Numerical Simulation of Convective Cells (IMAGE)
Caption
Computer simulations show that Pluto's Sputnik Planum is covered with icy, churning, convective "cells" 10-30 miles across, and less than a million years old. The scene above, which is about 100 miles (165 kilometers) across, is part of the highest resolution scan taken by the New Horizons spacecraft. The picture below shows a depth cross-section of what the convection pattern in the nitrogen ice layer might look like, with warmer nitrogen ice (in red) rising to the surface and spreading out, then cooling (in blue) and descending back to the bottom of the layer.
Credit
NASA/JHUAPL/Southwest Research Institute/Washington University
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