Astrophysicists discovered that Pluto's heart-shaped feature, Tombaugh Regio, was formed by an ancient oblique-angle impact.
Astrophysicists from the University of Bern, NCCR PlanetS, and the University of Arizona have solved the mystery of Pluto's heart-shaped feature. They found that the region, named Tombaugh Regio, was formed by an ancient, slow oblique-angle impact. This discovery answers years of questions about the strange shape and geological composition of the dwarf planet's surface, as seen in detail during the 2015 New Horizons flyby.
April 15, 2024
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