|
Ice Volcanoes on Pluto?
- Click the image above for a larger view
- Full-Res JPEG (879 x 906) (207.4 kB)
- Full-Res TIFF (879 x 906) (797.4 kB)
Caption:
The informally named feature Wright Mons, located south of Sputnik Planum on Pluto, is an unusual feature that's about 100 miles (160 kilometers) wide and 13,000 feet (4 kilometers) high. It displays a summit depression (visible in the center of the image) that's approximately 35 miles (56 kilometers) across, with a distinctive hummocky texture on its sides. The rim of the summit depression also shows concentric fracturing. New Horizons scientists believe that this mountain and another, Piccard Mons, could have been formed by the 'cryovolcanic' eruption of ices from beneath Pluto's surface.
Background Info:
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, designed, built, and operates the New Horizons spacecraft, and manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The Southwest Research Institute, based in San Antonio, leads the science team, payload operations and encounter science planning. New Horizons is part of the New Frontiers Program managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Cataloging Keywords:
| Name | Value | Additional Values |
|---|---|---|
| Target | Pluto | |
| System | Pluto | Kuiper Belt |
| Target Type | Dwarf Planet | KBO |
| Mission | New Horizons | |
| Instrument Host | New Horizons | |
| Host Type | Flyby Spacecraft | |
| Instrument | Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) | |
| Detector | ||
| Extra Keywords | Grayscale, Mountain, Volcano | |
| Acquisition Date | ||
| Release Date | 2015-11-10 | |
| Date in Caption | ||
| Image Credit | NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute | |
| Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20155 | |
| Identifier | PIA20155 | |
