Dwarf Planet Pluto Stuns In New Photo With Beautiful Shades Of Rainbow
The imagery was captured by NASA¡¯s New Horizons Space Probe which was launched from Earth on January 19, 2006.
NASA has now gone ahead and shared some rather jaw-dropping images of Pluto on its Instagram handle, that showcases the tiny celestial object in different shades of the rainbow.
NASA
The imagery was captured by NASA¡¯s New Horizons Space Probe which was launched from Earth on January 19, 2006. The colours you see aren¡¯t the actual colours of this celestial object. Instead, these were added by the space probe to highlight the subtle differences between the planet¡¯s distinct regions.
What makes Pluto so enigmatic?
The NASA post explains the contrasting differences between the regions, ¡°Pluto has a complex,, varied surface with jumbled mountains reminiscent of Europa, networks of carved-out valleys, old, heavily cratered terrain sitting right next to new smooth icy plains, and even what might be wind-blown dunes.¡±
New Horizons space probe conducted a six-month flyby that deeply studied Pluto as well as its moons in 2015. The space probe is still active, however, now it continues to explore the solar system, deeper into the Kuiper Belt.
The round planet-like object around the edge of our solar system has been surrounded by controversies for its planet status.
NASA
In 2019, the International Astronomical Union reduced Pluto¡¯s planetary status to a dwarf planet as it didn¡¯t meet the three criteria that was laid down by the organisation to be called a full-sized planet -- it¡¯s in an orbit around the Sun, has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium (a near-round shape), and has cleared the neighbourhood around the orbit. Pluto failed in the last criteria.
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