A NASA, the United States space agency, has published in recent days an image of colored pluto with the colors of the rainbow, which is a dwarf planet that is part of the Solar System. The objective is to show the complexity of the surface of the planet.
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The images published by the space agency were captured by scientists from the New Horizons operation, launched in January 2006 to study Pluto, its moons and other space beings belonging to the Kuiper Belt.
The New Horizons spacecraft flew over the surface of the dwarf planet for six months in 2015. However, to date, the probe continues to explore this distant part of the Solar System.
NASA's idea in publishing the images in psychedelic colors, in reference to a rainbow, is to show the different areas of the planet. The subtle differences between the colors consist of the different regions of Pluto.
By publishing the image of Pluto on a social network, the agency describes the complexity of the planet's surface and claims that it is composed of mountains reminiscent of Europe, with several sculpted valleys and craters that share space with icy plains and dunes formed by the action of the wind.
For NASA, the main idea in coloring the planet record is to show the public how studying and learning about Pluto can be tricky because its surface has subtle differences.
Many of us learned in school that the Solar System was made up of 9 planets. However, in August 2006, the International Astronomical Union downgraded Pluto to the status of a dwarf planet.
For the organ, a planet must meet three criteria to be classified as a normal planet. They are: orbiting around the sun, having enough mass to keep itself in balance and being the main celestial body around it, known by scientists as gravitationally dominant.
In the case of Pluto, there is not the last feature, that is, around it there are other bodies of similar size. Therefore, it is not the dominant celestial body. Thus, because it lacks such a feature, the International Astronomical Union categorizes the planet as a dwarf.