Sputnik Planitia
Glaciated basin on Pluto / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sputnik Planitia /ˈspʌtnɪk pləˈnɪʃiə, ˈspʊt-/ (formerly Sputnik Planum)[4] is a large, partially glaciated basin on Pluto. About 1,400 by 1,200 km (870 by 750 mi) in size,[3] Sputnik Planitia is partially submerged in large, bright glaciers of nitrogen ice. Named after Earth's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, it constitutes the western lobe of the heart-shaped Tombaugh Regio. Sputnik Planitia lies mostly in the northern hemisphere, but extends across the equator. Much of it has a surface of irregular polygons separated by troughs, interpreted as convection cells in the relatively soft nitrogen ice. The polygons average about 33 km (21 mi) across.[5] In some cases troughs are populated by blocky mountains or hills, or contain darker material.[6] There appear to be windstreaks on the surface with evidence of sublimation.[7][8] The dark streaks are a few kilometers long and all aligned in the same direction.[6] The planitia also contains pits apparently formed by sublimation.[6] No craters were detectable by New Horizons, implying a surface less than 10 million years old.[9] Modeling sublimation pit formation yields a surface age estimate of 180000+90000
−40000 years.[10] Near the northwest margin is a field of transverse dunes (perpendicular to the windstreaks), spaced about 0.4 to 1 km apart, that are thought to be composed of 200-300 μm diameter particles of methane ice derived from the nearby Al-Idrisi Montes.[11][12]
Feature type | Planitia, impact basin[1] |
---|---|
Location | Tombaugh Regio, Pluto |
Coordinates | 20°N 180°E[2] |
Diameter | 1492 km ~1300 km basin diameter[3] |
Surface area | ~5 278 000 km2[lower-alpha 1] |
Dimensions | 1400 km × 1200 km[3][lower-alpha 2] |
Discoverer | New Horizons |
Eponym | Sputnik 1 satellite |