Sputnik Planitia

Sputnik Planitia
New Horizons mosaic of the Sputnik Planitia basin
Feature typePlanitia, impact basin[1]
LocationTombaugh Regio, Pluto
Coordinates20°N 180°E / 20°N 180°E / 20; 180[2]
Diameter1492 km
~1300 km basin diameter[3]
Surface area~5 278 000 km2[a]
Dimensions1400 km × 1200 km[3][b]
DiscovererNew Horizons
EponymSputnik 1 satellite

Sputnik Planitia /ˈspʌtnɪk pləˈnɪʃiə, ˈspʊt-/ (formerly Sputnik Planum)[4] is a large, partially glaciated basin on Pluto. About 1,400 by 1,200 km (870 by 750 mi) in size,[3] Sputnik Planitia is partially submerged in large, bright glaciers of nitrogen ice. Named after Earth's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, it constitutes the western lobe of the heart-shaped Tombaugh Regio. Sputnik Planitia lies mostly in the northern hemisphere, but extends across the equator. Much of it has a surface of irregular polygons separated by troughs, interpreted as convection cells in the relatively soft nitrogen ice. The polygons average about 33 km (21 mi) across.[5] In some cases troughs are populated by blocky mountains or hills, or contain darker material.[6] There appear to be windstreaks on the surface with evidence of sublimation.[7][8] The dark streaks are a few kilometers long and all aligned in the same direction.[6] The planitia also contains pits apparently formed by sublimation.[6] No craters were detectable by New Horizons, implying a surface less than 10 million years old.[9] Modeling sublimation pit formation yields a surface age estimate of 180000+90000
−40000 years.[10] Near the northwest margin is a field of transverse dunes (perpendicular to the windstreaks), spaced about 0.4 to 1 km apart, that are thought to be composed of 200-300 μm diameter particles of methane ice derived from the nearby Al-Idrisi Montes.[11][12]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference LPSC2017McKinnon was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Sputnik Planitia". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  3. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference McGovern2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference DPS/EPSC update was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pluto updates was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference fp was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference JH-20150718 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference NASA-20150717-video was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Marchis2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference LPSC2017Buhler was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Telfer2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hayes2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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