Pluto now has a mountain range dubbed ‘Hillary Montes’ in honour of the Kiwi Mountain explorer Sir Edmund Hillary. The newly-discovered mountain range stands 1600m above surrounding landmasses, which is relatively small in comparison to the elevation of Mount Everest of 8900m.
For many years Pluto has been referred to as the Everest of planetary expiration, so it is fitting that the mountain range is named after the Kiwi-Legend. While the mountain range has formally be named the ‘Hillary Montes’, it will informally be called the Hillary and Norgay mountains. This gives reference to Tenzing Norgay, who was the other climber alongside Hillary to first make it to the top of Earth’s highest Mountain.
NASA has recently revealed the latest photos they have taken of Pluto, which highlights swirl-snapped patterns of light and dark on the planet. These suggest that a surface layer of exotic ices has flowed around obstacles and into depressions, much like glaciers on Earth.
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