Pluto: Particles ‘Go With The Flow’ On Surface Of Planet

Do particles really go with the flow on Pluto's surface? Researchers from the NASA New Horizons mission have fused data that was gathered from two instruments to create a unique image of Pluto's so called "Viking Terra" area.

The researchers combined a number of images that were captured by the New Horizon's Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on July 14, 2015, according to a news release. These images were taken at a distance of 31,000 miles (49,000 kilometers), where it depicted some of Pluto's features, which were as small as 1,600 feet (480 meters) across.

The rich color data was gathered with the Ralph/Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC), which was taken 20 minutes after the LORRI images were captured at a distance of 21,000 miles (34,000 kilometers). The image captured a distance of approximately 160 miles (250 kilometers) across.

The researchers found the bright methane ices to be among some of the most interesting features. The colored methane ice is condensed on many of the crater rims, where it contains a number of dark red tholins (small soot-like particles made from methane and nitrogen reactions in the atmosphere).  

This reddish material is thick and smooth on some of the surface areas and the material appears to have flowed into channels and craters. These tholin deposits from that thickness may have been transported with ice flowing under or it was moved with the winds in Pluto's atmosphere. 

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