Pluto and Charon as never seen before

July 15, 2015 Stephen Clark

A spectacular sampling of imagery from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft reveals mountains and water ice bedrock on Pluto, an active crust on its largest moon Charon and the first resolved views of the icy world’s tiny mini-moons.

A snapshot of Pluto shows fresh deposits of water ice bedrock and 11,000-foot mountains, revealing evidence Pluto's surface is one of the youngest in the solar system. Photo credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI
A snapshot of Pluto shows fresh deposits of water ice bedrock and 11,000-foot mountains, revealing evidence Pluto’s surface is one of the youngest in the solar system. Photo credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI
New Horizons found few craters on the surface of Pluto's Texas-sized moon Charon, evidence of recent geologic activity. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI
New Horizons found few craters on the surface of Pluto’s Texas-sized moon Charon, evidence of recent geologic activity. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI
Tuesday's New Horizons flyby revealed Pluto's tiny moon Hydra. The first resolved image of the object shows it to be 28 miles long and 19 miles in diameter, and better images are to come. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI
Tuesday’s New Horizons flyby revealed Pluto’s tiny moon Hydra. The first resolved image of the object shows it to be 28 miles long and 19 miles in diameter, and better images are to come. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI

Email the author.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

Related Articles

News

New Horizons gets ‘all clear’ for Pluto flyby

July 2, 2015 William Harwood

After an exhaustive search for heretofore unseen rings, small moons or other space debris, senior managers have concluded that NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, hurtling toward a July 14 flyby of Pluto at more than 30,000 mph, can safely stay on its current course without undue fears of a mission-ending impact.