The Methane Dunes of Pluto

The images shared by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) revealed that the surface of Pluto was not static, but had an active structure. Sputnik Planum on the surface was interpreted as a sand dune by the researchers. The geological structure of the planet is reminiscent of the deserts of the Earth because the atmosphere layer of Pluto is similar to that of Earth.

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These images were obtained by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft. New Horizons had traveled in the Solar System for 10 years and in 2015, it reached 58,536 km by Pluto.

According to the researchers, the sand dunes occurred near the glacial mountains up to 5 km high. These dunes are made up of frozen methane particles. It was determined that the dunes were 400 meters-1000 meters between the dunes and the winds of 10 m / s in the atmosphere were effective in the formation of the dunes. In the formation of winds, it was understood that the downward air currents and gaseous solids between the mountains were effective.

According to the researchers, solving the mysteries of Pluto can shed light on questions that cannot be answered about the universe. It is emphasized that there is an ever-changing structure where the formations at the end or outside of the Solar System do not consist of icebergs.

There may be planets with similar geographic features as the Earth.