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05/14/2024 08:58:50 am

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Scientists Create Best Map of Neptune’s Moon Triton

Triton

(Photo : NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lunar & Planetary Institute) Neptune's moon Triton is seen in new detail in this still from a NASA animation showing the best map yet of the moon.

A scientist has constructed the most detailed color map of Neptune's largest moon, Triton, using footage taken by NASA's probe on August 25, 1989, reports said.

The map was developed by Paul Schenk of Houston's Lunar and Planetary Institute after restoring images captured by the Voyager 2 spacecraft during its flight past the Neptune system 25 years ago.

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The new Triton map has also been used to make a movie of the historic encounter, which was the only time a spacecraft ever visited Neptune, according to astronomy news website space.com.

"I think we have forgotten how exotic and strange Triton is," Schenk wrote in a blog post on Thursday.

Schenk produced the map from images attained in the clear, green, blue and orange filters. Photometric adjustment was also done for each image to correct shading due to surface curvatures.

In addition, colors have been enhanced to emphasize contrast but still show Triton as what human eyes would see it, according to NASA.

The result was a smooth map which shows uniform shading and accurate color and brightness representations with a resolution of 1,970 feet (600 meters), detailed Schenk.

The scientist's production of the new map was inspired by the anticipation of NASA's New Horizons visit to Pluto, set on July 24, 2015.

The Triton encounter was approximately similar to the upcoming Pluto encounter by the speed and duration. New Horizons will fly by Pluto system at 11 kilometers per second while Voyager 2 hit 25 kilometers per second at Triton. Also, both bodies rotate rather slowly at six days.

"What will we see at Pluto?" Schenk wrote in his blog.

Triton is of importance as it gives clues to what Pluto's geologic features might look like, provided that the icy crusts of both bodies are presumed to react in similar ways.

We are definitely in for a suspenseful summer next year, Schenk concluded.

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