Pluto map
A comparison of the maps shows that Pluto's brightness has changed between 1994 and 2003. The northern pole is brighter and the southern hemisphere is darker. Summer is approaching Pluto's north pole, and this may cause surface ices to melt and refreeze in the colder shadowed portion of the planet.
The Hubble pictures underscore that Pluto is not simply a ball of ice and rock but a dynamic world that undergoes dramatic atmospheric changes. These atmospheric changes are driven by seasonal changes that are as much propelled by the planet's 248-year elliptical orbit as its axial tilt, unlike Earth where the tilt alone drives seasons.
The top picture was taken in 1994 by the European Space Agency's Faint Object Camera. The bottom image was taken in 2002-2003 by the Advanced Camera for Surveys. The dark band at the bottom of each map is the region that was hidden from view at the time the data were taken.Mer information om licensen för bilden finns här. Senaste uppdateringen: Tue, 26 Dec 2023 10:21:58 GMT