Pluto in True Color
Explanation:
Pluto is mostly brown.
The
above picture captures the true colors of
Pluto
as well as the highest surface resolution
so far recovered.
Although no spacecraft has yet visited this
distant world, the
New Horizons spacecraft
launched early this year is expected to reach Pluto in
2015.
Pluto
recent reclassification, by the
International Astronomical Union, from planet to
dwarf planet remains a
topic of much
debate.
The
above map was created by tracking brightness
changes from Earth of
Pluto during times when it was being
partially eclipsed by its moon
Charon.
The map therefore shows the hemisphere of
Pluto that faces Charon.
Pluto's brown color is thought dominated by frozen
methane deposits metamorphosed by faint but
energetic sunlight.
The dark band below
Pluto's
equator is seen to have rather complex coloring,
however, indicating that some unknown mechanisms
may have affected
Pluto's surface.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
