Baret Montes

Baret Montes
Feature typeMountain range
LocationWestern Sputnik Planitia, Pluto
Coordinates14°36′N 157°48′E / 14.600°N 157.800°E / 14.600; 157.800
DiscovererNew Horizons
EponymJeanne Baret

Baret Montes is a chain of mountains on the surface of the dwarf planet Pluto. It is located near the western border of Sputnik Planitia in Tombaugh Regio. These mountains were first viewed by the New Horizons spacecraft. It features large ridges that are formed by the compression of methane and water ice.[1]

The mountains are named after Jeanne Baret, a French explorer and first woman to have completed a circumnavigation voyage of the globe.[2][3] The New Horizons team suggested this name in 2015, and it was officially approved by the International Astronomical Union in April 2018.

  1. ^ Ahrens, C.J.; Chevrier, V.F. (17 December 2019). "Compressional Ridges on Baret Montes, Pluto as Observed by New Horizons". Geophysical Research Letters. 46 (24): 14328–14335. Bibcode:2019GeoRL..4614328A. doi:10.1029/2019GL085648. S2CID 214290449. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Baret Montes". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.
  3. ^ "Name Approved for Feature on Pluto: Baret Montes". USGS.