Hopefully you’ve all seen the amazing new images of Pluto taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, but based on these new images of Charon, I think Pluto needs to share the celestial stage.
Step 1: Go check out these new images (Pluto and Charon, Charon alone). Step 2: Enlarge them to full resolution and explore. Step 3: Drop your jaw in awe.
Charon looks like half its surface has been chipped off, like a damaged Gobstopper or Jawbreaker. Some process or other is responsible for the strikingly different terrain in one hemisphere versus another and WE HAVE NO IDEA what it is. Well, we have some theories, including ice volcanoes. The outer solar system is truly a different beast.
Step 4: Fly over Charon’s ginormous canyon and ponder on what we might discover next.
Here’s some more geek from the week:
- Parasites are in danger and we need to save them. Well some of them at least.
- What do beer and wasps have in common? Yeast! Forget witches brew, wasp brew is the next new thing.
- Some bats have tongues that act like pumps. [VIDEO]
- FiveThirtyEight has done a statistical analysis of the paintings of Bob Ross. SPOILER: 91% have a least one tree.
- For all your procrastination needs, there is now an atlas of businesses in the U.S. with punny names. You’re welcome.
- King Tut’s tomb may still have more secrets to reveal.
- The science of binge watching, or how Netflix knows when you are hooked.
- If you like math puzzles, this one is an 80-year-old doozy!
- Portraits of Isaac Newton and James Jeans in death at the Royal Society in London. [VIDEO]
- One day we may be able to colonize Mars, but should we?
- Speaking of Mars, if you want the full (and I mean FULL) low-down on NASA’s recent announcement of evidence for liquid water, check out this excellent piece by Emily Lakdawalla at The Planetary Society.
Keep on geeking!
@Summer_Ash, In-house Astrophysicist
Summer Ash