Hillary Montes

The Hillary Montes /ˈhɪləri ˈmɒntiːz/ or /ˈmɒnteɪz/ (less officially, Hillary Mountains) are mountains that reach 3.5 km (2.2 mi; 11,000 ft) above the surface of the dwarf planet Pluto.[1] They are located northwest of Tenzing Montes in the southwest border area of Sputnik Planitia in the south of Tombaugh Regio (or the part of Tombaugh Regio south of the equator).[2][3] The Hillary Montes were first viewed by the New Horizons spacecraft on 14 July 2015, and announced by NASA on 24 July 2015.[4]

Hillary Montes
The Hillary Montes as viewed by New Horizons on 14 July 2015
LocationTombaugh Regio, Pluto
Coordinates5°N 170°E
Peak3.5±0.4 km (2.2±0.2 mi)[1]
EponymEdmund Hillary

Naming

The mountains are named after Sir Edmund Hillary,[5][6] New Zealand mountaineer, who, along with Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer, Tenzing Norgay, were the first climbers to reach the summit of the highest peak on Earth, Mount Everest, on 29 May 1953.[7] On 7 September 2017, the name Hillary Montes was officially approved together with the names of Tombaugh Regio and twelve other nearby surface features.[8]

Relative size

The Hillary Montes rise to 3.5 km (2.2 mi; 11,000 ft) high from base to peak,[1] about half as high as the Tenzing Montes. The Hillary Montes are similar in height to that of the peak of Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan, above sea level.

Pluto - Norgay Montes (left foreground); Hillary Montes (skyline); Sputnik Planitia (right)
Near-sunset view includes several layers of atmospheric haze.

Videos
Pluto flyover (July 14, 2015)
(00:30; released September 18, 2015)
(00:50; released December 5, 2015)

See also

Notes

    References
    1. Schenk, P. M.; Beyer, R. A.; McKinnon, W. B.; Moore, J. M.; Spencer, J. R.; White, O. L.; Singer, K.; Nimmo, F.; Thomason, C.; Lauer, T. R.; Robbins, S.; Umurhan, O. M.; Grundy, W. M.; Stern, S. A.; Weaver, H. A.; Young, L. A.; Smith, K. E.; Olkin, C. (2018). "Basins, fractures and volcanoes: Global cartography and topography of Pluto from New Horizons". Icarus. 314: 400–433. Bibcode:2018Icar..314..400S. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2018.06.008.
    2. Gipson, Lillian (24 July 2015). "New Horizons Discovers Flowing Ices on Pluto". NASA. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
    3. Messier, Doug (24 July 2015). "Fly Over Pluto's Icy Plains & Hillary Mountains". Parabolicarc.com. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
    4. Staff (17 July 2015). "NASA - Video (01:20) - Animated Flyover of Pluto's Icy Mountain and Plains". NASA & YouTube. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
    5. Staff (25 July 2015). "Pluto mountain range named after Sir Edmund Hillary". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
    6. Staff (24 July 2015). "NASA names Pluto's mountains after Sir Edmund Hillary". Television New Zealand. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
    7. Pokhrel, Rajan (19 July 2015). "Nepal's mountaineering fraternity happy over Pluto mountains named after Tenzing Norgay Sherpa - Nepal's First Landmark In The Solar System". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
    8. "Pluto Features Given First Official Names". NASA. 7 September 2017.
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