cientists have discovered sand dunes that are made of frozen methane in Pluto's gas field. The US Aerospace Agency's (NASA) images show that the surface of this planet is a much more diverse and dynamic structure than you think.
Due to the thinness of Pluto's atmosphere, astronomers were surprised by the geologic structure reminiscent of the deserts on Earth.
The research, published in Science magazine, is based on images captured by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft.
New Horizons, which traveled for about 10 years in a solar system, passed by Pluto at 58,536 km / h in 2015.
The researchers, examining the icy surface called Sputnik Planum on the surface of the planet, compared a scene resembling a dune field
The sandy hills formed near the icebergs, 5 km high.
Researchers say the dunes are made up of frozen methane particles, at least 0.4 to a kilometer away. The diameter of the methane particles is 200-300 micrometers, which is close to the size of the sand particles.
How have the dunes been formed?
Dr Matt Telfer, one of the lead writers of the research report, said that it was not possible to see the sand particles, but they found sand dunes by adding simple physical features and depth of atmosphere.
Telfer, who spoke to the BBC, said with his team that they were determining the speed of the wind that formed the sand dunes.
In order for the dunes to form, the atmosphere must be so intense as to be able to move with the wind. Conditions are needed that will form dry granules and hold them up from the surface.
At first sight, however, none of these conditions seemed to exist in Pluto.
The research team looked more closely at the area where the wind speed was 10 meters / sec.
Seeing that this speed was enough for the particles to move, the crew found the source of the wind as a downward stream of air in the neighboring mountains. It turns out that the frozen solid materials converted into the Gaza helped to create conditions.
It was stated that methane could be stored in the snow cover over the mountains and nitrogen in its contents.
What makes science so exciting?
According to Telfer, the spacing of Pluto's secret gate could be an answer to some question marks about the universe:
"It's really exciting to know that the world outside the Solar System is not just about ice frosts, it's a dynamic world that we're seeing, changing and shaping."
According to astronomers, this invention describes more:
Geographical features similar to those in the world can be formed by their own conditions and methods, far from us
