Abstract
Abstract. New Horizons 2015 flyby of the Pluto system has resulted in high-resolution topographic maps of Pluto and Charon, the most distant objects so mapped. DEM’s over ~30% of each object were produced at 100-300 m vertical and 300-800 m spatial resolutions, in hemispheric maps and high-resolution linear mosaics. Both objects reveal more relief than was observed at Triton. The dominant 800-km wide informally named Sputnik Planum bright ice deposit on Pluto lies in a broad depression 3 km deep, flanked by dispersed mountains 3-5 km high. Impact craters reveal a wide variety of preservation states from pristine to eroded, and long fractures are several km deep with throw of 0-2 km. Topography of this magnitude suggests the icy shell of Pluto is relatively cold and rigid. Charon has global relief of at least 10 km, including ridges of 2-3 km and troughs of 3-5 km of relief. Impact craters are up to 6 km deep. Vulcan Planum consists of rolling plains and forms a topographic moat along its edge, suggesting viscous flow.
Highlights
The New Horizons spacecraft flew past the Pluto system on 14 July 2015, and provided our first view of the geology and topography of Pluto and Charon by obtaining hundreds of images, including extensive stereo, with hemispheric coverage at best resolution 0.47 km/pixel and regional coverage at resolutions down to 80 meters/pixel on Pluto (Stern et al, 2015)
The best imaging covered the anti-Charon hemisphere of Pluto and the Pluto-facing hemisphere of Charon, but global context was provided by approach imaging of all longitudes at resolutions of from 35 km/pixel or better
Regions south of 38° S were in permanent darkness, though illumination by Pluto’s haze extended useful imaging several 100 km into the dark regions on the encounter hemisphere
Summary
The New Horizons spacecraft flew past the Pluto system on 14 July 2015, and provided our first view of the geology and topography of Pluto and Charon by obtaining hundreds of images, including extensive stereo, with hemispheric coverage at best resolution 0.47 km/pixel and regional coverage at resolutions down to 80 meters/pixel on Pluto (Stern et al, 2015). The best imaging covered the anti-Charon hemisphere of Pluto and the Pluto-facing hemisphere of Charon, but global context was provided by approach imaging of all longitudes at resolutions of from 35 km/pixel or better. Parallax in the approach images was insufficient to resolve topography on these bodies at these distances. Shape-from-shading compliments the stereo with pixel-scale slope measurement over areas of low-Sun
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