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Pluto is a dwarf planet that has changed in a relatively recent. On show were the new images of the celestial body, sent by the probe New Horizons who gave the idea of the planet still geologically active, according to experts.
The lack of impact craters on the surface of Pluto indicates that Pluto could been formed recently, said astronomer Jeff Moore of NASA’s New Horizons team.
The images of the dwarf planet show plains and hills, of which scientists still do not know the height or composition. The mountains were formed not before 100 million years ago, although they are still geologically active.
The NASA team also identified dark streaks in the western part of Pluto, which certainly have been produced by winds blowing through the frozen surface of Pluto.
New Horizons also sent data on the atmosphere of Pluto, made mainly of nitrogen, just like the atmosphere of the earth, and which extends up to 620 miles above the surface of the dwarf planet.
Computer models suggest that the solar wind at Pluto lose its atmosphere at a rate of 500 tonnes per hour.
New Horizons will continue to post material on Pluto for the next sixteen months.
The space probe developed by NASA to explore Pluto and its satellite Charon was launched on 19 January 2006 from Cape Canaveral.
Recently, it came to 12,500 km above the surface of the dwarf planet, flying at a speed of 14 km per second.
Pluto was discovered in 1930 by the American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh and was downgraded to a dwarf planet in 2006.
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