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Pluto’s Sputnik Planum Region is Likely a Large Impact Basin

By Robert Trembley  |  6 Jan 2016

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The icy region on Pluto, unofficially known as Sputnik Planum, is likely a large impact basin, say members of NASA’s New Horizons mission team in this abstract, presented at the 227th meeting of American Astronomical Society (AAS).

Sputnik Planum imaged by NASA's New Horizon's spacecraft. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute Sputnik Planum imaged by NASA’s New Horizon’s spacecraft. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute.

One of the most startling features seen on Pluto is a vast, nearly crater-free plain of oddly patterned nitrogen and methane ices. An eroded plateau to the northeast, and high peaks to the southwest with a different morphology suggest a massive irregularly shaped impact basin, similar to that of the Caloris Basin on Mercury.

Mercury's Caloris Basin, One of the Largest Impact Basins in the Solar System. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington Mercury’s Caloris Basin, One of the Largest Impact Basins in the Solar System. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington.

After the impact on Pluto, the basin filled up with ices, eliminating any visual traces of former impact craters in the region. The lack of cratering, and evidence of glaciation show that Sputnik Planum is relatively young, and geologically active.

In the northern region of Pluto’s Sputnik Planum, swirl-shaped patterns of light and dark suggest that a surface layer of exotic ices has flowed around obstacles and into depressions, much like glaciers on Earth. Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI>/span>” width=”1024″ height=”576″ /></a> In the northern region of Pluto’s Sputnik Planum, swirl-shaped patterns of light and dark suggest that a surface layer of exotic ices has flowed around obstacles and into depressions, much like glaciers on Earth.<br /><span style=Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI>/span>

Read more:

We Finally Think We Know What Caused Pluto’s Weird, Bumpy Plains
Pluto’s weird, icy plains likely caused by Manhattan-sized asteroid
Abstract: A Large Impact Origin for Sputnik Planum and Surrounding Terrains, Pluto?

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