Descriptions of Pluto's features

The NASA photo accompanying the article

In my last post I wrote about New Horizons website, with news and material related to the Pluto flyby this summer. Now I want to focus on a specific article from the website as an example of how these texts can be used for the type of descriptive language that engineering students would find useful.

I've chosen the article, New Horizons Finds Second Mountain Range in Pluto's 'Heart'.

Link:  http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/News-Article.php?page=20150721-2

This article provides information about the mountain range and compares it to the larger mountain range that has been named The Norgay Montes. Here is an excerpt from the article that compares the size of the two ranges:

"These newly-discovered frozen peaks are estimated to be one-half mile to one mile (1-1.5 kilometers) high, about the same height as the United States' Appalachian Mountains. The Norgay Montes (Norgay Mountains) discovered by New Horizons on July 15 more closely approximate the height of the taller Rocky Mountains."

There are many comparisons made in the article to describe the mountains' features, even though it is not very long (308 words). Students can notice how this is done in order to use this language in their own writing and presentations. Here are some examples:

Descriptions with adjectives, adverbs, comparatives, etc.:

• a new, apparently less lofty mountain range
• the bright, heart-shaped region
• newly-discovered frozen peaks
• (they) more closely approximate the height of
• the remarkably well-defined topography
• a pronounced difference in texture
• the younger, frozen plains
• the dark heavily-cratered terrain
• a complex interaction going on between the bright and the dark materials
• relatively young
• perhaps less than 100 million years old
• the bright sediment-like material
• as small as a half-mile (1 kilometer) across

Descriptions of location, size:

• the lower-left edge of 
• (are) one-half mile to one mile (1-1.5 kilometers) high
• about the same height as
• (they) approximate the height of the taller Rocky Mountains
• just west of the region within Pluto's heart
• (they) lie some 68 miles (110 kilometers) northwest of
• along the western edge of
• to the east / to the west
• probably dates back billions of years
• the bright circular feature to the lower left of center
• from a distance of 48,000 miles (77,000 kilometers)

In addition to this wealth of useful vocabulary, there are some grammar points that could also be useful. For example, even though most of the text is in the simple present tense, there are some uses of the simple past, present perfect and present progressive that nicely illustrate how these tenses are used. There are also examples of both active and passive voice, and direct and indirect speech. For example:

Contrast simple past tense with present perfect tense:

• NASA's New Horizons mission has discovered a new ...
• The Norgay Montes discovered by New Horizons on July 15 ...

Contrast simple present tense with present progressive tense:

• This newest image further illustrates the remarkably well-defined topography ...
• ... a complex interaction ... that we're still trying to understand.

Contrast active voice with passive voice:

• NASA's New Horizons mission has discovered a new ...
• The Norgay Montes discovered by New Horizons ...
• While Sputnik Planum is believed to be relatively young ...

Contrast direct speech with indirect speech:

• "There is a pronounced difference between ...," said Jeff Moore.
• Moore notes that the bright, ...

Since this language work is part of an extremely interesting article about a topic my students want to know more about, it seems an ideal way to combine topic and language study.

Check out the New Horizons website for more material that can be used this way.

The link: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/