In Pluto's early years, an object around 400 miles wide crashed into it at an unusual angle, resulting in this surface feature.
Pluto is famous for its big, heart-shaped surface feature, Tombaugh Regio. Ever since its discovery, it has become an iconic symbol representing the dwarf planet in popular culture, cartoon representations, space discussions, and more.After years of extensive research, an international team of astrophysicists has uncovered the most likely explanation behind its mysterious formation: an ancient collision.
To recreate the formation of this peculiar heart-shaped feature, researchers took the help of computer simulations using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics software. They discovered a series of simulations that produced a near match, demonstrating that the surface characteristic resulted from “a giant and slow oblique-angle impact.”
“The bright appearance of Sputnik Planitia is due to it being predominantly filled with white nitrogen ice that moves and convects to constantly smooth out the surface. This nitrogen most likely accumulated quickly after the impact due to the lower altitude,” explained Harry Ballantyne, the lead author from the University of Bern.
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