Μια πολύ κοντινή πτήση πάνω από Πλούτωνα και Χάροντα. NASA Video Soars over Pluto’s Majestic Mountains and Icy Plains

Όταν Ιούλιο του 2015, το διαστημικό σκάφος New Horizons της NASA έστειλε τις πρώτες κοντινές εντυπωσιακές φωτογραφίες του Πλούτωνα και των δορυφόρων του, πολλοί αναρωτήθηκαν πως θα ήταν μια πτήση πάνω από τα επιβλητικά βουνά και τις παγωμένες πεδιάδες τους.

Και η απάντηση δόθηκε. Χρησιμοποιώντας τα πραγματικά δεδομένα του New Horizons οι επιστήμονες δημιούργησαν δυο νέες ταινίες που μας δείχνουν πως θα φαινόταν ο πλανήτης-νάνος Πλούτωνας και ο δορυφόρος του Χάροντας, κατά την διάρκεια μιας πολύ κοντινής πτήσης πάνω από τις επιφάνειές τους.

Πετώντας πάνω από τον Πλούτωνα:

Using actual New Horizons data and digital elevation models of Pluto and its largest moon Charon, mission scientists have created flyover movies that offer spectacular new perspectives of the many unusual features that were discovered and which have reshaped our views of the Pluto system – from a vantage point even closer than the spacecraft itself. This dramatic Pluto flyover begins over the highlands to the southwest of the great expanse of nitrogen ice plain informally named Sputnik Planitia. The viewer first passes over the western margin of Sputnik, where it borders the dark, cratered terrain of Cthulhu Macula, with the blocky mountain ranges located within the plains seen on the right. The tour moves north past the rugged and fractured highlands of Voyager Terra and then turns southward over Pioneer Terra -- which exhibits deep and wide pits -- before concluding over the bladed terrain of Tartarus Dorsa in the far east of the encounter hemisphere. Digital mapping and rendering were performed by Paul Schenk and John Blackwell of the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston. Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI/Paul Schenk and John Blackwell, Lunar and Planetary Institute

Πετώντας πάνω από τον Χάροντα:

The exciting flight over Charon begins high over the hemisphere New Horizons saw on its closest approach, then descends over the deep, wide canyon of Serenity Chasma. The view moves north, passing over Dorothy Gale crater and the dark polar hood of Mordor Macula. The flight then turns south, covering the northern terrain of Oz Terra before ending over the relatively flat equatorial plains of Vulcan Planum and the “moated mountains” of Clarke Montes. Digital mapping and rendering were performed by Paul Schenk and John Blackwell of the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston. Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI/Paul Schenk and John Blackwell, Lunar and Planetary Institute

Πηγές: physicsgg - https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-video-soars-over-pluto-s-majestic-mountains-and-icy-plains