Space & Astronomy

Pluto is covered in woodworm-like holes

By T.K. Randall
October 20, 2015

Image: New Horizons Photograph of Pluto (2015)
Credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute / (PD) The latest series of photographs from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has revealed that parts of Pluto's surface are covered in vast numbers of holes that have no obvious explanation.

The pits, which are only a few meters wide and up to tens of meters deep, may have been caused by sublimation - the process through which a solid turns in to a gas without going through a liquid stage - however the distribution of the holes continues to prove mysterious.The lack of craters on Pluto and the fact that the surface is being constantly refreshed by new layers of ice makes the presence of these peculiar pits even more strange.

#Pluto, weird in a good way? What's behind those puzzling patterns and pits? http://t.co/uZlVQeeVJm pic.twitter.com/2jxJRXQl8M

— NASA New Horizons (@NASANewHorizons) October 16, 2015

"Pluto is weird, in a good way," said New Horizons project scientist Hal Weaver.

"The pits, and the way they're aligned, provide clues about the ice flow and the exchange of volatiles between the surface and atmosphere, and the science team is working hard to understand what physical processes are at play here."

Source: Discovery News

Tags: Pluto, New Horizons