 Annotated map of the surface features of Pluto as viewed byNew Horizons. Luna Linea is in the far left side of the map. | |
| Feature type | Dark linear feature |
|---|---|
| Location | Anti-encounter hemisphere,Pluto |
| Coordinates | 19°53′N22°47′E / 19.88°N 22.78°E /19.88; 22.78[1] |
| Length | ~220 km[1][a] |
| Discoverer | New Horizons |
| Eponym | Luna program, first spacecraft to visit theMoon |
Luna Linea is a dark linear feature (linea) on thedwarf planetPluto. It was discovered by theNew Horizons craft in July 2015 and named after theLuna program, a Soviet space exploration program that was the first to visit theMoon. The name was officially approved by theInternational Astronomical Union (IAU) on 11 April 2023.[1]
As Luna Linea was located on the opposite hemisphere (referred to as thefar side oranti-encounter hemisphere) of Pluto whenNew Horizons was at closest approach, it was not imaged in detail. Nevertheless, Luna Linea is located in a region with several other linear dark features, includingChandrayaan Linea andYutu Linea. The concentration of these linear features on Pluto's far side may relate to the ridge-trough system (RTS), a massive band of tectonized terrain which extends north to south across much of Pluto's encounter hemisphere. However, the alignment of Luna Linea and the other lineae does not appear to support this. Alternatively, the dark lineae may represent a region of disrupted terrain that formed due to theimpact event which createdSputnik Planitia, as seismic energy from the impact may have concentrated at Sputnik Planitia'santipode, fracturing Pluto's crust. Luna Linea may be an eastern outlier of this antipodal terrain, or it may have formed by unrelated means.[2]
| Geography (features) |
|    | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moons | ||||||||||||||
| Exploration | ||||||||||||||
| Astronomy |
| |||||||||||||
| Related | ||||||||||||||
 | This article about an extraterrestrial geological feature is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |