TITLE Page: Image of Pluto constructed from 4 individual

images and has been altered to increase the color contrast.

Sources of data are: NASA/JHU-APL/SWRI, Kelly Beatty, Sky

and Telescope, Nov.2015. For educational use only.

1

Four images from New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were

combined with color data from the Ralph instrument to create this global view of

Pluto. (The lower right edge of Pluto in this view currently lacks high-resolution color

coverage.) The images, taken when the spacecraft was 280,000 miles (450,000

kilometers) away, show features as small as 1.4 miles (2.2 kilometers), twice the

resolution of the single-image view taken on July 13.

2

PLUTO (FALSE COLOR): False color has been added to this image of Pluto. The

bright white oval-shaped feature is Sputnik Planum (Plateau). It is part of the larger

Tombaugh Regio that encompasses the bluish-white regions to the south and south-

east of Sputnik Planum. In earlier, less-detailed images prior to this image, these

bright areas looked like the shape of a heart. The yellowish-brown tinted areas are

thought to be an overlay of organic compounds. The bluish area in the NE and the

purplish brown region in the SW are heavily covered with impact craters.

3

Four images from New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were

combined with color data from the Ralph instrument to create this enhanced color

global view of Pluto. (The lower right edge of Pluto in this view currently lacks high-

resolution color coverage.) The images, taken when the spacecraft was 280,000 miles

(450,000 kilometers) away, show features as small as 1.4 miles (2.2 kilometers). The

geographic grid is preliminary.

.

4

Four images from New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were

combined with color data from the Ralph instrument to create this global view of

Pluto. (The lower right edge of Pluto in this view currently lacks high-resolution color

coverage.) The images, taken when the spacecraft was 280,000 miles (450,000

kilometers) away, show features as small as 1.4 miles (2.2 kilometers), twice the

resolution of the single-image view taken on July 13. .

5

This image contains the initial, informal names being used by the New Horizons team

for the features and regions on the surface of Pluto. Names were selected based on the

input the team received from the Our Pluto naming campaign. Names have not yet

been approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

6

This image contains the initial, informal names being used by the New Horizons team

for the features on Pluto’s Sputnik Planum (plain). Names were selected based on the

input the team received from the naming campaign. Names have not yet been

approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

7

GAZETTEER OF PLANETARY NOMENCLATURE: Recommended planetary

nomenclature prepared by the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature

of the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

8

This synthetic perspective view of Pluto, based on the latest high-resolution images to

be downlinked from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, shows what you would see if

you were approximately 1,100 miles (1,800 kilometers) above Pluto’s equatorial area,

looking northeast over the dark, cratered, informally named Cthulhu Regio toward the

bright, smooth, expanse of icy plains informally called Sputnik Planum. The entire

expanse of terrain seen in this image is 1,100 miles (1,800 kilometers) across. The

images were taken as New Horizons flew past Pluto on July 14, 2015, from a distance

of 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers).

9

Mosaic of high-resolution images of Pluto, sent back from NASA's New Horizons

spacecraft from Sept. 5 to 7, 2015. The image is dominated by the informally-named

icy plain Sputnik Planum, the smooth, bright region across the center. This image also

features a tremendous variety of other landscapes surrounding Sputnik. The smallest

visible features are 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) in size, and the mosaic covers a region

roughly 1,000 miles (1600 kilometers) wide. The image was taken as New Horizons

flew past Pluto on July 14, 2015, from a distance of 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers).

This is a closeup of central Sputnik Planum with adjoining mountainous and heavily

cratered terrain al-Idris Montes and Viking Terra. Baré Montes, Hillary Montes,

Norgay Montes and Zeng He Montes extend above the relatively smooth surface of

Sputnik Planum. A tracery of a faint network of lines under the ice sheet is visible

under the western side. These lines become more visible, near the edge, as irregular

and discrete blocks. Farther west, the debris is deposited on the al-Idris Montes.

10

This 220-mile (350-kilometer) wide view of Pluto from NASA's New Horizons

spacecraft illustrates the incredible diversity of surface reflectivities and geological

landforms on the dwarf planet. The image includes dark, ancient heavily cratered

terrain; bright, smooth geologically young terrain; assembled masses of mountains;

and an enigmatic field of dark, aligned ridges that resemble dunes; its origin is under

debate. The smallest visible features are 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) in size. This image

was taken as New Horizons flew past Pluto on July 14, 2015, from a distance of

50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers).

11

CHAOS REGIO: The distinctive area of broken terrain, al-Idris Montes, is at the

extreme western edge of the relatively smooth Sputnik Planum ice sheet. This

western edge of the Sputnik Planum is fractured into large, presumably, icy blocks

that detach and melt to expose the rugged terrain beneath the former margin of the

ice-sheet. Near the center of the image is a depression that appears to be a former

glacial outflow lake. West of the al-Idris Montes there is the suggestion of a channel

that formed along the former maximum edge of the ice field. This proposed, now

abandoned, channel later filled in with progressibly finer debris which, in turn, formed

small networks of dunes. In the lower-left corner of the image are numerous craters,

some of which are reminiscent of many meteor impacts. This implies that the al-Idris

Montes are much younger than the Viking Terra.

