A full-colour closeup of what is thought to be the largest volcano on Pluto — and in the outer solar system — has been beamed back to Earth by the New Horizons spacecraft.
The suspected ice volcano, or "cryovolcano," has been nicknamed Wright Mons after the brothers who were the first to successfully fly a powered aircraft.
The mountain is 150 kilometres wide and four kilometres high (about two-thirds the height of Mount Logan, the tallest peak in Canada).
The image shows the volcano has only one impact crater on its surface. That suggests the surface was created rather recently, not allowing much time for meteors to hit it and leave more craters.
"This in turn may indicate that Wright Mons was volcanically active late in Pluto's history," says a NASA statement.
Wright Mons is one of two suspected volcanoes on Pluto's surface spotted by the cameras on the New Horizons spacecraft last July 14, when it made the first ever flyby of Pluto and its moons. The spacecraft is still gradually sending back images and data captured during the flyby.
This image shows the location of Wright Mons on Pluto's surface. The suspected ice volcano, or "cryovolcano," is nicknamed Wright Mons after the brothers who were the first to successfully fly a powered aircraft. ( NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI)
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