Mysterious Halo Craters Found On Pluto
- 8 years ago
Among the latest New Horizons images of Pluto is one of an area covered in bright-rimmed craters, reports NASA.
Among the latest New Horizons images of Pluto is one of an area covered in bright-rimmed craters, reports NASA.
When viewed against Pluto’s inky ground they appear as bunch of halos strewn across the landscape.
Researchers say the glow likely comes from the craters’ rims and walls being coated with methane ice, but why the frozen material behaves that way is unknown.
Each is rather sizeable, with the largest being roughly 30 miles in diameter.
Notably, this sort of feature doesn’t seem to appear with regularity on the dwarf planet.
The bright features were spotted in the area currently being referred to as Vega Terra.
Among the latest New Horizons images of Pluto is one of an area covered in bright-rimmed craters, reports NASA.
When viewed against Pluto’s inky ground they appear as bunch of halos strewn across the landscape.
Researchers say the glow likely comes from the craters’ rims and walls being coated with methane ice, but why the frozen material behaves that way is unknown.
Each is rather sizeable, with the largest being roughly 30 miles in diameter.
Notably, this sort of feature doesn’t seem to appear with regularity on the dwarf planet.
The bright features were spotted in the area currently being referred to as Vega Terra.