12

This cylindrical projection map of Pluto, in enhanced, extended color, is the most

detailed color map of Pluto ever made. It uses recently returned color imagery from

the New Horizons Ralph camera, which is draped onto a base map of images from the

NASA's spacecraft's Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI). The map can be

zoomed in to reveal exquisite detail with high scientific value. Color variations have

been enhanced to bring out subtle differences. Colors used in this map are the blue,

red, and near-infrared filter channels of the Ralph instrument.

13

Regions with exposed water ice are highlighted in blue in this composite image from

New Horizons' Ralph instrument, combining visible imagery from the Multispectral

Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC) with infrared spectroscopy from the Linear Etalon

Imaging Spectral Array (LEISA). The strongest signatures of water ice occur along

Virgil Fossa, just west of Elliot crater on the left side of the inset image, and also in

Viking Terra near the top of the frame. A major out

also occurs in Baré Montes towards the right of the image, along with numerous much

smaller outcrops, mostly associated with impact craters and valleys between

mountains. The scene is approximately 280 miles (450 kilometers) across. Note that

all surface feature names are informal.

14

Regions with exposed water ice are highlighted in blue in this composite image from

New Horizons' Ralph instrument, combining visible imagery from the Multispectral

Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC) with infrared spectroscopy from the Linear Etalon

Imaging Spectral Array (LEISA). The strongest signatures of water ice occur along

Virgil Fossa, just west of Elliot crater on the left side of the inset image, and also in

Viking Terra near the top of the frame. A major outcrop also occurs in Baré Montes

towards the right of the image, along with numerous much smaller outcrops, mostly

associated with impact craters and valleys between mountains. The scene is

approximately 280 miles (450 kilometers) across. Note that all surface feature names

are informal.

15

Within the circled region of Pluto's Sputnik Planum, New Horizons Ralph instrument

has detected frozen methane, nitrogen, and carbon monoxide.

16

Artist’s concept of the interaction of the solar wind (the supersonic outflow of

electrically charged particles from the Sun) with Pluto’s predominantly nitrogen

atmosphere. Some of the molecules that form the atmosphere have enough energy to

overcome Pluto’s weak gravity and escape into space, where they are ionized by solar

ultraviolet radiation. As the solar wind encounters the obstacle formed by the ions, it

is slowed and diverted (depicted in the red region), possibly forming a shock wave

upstream of Pluto. The ions are “picked up” by the solar wind and carried in its flow

past the dwarf planet to form an ion or plasma tail (blue region). The Solar Wind

around Pluto (SWAP) instrument on the New Horizons spacecraft made the first

measurements of this region of low-energy atmospheric ions shortly after closest

approach on July 14. Such measurements will enable the SWAP team to determine the

rate at which Pluto loses its atmosphere and, in turn, will yield insight into the

evolution of the Pluto’s atmosphere and surface. Also illustrated are the orbits of

Pluto’s five moons and the trajectory of the spacecraft.

17

The Ralph/LEISA infrared spectrometer on NASA's New Horizons spacecraft mapped

compositions across Pluto's surface as it flew past the planet on July 14, 2015. On the

left, a map of methane ice abundance shows striking regional differences, with

stronger methane absorption indicated by the brighter purple colors, and lower

abundances shown in black. Data have only been received so far for the left half of

Pluto’s disk. At right, the methane map is merged with higher-resolution images from

the spacecraft’s Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI).

18

High-resolution images of Pluto taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft just

before closest approach on July 14, 2015, reveal features as small as 270 yards (250

meters) across, from craters to faulted mountain blocks, to the textured surface of the

vast basin informally called Sputnik Planum. Enhanced color has been added from the

global color image. This image is about 330 miles (530 kilometers) across.

19

High-resolution images of Pluto taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft just

before closest approach on July 14, 2015, reveal features as small as 270 yards (250

meters) across, from craters to faulted mountain blocks, to the textured surface of the

vast basin informally called Sputnik Planum. Enhanced color has been added from the

global color image. This image is about 330 miles (530 kilometers) across.

20

High-resolution images of Pluto taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft just

before closest approach on July 14, 2015, reveal features as small as 270 yards (250

meters) across, from craters to faulted mountain blocks, to the textured surface of the

vast basin informally called Sputnik Planum. Enhanced color has been added from the

global color image. This image is about 330 miles (530 kilometers) across.

21

High-resolution images of Pluto taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft just

before closest approach on July 14, 2015, are the sharpest images to date of Pluto's

varied terrain-revealing details down to scales of 270 meters. In this 75-mile (120-

kilometer) section taken from the larger, high-resolution mosaic, the textured surface

of the plain surrounds two isolated ice mountains.

