Tombaugh Regio

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Tombaugh Regio
PIA19945-Pluto-SputnikPlanum-Detail-20150917.jpg
A detailed view of Tombaugh Regio; a constructed mosaic of monochrome images by New Horizons.
Diameter 1,590 km (990 mi)[1]
Eponym Clyde Tombaugh

Tombaugh Regio /ˈtɒmbaʊ ˈrɛdʒi.oʊ/,[note 1] nicknamed The Heart after its shape,[2][3][4] is the largest bright surface feature of the dwarf planet Pluto.[5][6][7] It is just north of the equator, to the northeast of Cthulhu Regio and to the northwest of Krun Macula, both dark features.[8] Its western lobe, a 1000-km-wide plain of nitrogen and other ices, is named Sputnik Planum.[9][10] The eastern lobe is thought to consist of high-albedo uplands coated by nitrogen transported through the atmosphere from Sputnik Planum, and then deposited as ice. Some of this nitrogen ice then returns to Sputnik Planum via glacial flow.

Description

Tombaugh Regio is a large, light-colored region about 1,590 km (990 mi) across.[1] The two lobes of the feature are geologically distinct. The western lobe, Sputnik Planum, is smoother than the eastern, and they are of slightly different colors.[11] Early speculation was that the western lobe may be a large impact crater filled with nitrogen snow. Bright spots within the region were initially speculated to be mountain peaks.[12] Photos, released on 15 July 2015, revealed 3,400 m (11,000 ft) mountains made of water ice in the feature; they also showed no craters in this same region.[13] Subsequent data indicated that the center of Sputnik Planum is rich in nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane ices, and that features near the edges of the region show evidence of ice flow such as glaciers, and light material overlying the darker material at the eastern edge of Cthulhu Regio.[9] The surface of Sputnik Planum is divided into polygonal convection cells[10] and is less than 10 million years old, indicating that Pluto is geologically active.[14]

The feature had been identified as a bright spot for six decades prior to the New Horizons flyby, although it was impossible to image it with enough resolution to determine its shape. Over these six decades the spot had been observed to be dimming.[15]

Naming

Tombaugh Regio was first identified in the initial image of Pluto returned after the New Horizons probe recovered from an anomaly that temporarily sent it into safe mode. NASA initially referred to it as a "heart" in reference to its overall shape.[16] On 15 July 2015, the region was named "Tombaugh Regio" by the New Horizons team in honor of astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto, regio being Latin for 'region'.[17] The approval of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) is required before the name "Tombaugh Regio" can become official, but Rita Schulz, chair of the IAU's Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature, has said the group "could approve this name right away, as we have pre-discussed it."[18]

Some people find the feature also resembles the Disney character Pluto, an animated non-anthropomorphic dog which shares the name of the dwarf planet.[19][20][21] The Walt Disney Company acknowledged this perceived likeness in a short animation.[19][22]

Gallery

A 2010 map of Pluto reconstructed from Hubble Space Telescope data. Although it had not yet been named or identified as a distinct feature, Tombaugh Regio is discernible.
A 2010 map of Pluto reconstructed from Hubble Space Telescope data. Although it had not yet been named or identified as a distinct feature, Tombaugh Regio is discernible.
 
The two northern lobes of Tombaugh Regio can be seen to have different compositions in this false-color image
(13 July 2015).
 
Carbon monoxide ice on Pluto (green) is concentrated in Sputnik Planum.
(14 July 2015).
 
Mosaic of left lobe of Tombaugh Regio, showing the young plain Sputnik Planum plus mountains to the south (Norgay Montes) and southwest (Hillary Montes), near the east margin of the older, dark cratered terrain of Cthulhu Regio. 
Pluto – location of Hillary Montes and Norgay Montes
(context; 14 July 2015).
 
Hillary Montes and Norgay Montes
(14 July 2015).[23]
 
Close-up photograph (context) showing polygonal convection cells in the nitrogen ice of Sputnik Planum, the western lobe of Tombaugh Regio
(14 July 2015).
 
Glaciers return nitrogen ice from the eastern, upland, lobe of Tombaugh Regio through valleys into Sputnik Planum on the west (context); red arrows show valley widths, blue arrows an apparent flow front on the planum 
Pluto - map features(context; 14 July 2015).
Pluto - map features
(context; 14 July 2015).
 
Pluto - Tombaugh Regio is prominent near the center of this map, which also gives coordinates. The source of this map is the New Horizons website.
Pluto - Tombaugh Regio is prominent near the center of this map, which also gives coordinates.
The source of this map is the New Horizons website.
 

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Also /ˈtɒmbɔː/

References

  • Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ New data reveals that Pluto's heart is broken. Washington Post. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  3. ↑ Coming today: a close-up of Pluto's heart. New York Times. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  4. ↑ New Horizons spacecraft displays Pluto's big heart. NASA.gov. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Oh, boy! There's no pup more stellar than Pluto. Disney on Twitter. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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