Some Fantastic Data!

It was discovered that the Plutonian atmosphere, which is predominantly Nitrogen, was being “excited”(ionized) by particles from the Sun, called the “Solar Wind”. The Solar Wind is this vast radiation of sub-atomic particles, mostly electrons by the Sun. It protects us from the worst of the cosmic rays, which are highly energized rays coming from outer space. Due to this ionization, the particles are gaining momentum, and due to this momentum, they are able to escape Pluto’s feeble gravitational pull. This was discovered by the ALICE instrument on-board the New Horizons spacecraft, and was confirmed as an increasingly large number of Nitrogen ions were found forming a tail beyond Pluto. 

Pluto’s heart, which has caused a revelation to the wider world, was examined closely by the New Horizons spacecraft in its closest flyby of the dwarf planet. New Horizons has revealed that it is a young, icy plain. There are also troughs and pits, which eerily remind us of dry river channels.. It is informally named the Sputnik plains, after our very first spacecraft. This region lies beyond the icy Plutonian mountains, as is evident from the bottom right of the picture. 

Pluto and Charon again appear in a single photo, taken by the New Horizons just prior to closest approach! 

This is a tentative graph demonstrating how much time it took for the Solar Occultation! THe red line represents the intensity of light, which is strengthened by the fact that when Pluto blocked the Sun, the amount of sunlight reaching the probe’s camera was nil.