It is now over two years since New Horizons flew by Pluto and its system of moons. In this relatively brief flyby, the pioneering spacecraft took thousands of photos, some of which I will place down here. These images show some of Pluto’s and Charon’s incredible terrain, as well as some images of Pluto’s surprisingly complex atmosphere. Enjoy!
The border between Plutonian day and night
A myriad of thin layers compose Pluto’s tenuous and thin atmosphere
Another look at Pluto’s beautiful atmosphere, illuminated by the distant Sun
Highly defined canyons and craters appear on Charon’s limb
The icy plains, craters, and grooves on Pluto’s surface
This image shows one of Pluto’s most mountainous regions, including what may be a cryovolcano towards the right (the deep shadow surrounded by a torus of rock and ice). Cryovolcanos are volcanos that release frozen material such as water ice instead of molten rock.
A range of mountains on Pluto
Beautiful dark surface with a slightly hilly terrain on Charon
A great view of the nitrogen cells in the vast field of frozen nitrogen known as Sputnik Planum. These cells are believed to move and submerge over time, erasing any signs of craters. This image also shows the transition between the icy field and the hilly terrain
