NASA released an image of first look at blue atmosphere of Pluto in infrared wavelengths that was taken by the New Horizons spacecraft.
Picture was captured in July last year was done with the data matrix New Horizons Ralph / Linear Etalon Imaging Spectral (LEISA) instrument.
In the picture, the sunlight coming from above and behind while New Horizons Pluto was about 180,000 kilometers away.
There is a blue ring around Pluto that is caused by sunlight scattering haze particles common in Pluto’s atmosphere, NASA scientists said.
They believe that the haze is a photochemical smog resulting from the action of sunlight on methane and other molecules, producing a complex mixture of hydrocarbons such as acetylene and ethylene.
These hydrocarbons accumulate in small particles – a fraction of a micron in size – that scatter sunlight to make the blue haze, scientists added.
