Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA.
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA.
Science. 2015 Oct 16;350(6258):aad1815. doi: 10.1126/science.aad1815.
The Pluto system was recently explored by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, making closest approach on 14 July 2015. Pluto's surface displays diverse landforms, terrain ages, albedos, colors, and composition gradients. Evidence is found for a water-ice crust, geologically young surface units, surface ice convection, wind streaks, volatile transport, and glacial flow. Pluto's atmosphere is highly extended, with trace hydrocarbons, a global haze layer, and a surface pressure near 10 microbars. Pluto's diverse surface geology and long-term activity raise fundamental questions about how small planets remain active many billions of years after formation. Pluto's large moon Charon displays tectonics and evidence for a heterogeneous crustal composition; its north pole displays puzzling dark terrain. Small satellites Hydra and Nix have higher albedos than expected.
美国宇航局的新视野号航天器最近对冥王星系统进行了探测，于 2015 年 7 月 14 日进行了最接近的飞越。冥王星的表面呈现出多样化的地貌、地形年代、反照率、颜色和组成梯度。有证据表明存在水冰壳、地质年轻的表面单元、表面冰对流、风条纹、挥发性物质传输和冰川流动。冥王星的大气层高度扩展，存在痕量碳氢化合物、全球霾层和接近 10 微巴的表面压力。冥王星多样化的表面地质和长期活动引发了关于小天体在形成数十亿年后如何保持活跃的基本问题。冥王星的大卫星卡戎显示出构造活动和地壳成分不均匀的证据；它的北极显示出令人费解的黑暗地形。小卫星海德拉和尼克斯的反照率高于预期。
