冥王星的地貌

2021年01月15日

A Plutonian Landscape
Image Credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins Univ./APL, Southwest Research Institute

Explanation: This shadowy landscape of majestic mountains and icy plains stretches toward the horizon on a small, distant world. It was captured from a range of about 18,000 kilometers when New Horizons looked back toward Pluto, 15 minutes after the spacecraft’s closest approach on July 14. The dramatic, low-angle, near-twilight scene follows rugged mountains formally known as Norgay Montes from foreground left, and Hillary Montes along the horizon, giving way to smooth Sputnik Planum at right. Layers of Pluto’s tenuous atmosphere are also revealed in the backlit view. With a strangely familiar appearance, the frigid terrain likely includes ices of nitrogen and carbon monoxide with water-ice mountains rising up to 3,500 meters (11,000 feet). That’s comparable in height to the majestic mountains of planet Earth. The Plutonian landscape is 380 kilometers (230 miles) across.

Tomorrow’s picture: light-weekend

冥王星的地貌
影像提供: NASA, Johns Hopkins Univ./APL, Southwest Research Institute

说明: 这片明暗相间的壮丽山脉和冰原聚成的原野，绵延向这颗遥远行星的地平线伸展。影像摄于2015年7月14日，时值新视野号通过最近点后的15分钟，回首眺望拍下这幅影像时，与冥​​王星的距离为18,000公里。这幅精采、低角度的暮光景象，呈现了前景左侧称为诺盖的崎岖山脉、地平线附近的希拉里山脉、及右侧平滑的史泼尼克平原。在这幅背光的影像里，亦可见到冥王星稀薄大气的分层。这片奇特但看来有些熟悉的冻原，可能散布着氮冰和干冰，以及高约3,500公尺，几乎和地球壮丽山岳等高的水冰峰。这片冥王星地貌的跨幅为380公里。

明日的图片: light-weekend