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
