our knowledge of Pluto continues to grow, thanks to the New Horizons spacecraft. With the help of new photos and data, NASA shows what it would be like to fly over Pluto's icy mountain and plains. USA TODAY
In the center left of Pluto’s vast heart-shaped feature – informally named “Tombaugh Regio” - lies a vast, craterless plain that appears to be no more than 100 million years old, and is possibly still being shaped by geologic processes. This frozen region is north of Pluto’s icy mountains and has been informally named Sputnik Planum (Sputnik Plain), after Earth’s first artificial satellite. The surface appears to be divided into irregularly-shaped segments that are ringed by narrow troughs.(Photo: NASA / JHUAPL / SWRI)
New Pluto images released Friday show a vast plain that scientists believe could be fewer than 100 million years old and still geologically active.
The plain, which is located in the Tombaugh Region, the heart-like region on Pluto's surface, is north of the dwarf planet's icy mountains. The icy plains region, now known as Sputnik Plain, resembles frozen mud cracks on Earth, scientists said.
"The discovery of vast, craterless, very young plains on Pluto exceeds all pre-flyby expectations," said Jeff Moore, a co-investigator on the New Horizons team.
Members of the New Horizons team revealed a selection of new photos at a Friday news conference, but scientists are still unable to make conclusive claims about much of the new data. The spacecraft has only sent back about 1 to 2% of its data. NASA officials said it should have about 5% of the data by next week, but will take until 2016 to receive all of it.
"With the flyby in the rearview mirror, a decade-long journey to Pluto is over — but, the science payoff is only beginning," said Jim Green, NASA's director of Planetary Science. "Data from New Horizons will continue to fuel discovery for years to come."
USA TODAY
New Pluto images reignite debate over dwarf planet status
USA TODAY
Pluto: Icy, weird, far away -- finally gets a close encounter with Earth
The team also discussed revelations regarding Pluto's nitrogen-rich atmosphere, which is escaping due to Pluto's weak gravity, said Fran Bagenal, a New Horizons co-investigator. Bagenal said the escaping Nitrogen is creating an ionized tail behind the planet. The spacecraft started collecting data showing the tail about 90 minutes after the flyby.
The New Horizons spacecraft is now more than two million miles away from Pluto as it begins the next phase of its journey into the Kuiper Belt. The majority of its time, however, will be spent downlinking data back to Earth.
USA TODAY
After Pluto, what's next for New Horizons?
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