Smudges on images could be clouds that form at dawn and dusk, scientists report, and measurements of high reflectivity of Pluto’s “heart” add new evidence of a geologically young surface.
New Horizons
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World Without Time
On New Year's Day 2019, a spacecraft known for its historic flyby of Pluto will take an unprecedented look into the distant past by flying right up to a frozen remnant of the original solar system.
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Pluto: In the Icebox but Maybe Still Cookin'
New evidence of ice volcanoes and of middle-aged terrains on Pluto's surface suggests that the dwarf planet has remained geologically active ever since it first formed billions of years ago.
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New Spin on Pluto's Moons
Strangely speedy rotation rates of Pluto's tiny orbiting companions show up in a trove of images taken as the New Horizons spacecraft approached the dwarf planet last spring and early summer.
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Pluto Is Just the Beginning
Pluto is the most distant object visited by a spacecraft, yet exploration of the Solar System is far from complete.
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Pluto Image Shows First Picture of Its Atmosphere
Scientists are amazed by new images that show Pluto's atmosphere and diverse geology.
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Pluto's Moons Nix and Hydra Show Their Faces
When the New Horizons spacecraft photographed Pluto last week, it snapped the most revealing images yet of two little-known moons of the dwarf planet.
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New Pluto Image Reveals Young Icy Plain
The mottled plain offers additional evidence that Pluto's surface is geologically young—and possibly still active.
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Long-Traveled Spacecraft Buzzes Pluto in Close Flyby
Successful flyby of Pluto completes the first era of planetary reconnaissance, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden says.
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Pluto-Bound Spacecraft Crosses Orbit of Neptune
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, which is en route to explore Pluto and its planetary system in 2015, crossed the orbit of Neptune on 25 August.