冥王星的北部

2023年8月18日

Northern Pluto
Image Credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins Univ./APL, Southwest Research Institute

Explanation: Gaze across the frozen canyons of northern Pluto in this contrast enhanced color scene. The image data used to construct it was acquired in July 2015 by the New Horizons spacecraft as it made the first reconnaissance flight through the remote Pluto system six billion kilometers from the Sun. Now known as Lowell Regio, the region was named for Percival Lowell, founder of the Lowell Observatory. Also famous for his speculation that there were canals on Mars, Lowell started the search that ultimately led to Pluto’s discovery in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh. In this frame Pluto’s North Pole is above and left of center. The pale bluish floor of the broad canyon on the left is about 70 kilometers (45 miles) wide, running vertically toward the south. Higher elevations take on a yellowish hue. New Horizon’s measurements were used to determine that in addition to nitrogen ice, methane ice is abundant across Lowell Regio. So far, Pluto is the only Solar System world named by an 11-year-old girl.

Tomorrow’s picture: ringed ice giant

冥王星的北部
影像提供: NASA, Johns Hopkins Univ./APL, Southwest Research Institute

说明: 这张对比经过强化的彩色影像，眺望冥王星北部的冰冻峡谷。用以构建这幅影像的数据，是在2015年7月由新视野号航天器所取得，当时它航行到距离太阳60亿公里远的冥王星，并进行了这颗天体的首次飞越侦察。此区如今以罗威尔天文台的建造者罗威尔为名，称为罗威尔区。罗威尔亦以揣测火星上有运河而闻名，他启始了搜索工作，最终导致汤博于1930年发现了冥王星。在这片视野里，冥王星的北极位于中心的上左方。影像左侧宽阔峡谷的淡蓝谷底宽约70公里，垂直向南延伸。视野里较高耸的区域之色泽淡黄。新视野号的量测结果用以确定罗威尔区除了有氮冰外，还有大量的甲烷冰。截自目前为止，冥王星是太阳系的天体之中，唯一由11岁女孩所命名的。

明日的图片: ringed ice giant