For the first time in history, Pluto, a declared dwarf planet in 2006 will take center stage as NASA's New Horizon spacecraft moves closer to it for a fly-by expedition. The team will be observing curious shapes that could reveal the characteristics and composition of Pluto's surface.
The New Horizon, a NASA spacecraft the size of a piano is conducting a flyby which recently has captured a more detailed view of the Pluto. Its recent reported distance from Earth is 3 billion miles and is currently moving closer to Pluto. The photos rendered a clearer view of the icy dwarf planet's four dark spots which were taken from 2.5 million miles away from the New Horizon. An observation from NASA reports that the spots features nearly equal sizes and spacing from each other. The spots have an estimated diameter of 300 hundred miles. At the moment, it's not yet clear if these spots are land features such as plains or plateaus or just variations in brightness. As the New Horizon moves closer to Pluto, a new curious shape will be further explored by NASA.
According to The Market Business, A white heart shaped image on Pluto's surface is observed by NASA as its New Horizon spacecraft gets closer. The image is estimated to be 2,000km across beside a whale-like shadow. Scientists speculate that the bright feature of the image suggests that it could be due to ice. Aside from Pluto's dark spots and white hearts, its moon is also on the spotlight.
Charon, one of Pluto's moons, reveals an image where scientists believe could have a frozen surface that consists of water and ammonia. The image is viewed at 3.7 million miles from Pluto and will be updated with a clearer image at 7,750 miles in a day or two.
Although the photos have significant improvements compared to previous images, people in the science community are still looking forward to a much better view when the New Horizon moves to its closest on the 14th of July.
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