Pluto

The Pluto Probe Went Into Safe Mode, And We Don’t Know Why

The New Horizons spacecraft is rapidly soaring closer to Pluto for our first flyby of the distant almost-planet. But something went wrong on Saturday afternoon, knocking the probe out of communication for over an hour. Now we’re back in touch and trying to figure out what happened. The facts so far are sparse: the New…

New Horizons Shows Off New Color Faces of Pluto

New Horizons is just days away from Pluto, and it’s beaming back some incredible images. In the latest set, the probe has shown us that the dwarf planet has two distinct hemispheres, along with some new detail on the darker spots. Scientists have yet to see anything quite like the dark spots; their presence has…

What Are the Strange Spots on These Brand New Images of Pluto?

New color images acquired by NASA’s New Horizon’s spacecraft show us Pluto as we’ve never seen it before—and on its surface appear to be a series of giant spots that scientists can not yet explain. NASA researchers have identified a series of spots along the dwarf planet’s equator. Each one is about 300 miles across…

New Horizons Has Detected Methane on Pluto

With less than two weeks to go before its historic flyby, the Ralph instrument aboard the New Horizons spacecraft has confirmed the presence of frozen methane on Pluto—something scientists first detected as far back as 1976. Above: A raw, unprocessed image of Pluto as seen by New Horizons’s LORRI on June 29 at a distance…

There’s a Dark “Anti-Polar Cap” on Pluto’s Moon Charon

The latest batch of pics from the New Horizons spacecraft has revealed a previously unseen surface feature on Charon, a prominent dark splotch located at one of its poles. The new image of Charon was captured on June 18 at a distance of 31,500,000 miles (50,700,000 km). It shows significant surface details, including the mysterious…

This Teaser For The New Horizons Mission Will Give You Goosebumps

It’s been almost ten years since NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft embarked for the Pluto system. Next month, it will finally arrive. The National Space Society commissioned the video above in anticipation of the spacecraft’s historic flyby. Are you all excited yet? Because we’re excited. Contact the author at [email protected] and @rtg0nzalez.

This Is The Best Image Of Pluto And Charon Ever Taken

Taken June 9th from New Horizons, at a distance of 42 million kilometers, this is the best picture we’ve got to date of Pluto and its moon, Charon. Image credit: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI / Emily Lakdawalla

Is That A Massive Stripe Streaking Across Pluto’s Surface?

The latest image of Pluto taken by the New Horizons spacecraft may have yielded the dwarf planet’s first prominent surface feature — a dark diagonal stripe that stretches from one side to the other. New Horizons took these two images 15 seconds apart on June 6 at a distance of 45.8 million kilometers. The images…

Here’s Why The New Horizons Spacecraft Won’t Be Stopping At Pluto

In less than five weeks, New Horizons will zip past the Pluto-Charon system in a brief but historic encounter. Given the huge interest in Pluto, it’s fair to ask: Why won’t mission planners let the probe hang out a while? Above: Our first glimpse of Pluto and Charon in color (Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied…

New NASA Tool Helps You Imagine a Day on Pluto

Pluto is billions of miles away, and it took NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft nine years to get close. None of us will ever stand on the dwarf planet’s distance surface, but now, there’s a new NASA tool that’s bringing a little bit of Pluto back to the Blue Marble. Artist’s concept of Pluto’s frosty surface.…

New Details Emerge About Pluto’s Bizarre Family Of Moons

Analysis of Hubble data shows that two — and possibly all four — of the Pluto-Charon system’s smallest moons are wobbling in a wildly unpredictable fashion. What’s more, one moon, Kerberos, appears to exhibit a dark charcoal-like surface that’s radically distinct from other Plutonian moons. Above: Computer animation showing the chaotic tumbling of Nix. The…

New Horizon’s Latest Pluto Pics Reveal A Complex And Varied Surface

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has traveled 20 million miles (32 million kilometers) since it last beamed back images of Pluto. The latest set of photos hint at a complicated and high-contrast surface — including more evidence in support of the theory that the dwarf planet features a bright polar cap. These images were taken at…

Pluto Can Become A Full-Fledged Planet—But Only With Stellar Dance Moves

Now this is one of the sillier takes we’ve seen on Pluto’s journey from planet to dwarf planet, but it’s also pretty adorable. In the short film Stellar Moves: The Story of Pluto, Pluto is a young man who wants to join the popular dancers known as the Planets, but he’s going to need some…

As New Horizons Approaches, Pluto’s Surface Features Come Into Focus

New Horizons is still 70-million miles (113-million km) from Pluto, but the spacecraft starting to see some surface features on the dwarf planet, including a possible ice cap at its pole. Earlier this month, New Horizons beamed back the first true-color image of Pluto. Now, the spacecraft’s onboard equipment is beginning to resolve actual surface…

Astronomical Knolling our Favourite Way to Organize Objects in Space

What happens when a planetary scientist has a love for order? He creates code that sorts everything from our solar system’s moons to exoplanets into graceful spirals where every object is slightly smaller than the one before. Astronomical knolling is my new favourite way to contemplate the vast scale of space. Planetary scientist Alex Parker…

Our First Glimpse of Pluto And Charon In Color

These two blobs may not look like much, but it’s a watershed moment for the New Horizons mission. It’s the first color photo of Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, taken by an approaching spacecraft. Taken on April 9 from a distance of 71-million miles, it’s a teaser of things to come. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins…

New Horizons’ First Color Photo of Pluto Is One Awe-Inspiring Blur

So that’s Pluto and its Texas-sized moon, Charon from a distance of about 71 million miles. Not a bad shot all things considered. But the New Horizons probe, on its way closer right now, will be upping its photo-taking game in July. Then we’ll get to see some actual surface features. [NASA] Image by NASA/Johns…

Here’s Your Opportunity To Help Name The Features Of Pluto And Charon

In July, New Horizons will pay a visit to Pluto and Charon. The historic flyby is expected to reveal surface features of these objects in extraordinary detail. Now, NASA and the SETI Institute, along with the International Astronomical Union, want your help naming these features. Image: Artist impression of Pluto and Charon (NASA/New Horizons/SETI Institute)…

After Pluto, Where Will NASA’s New Horizons Go?

Scientists are mulling over which of two icy bodies NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft should visit following its Pluto encounter this summer — provided the U.S. space agency comes up with funding for an extended mission. Image credit: NASA The New Horizons team ended up having to turn to the Hubble Space Telescope to find Kuiper…

If you include its atmosphere, Pluto is larger than Earth. Michael Simons at New Horizonsexplains how this can be.