The New Horizons control Centreat NASA was in celebrations mood as the spacecraft moved past Pluto, an unexplored part of the world.

At the speed of 28,000mph, the probe shot past on a trajectory that resulted in bringing the fastest spacecraft ever to come as close as 7,770 miles to Pluto’s surface.

It was a historic achievement for the US, which is now the only nation to have visited all the planets of the solar system. Stephen Hawking congratulated the New Horizons team saying that the new revelation of the mysterious Pluto would help us better in understanding how the universe was formed.

 

http://images.indianexpress.com/2015/07/pluto_4.jpg?w=438?w=405

New Horizons was loaded with cameras, instruments, programmed to catch a number of images of Pluto and its moons (Charon, Styx, Nix, Hydra& Kerberos).

The images sent by New Horizons show Pluto in different shades of orange and red and hints of valleys, craters and mountains.

Pluto’s terrain has many variations with equator having dark patches. There are brighter regions on the north. The surface of Pluto is less smooth and young as compared to its largest moon, Charon. This may be due to geological activity on Charon which refreshes its surface.

The New Horizons sensors detect the thin nitrogen atmosphere of Pluto extending in the space. According to scientists, it may shed snow with flakes falling on the surface and then vaporize back to the atmosphere.

The probe has also found that Pluto is larger than what was previously believed i.e. 1,470 miles wide. It means that it has more ice below the surface and less rock than the scientists thought.

New Horizons took off in 2006 and carried the ashes of Clyde Tombaugh who discovered Pluto in 1930. It is expected to give great insights about the “dwarf planet” in the days to come.

K.Bong