alt Hacker NewsFair enough, though how common was that belief that Pluto would look like Triton? Before the first photos from New Horizons pretty much every artistic rendition of Pluto I'd seen was a solid ball of rock and/or ice, more like Ceres than Triton.
Fair enough, though how common was that belief that Pluto would look like Triton? Before the first photos from New Horizons pretty much every artistic rendition of Pluto I'd seen was a solid ball of rock and/or ice, more like Ceres than Triton.
Both were known to be Kuiper Belt objects, so it was expected there would at least be a family resemblance. I don't think anyone expected Pluto to be more active than Triton; that was certainly a surprise.
If there are planetologists reading the thread, I'd love to hear a more authorative perspective than mine!