NASA shares informative post about Pluto, says 'we’re having a Pluto party'

“We’re having a Pluto party, we didn’t even planet,” said NASA wittily while sharing an informative post about Pluto as the International Astronomical Union’s planetary criteria stopped considering the celestial body as a planet. Sharing two images of Pluto that were captured by NASA Solar System New Horizons spacecraft six years ago and “made history with the first up-close exploration of the Pluto and its largest moon, Charon.” One of the images showed a “rainbow of pale blues, yellows, oranges and deep reds that make up Pluto’s Surface, evidence of a complex history scientists have only begun to decode.”

Meanwhile, another, as NASA explained, showcased, “Pluto's blue haze, a high-altitude layer that likely involves sunlight initiating chemical reactions of nitrogen and methane and leading to small soot-like particles that settle towards the surface.” The United States space agency also gave details about Pluto saying, “Famously petite, Pluto is about 5.5 times smaller than Earth. Side by side, both Pluto and Charon would barely span the United States. Charon, with a diameter of 753 miles, is the largest moon relative to its parent planet – Pluto has a diameter of 1,477 miles.”

NASA Releases Image Of ‘Phobos’

Earlier, NASA shared an intriguing picture of Mars moon that appears like a potato. The image, captured by the powerful HiRISE camera is of Phobos, the largest of Mars two raggedy moons. While sharing the picture on Instagram, the US space agency stated that the picture was taken aboard its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft, about 6,800 kilometres(4,225 miles) above the surface.  In the caption, NASA said, “You say potato, we say Mars Moon.⁣”

Further elaborating on the same, the US space agency wrote, “Taken from 6,800 kilometers (4,225 miles) above the surface, the image shows a pockmarked celestial body with a large impact basin called Stickney crater. The grooves seen along its side could be the result of tidal forces – the mutual gravitational pull of the planet and the moon.”

“Scientists have calculated that tiny Phobos is nearing Mars at a rate of 1.8 meters (6 feet) every century, meaning it will either crash into the planet in 50 million years or break up into a ring of debris.,” it added.

IMAGE: @NASA/Instagram