Imagine That... Pluto Has Blue Skies and Water Ice
The first color images of Pluto's atmospheric haze, returned by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft last week, reveal an unexpected rich blue color. The way the haze particles scatter the blue light has gotten the attention of the New Horizons science team. On Earth, particles in the atmosphere are very tiny nitrogen molecules. On Pluto they appear to be larger, but still relatively small, soot-like particles called tholins.
Comments:
I notice that since "the Martian" movie came out, NASA has hit the "tour de Mars" a little harder and conveniently found proof of water on Mars. Realistically, we always knew there was a form of liquid present as the polar region displayed ice caps. None-the-less, I find it quite interesting that our exploration of own solar system is still leaving us speechless and in awe more often than not especially surrounding a newly dubbed dwarf we hardly knew at all. The pictures are astounding and I hope that many more missions show us what we already know... we live on a pretty cool planet with a great view of the expanse. I don't know if anyone had the chance to view the picture of the Earth from Mars, but it definitely made me snicker.
Funding Member
