New images reveal dune-like shapes on Pluto
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.029196
New York Times : The most recent images of Pluto from NASA’s New Horizons captured large fields of structures that look like sand dunes. But dunes are created from particles deposited by wind, and Pluto doesn’t have enough of an atmosphere to sustain that sort of phenomenon. Did the dwarf planet previously have a thicker atmosphere, or did some other force shape the dune-like features? Some of the dunes are lightly colored while others are dark, and it isn’t clear if they are made of different substances or if some are just covered by a layer of a different material. Other images in the new batch released by NASA show multiple layers of haze in Pluto’s atmosphere, glacier-like flows of ice, and jumbled mountain ranges.
