Tenzing Montes


The Tenzing Montes are icy mountains near the Hillary Montes that reach up to above the surface of the dwarf planet Pluto, bordering the southwest region of Sputnik Planitia in the south of Tombaugh Regio. They are the highest mountain range on Pluto, and also the steepest, with a mean slope of 19.2 degrees.

Naming

The mountains, first viewed by the New Horizons spacecraft on 14 July 2015, and announced by NASA on 15 July 2015, are named after the Nepalese mountaineer Tenzing Norgay, who, along with Sir Edmund Hillary, made the first successful ascent of the highest peak on Earth, Mount Everest. The mountains were informally called Norgay Montes by the New Horizons team, but that name was later changed from Norgay to Tenzing. On 7 September 2017, the name Tenzing Montes was officially approved together with the names of Tombaugh Regio and twelve other nearby surface features.

Highest peaks

Several massifs within Tenzing Montes reach elevations of more than 4 km above the surrounding terrain. The table below is based on Table 3 in.
Name of rangePeak nameLocationHeight
Tenzing Montes"T2"
Tenzing Montes"T1"
Tenzing Montes"T3"
Tenzing Montes"T4"
Tenzing Montes "T1 1"
Tenzing Montes "T1 2"

The Tenzing Montes rise up to high, about twice as high as the Hillary Montes. In comparison, Mount Everest rises Mount Everest#Comparisons| base-to-peak.

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