22

In this extended color image of Pluto taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft,

rounded and bizarrely textured mountains, informally named the Tartarus Dorsa, rise

up along Pluto's day-night terminator and show intricate but puzzling patterns of blue-

gray ridges and reddish material in between. This view, roughly 330 miles (530

kilometers) across, combines blue, red and infrared images taken by the

Ralph/Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera (MVIC) on July 14, 2015, and resolves

details and colors on scales as small as 0.8 miles (1.3 kilometers).

23

Two different versions of an image of Pluto's haze layers, taken by New Horizons as it

looked back at Pluto's dark side nearly 16 hours after close approach, from a distance

of 480,000 miles (770,000 kilometers), at a phase angle of 166 degrees. Pluto's north

is at the top, and the sun illuminates Pluto from the upper right. These images are

much higher quality than the digitally compressed images of Pluto's haze downlinked

and released shortly after the July 14 encounter, and allow many new details to be

seen. The left version has had only minor processing, while the right version has been

specially processed to reveal a large number of discrete haze layers in the atmosphere.

In the left version, faint surface details on the narrow sunlit crescent are seen through

the haze in the upper right of Pluto's disk, and subtle parallel streaks in the haze may

be crepuscular rays- shadows cast on the haze by topography such as mountain ranges

on Pluto, similar to the rays sometimes seen in the sky after the sun sets behind

mountains on Earth.

24

Pluto's haze layer shows its blue color in this picture taken by the New Horizons

Ralph/Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC). The high-altitude haze is

thought to be similar in nature to that seen at Saturn’s moon Titan. The source of both

hazes likely involves sunlight-initiated chemical reactions of nitrogen and methane,

leading to relatively small, soot-like particles (called tholins) that grow as they settle

toward the surface. This image was generated by software that combines information

from blue, red and near-infrared images to replicate the color a human eye would

perceive as closely as possible.

25

Image of Pluto's hazes; false-color inset reveals a variety of structures, including two

distinct layers

26

Just 15 minutes after its closest approach to Pluto on July 14, 2015, NASA's New

Horizons spacecraft looked back toward the sun and captured this near-sunset view of

the rugged, icy mountains and flat ice plains extending to Pluto's horizon. The smooth

expanse of the informally named icy plain Sputnik Planum (right) is flanked to the

west (left) by rugged mountains up to 11,000 feet (3,500 meters) high, including the

informally named Norgay Montes in the foreground and Hillary Montes on the

skyline. To the right, east of Sputnik, rougher terrain is cut by apparent glaciers. The

backlighting highlights more than a dozen layers of haze in Pluto’s tenuous but

distended atmosphere. The image was taken from a distance of 11,000 miles (18,000

kilometers) to Pluto; the scene is 780 miles (1,250 kilometers) wide.

27

In this small section of the larger crescent image of Pluto, taken by NASA's New

Horizons just 15 minutes after the spacecraft's closest approach on July 14, 2015, the

setting sun illuminates a fog or near-surface haze, which is cut by the parallel shadows

of many local hills and small mountains. The image was taken from a distance of

11,000 miles (18,000 kilometers), and the width of the image is 115 miles (185

kilometers).

28

NASA's New Horizons captured this high-resolution enhanced color view of Charon

just before closest approach on July 14, 2015. The image combines blue, red and

infrared images taken by the spacecraft's Ralph/Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera

(MVIC); the colors are processed to best highlight the variation of surface properties

across Charon. Charon's color palette is not as diverse as Pluto's; most striking is the

reddish north (top) polar region, informally named Mordor Macula. Charon is 754

miles (1,214 kilometers) across; this image resolves details as small as 1.8 miles (2.9

kilometers).

29

High-resolution images of Charon were taken by the Long Range Reconnaissance

Imager (LORRI) on NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, shortly before closest

approach on July 14, 2015, and overlaid with enhanced color from the

Ralph/Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera (MVIC). Charon's cratered uplands at the

top are broken by series of canyons, and replaced on the bottom by the rolling plains

of the informally named Vulcan Planum. The scene covers Charon’s width of 754

miles (1,214 kilometers) and resolves details as small as 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers).

30

Pluto and Charon are shown in a composite of natural-color images from New

Horizons. Images from the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were

combined with color data from the Ralph instrument to produce these views, which

portray Pluto and Charon as an observer riding on the spacecraft would see them. The

images were acquired on July 13 and 14, 2015

31

A composite of enhanced color images of Pluto (lower right) and Charon (upper left),

taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft as it passed through the Pluto system on

July 14, 2015. This image highlights the striking differences between Pluto and

Charon. The color and brightness of both Pluto and Charon have been processed

identically to allow direct comparison of their surface properties, and to highlight the

similarity between Charon's polar red terrain and Pluto's equatorial red terrain. Pluto

and Charon are shown with approximately correct relative sizes, but their true

separation is not to scale. The image combines blue, red and infrared images taken by

the spacecraft's Ralph/Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera (MVIC).

32