by APOD Robot » Sat Nov 14, 2015 5:09 am
Wright Mons on Pluto
Explanation: Long shadows are cast by a low Sun across this rugged looking terrain. Captured by New Horizons, the scene is found just south of the southern tip Sputnik Planum, the informally named smooth, bright heart
region of Pluto. Centered is a feature provisionally known as Wright Mons, a broad, tall mountain, about 150 kilometers across and 4 kilometers high, with a 56 kilometer wide, deep summit depression. Of course, broad mountains with central craters are found elsewhere in the Solar System, like
Mauna Loa on planet Earth and
Olympus Mons on Mars. In fact, New Horizons scientists announced the striking similarity of
Pluto's Wright Mons, and nearby Piccard Mons, to large shield volcanoes strongly suggests the two could be giant cryovolcanoes that once erupted molten ice from the interior of the cold, distant world.
[/b]
[url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap151114.html][img]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_151114.jpg[/img] [size=150]Wright Mons on Pluto[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] [url=http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20155]Long shadows are cast[/url] by a low Sun across this rugged looking terrain. Captured by New Horizons, the scene is found just south of the southern tip Sputnik Planum, the informally named smooth, bright heart [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150831.html]region of Pluto[/url]. Centered is a feature provisionally known as Wright Mons, a broad, tall mountain, about 150 kilometers across and 4 kilometers high, with a 56 kilometer wide, deep summit depression. Of course, broad mountains with central craters are found elsewhere in the Solar System, like [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050704.html]Mauna Loa on planet Earth[/url] and [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000529.html]Olympus Mons on Mars[/url]. In fact, New Horizons scientists announced the striking similarity of [url=http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/News-Article.php?page=20151109]Pluto's Wright Mons, and[/url] nearby Piccard Mons, to large shield volcanoes strongly suggests the two could be giant cryovolcanoes that once erupted molten ice from the interior of the cold, distant world.
[b][table][tr][td=left][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=151113]<< Previous APOD[/url][/td] [td=center][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/view_retro.php?date=1114]This Day in APOD[/url][/td] [td=right][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=151115]Next APOD >>[/url][/td][/tr][/table][/b]