{"id":10933,"date":"2015-07-10T11:38:09","date_gmt":"2015-07-10T15:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10933"},"modified":"2015-07-10T11:38:09","modified_gmt":"2015-07-10T15:38:09","slug":"new-horizons-best-image-yet-of-pluto-and-its-moon-charon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10933","title":{"rendered":"New Horizons: Best image yet of Pluto and its moon Charon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pluto and Charon are coming into focus as New Horizons<\/a>‘ probe nears fly-by. Here are the latest and sharpest images so far:<\/p>\n

Pluto and Charon: New Horizons’ Dynamic Duo<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

They’re a fascinating pair: Two icy worlds, spinning around their common center of gravity like a pair of figure skaters clasping hands. Scientists believe they were shaped by a cosmic collision billions of years ago, and yet, in many ways, they seem more like strangers than siblings.<\/p>\n

\"pluto_charon_150709[1]\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Dynamic Duo –\u00a0July 9, 2015<\/a>:\u00a0New Horizons was about 3.7 million miles (6 million kilometers) from Pluto and Charon when it snapped this portrait late on July 8, 2015. Most of the bright features around Pluto’s edge are a result of image processing, but the bright sliver below the dark “whale,” which is also visible in unprocessed images, is real. Credit: NASA\/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory\/Southwest Research Institute
\n(Click for larger image<\/a>.)<\/em><\/div>\n

A high-contrast array of bright and dark features covers Pluto’s surface, while on Charon, only a dark polar region interrupts a generally more uniform light gray terrain. The reddish materials that color Pluto are absent on Charon. Pluto has a significant atmosphere; Charon does not. On Pluto, exotic ices like frozen nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide have been found, while Charon’s surface is made of frozen water and ammonia compounds. The interior of Pluto is mostly rock, while Charon contains equal measures of rock and water ice.<\/p>\n

\"pluto_charon_150709_color_final[1]\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Dynamic Duo, in Color –\u00a0July 9, 2015<\/a>:\u00a0This is the same image of Pluto and Charon from July 8, 2015; color information obtained earlier in the mission from the Ralph instrument has been added. Credit: NASA\/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory\/Southwest Research Institute. (Click for larger image<\/a>.)<\/em><\/div>\n

“These two objects have been together for billions of years, in the same orbit, but they are totally different,” said Principal Investigator Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), Boulder, Colorado.<\/p>\n

\"pluto_150709[1]\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Pluto, up Close\u00a0–\u00a0July 9, 2015<\/a>:\u00a0Image of Pluto from the New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), July 8, 2015. Most of the bright features around Pluto’s edge are a result of image processing, but the bright sliver below the dark “whale,” which is also visible in unprocessed images, is real. Credit: NASA\/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory\/Southwest Research Institute<\/em><\/div>\n

Charon is about 750 miles (1200 kilometers) across, about half the diameter of Pluto\u2014making it the solar system’s largest moon relative to its planet. Its smaller size and lower surface contrast have made it harder for New Horizons to capture its surface features from afar, but the latest, closer images of Charon’s surface show intriguing fine details.<\/p>\n

\"charon_150709[1]\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Charon, Up Close\u00a0–\u00a0July 9, 2015<\/a>:\u00a0Image of Charon from the New Horizons\u2019 Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), July 8, 2015. Credit: NASA\/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory\/Southwest Research Institute<\/em><\/div>\n

Newly revealed are brighter areas on Charon that members of the mission’s Geology, Geophysics and Imaging team (GGI) suspect might be impact craters. If so, the scientists would put them to good use. “If we see impact craters on Charon, it will help us see what’s hidden beneath the surface,” said GGI leader Jeff Moore of NASA’s Ames Research Center. “Large craters can excavate material from several miles down and reveal the composition of the interior.”<\/p>\n

In short, said GGI deputy team leader John Spencer of SwRI, “Charon is now emerging as its own world. Its personality is beginning to really reveal itself.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pluto and Charon are coming into focus as New Horizons‘ probe nears fly-by. Here are the latest and sharpest images so far: Pluto and Charon: New Horizons’ Dynamic Duo They’re a fascinating pair: Two icy worlds, spinning around their common center of gravity like a pair of figure skaters clasping hands. Scientists believe they were … Continue reading New Horizons: Best image yet of Pluto and its moon Charon<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,13,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pluto","category-space-science","category-space-systems"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-2Ql","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10809,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10809","url_meta":{"origin":10933,"position":0},"title":"First color animated images of Pluto and its moon Charon","author":"TopSpacer","date":"June 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0New Horizons\u00a0spacecraft approaching Pluto sends some color images of Pluto and its moon Charon: First Color Animated Images Show Pluto and its Moon Charon The first color movies from NASA\u2019s New Horizons mission show Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, and the complex orbital dance of the two bodies, known\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pluto and beyond"","block_context":{"text":"Pluto and beyond","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=97"},"img":{"alt_text":"loop_final[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/loop_final1.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10983,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10983","url_meta":{"origin":10933,"position":1},"title":"New Horizons: False colors bring out features in Pluto & Charon","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The colors are not authentic but the images are still interesting and pretty: Pluto and Charon Shine in False Color New Horizons Composition Team Uses July 13 Data to Study Pluto\u2019s Puzzling Surface New Horizons has obtained impressive new images of Pluto and its large moon Charon that highlight their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pluto and beyond"","block_context":{"text":"Pluto and beyond","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=97"},"img":{"alt_text":"nh-071315_falsecolorcomposite[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/nh-071315_falsecolorcomposite1-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8506,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=8506","url_meta":{"origin":10933,"position":2},"title":"New Horizons probe sees Charon orbiting Pluto","author":"TopSpacer","date":"August 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0\u00a0New Horizons\u00a0spacecraft is steadily closing in on Pluto as it heads for a fly-by next July. The spacecraft can now distinguish Pluto from its moon Charon with its long range camera. New Horizons Spies Charon Orbiting Pluto Pluto and Charon dance in this sequence of images taken over 6 days.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Multiple media"","block_context":{"text":"Multiple media","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=36"},"img":{"alt_text":"PR_E12_proper_nosat_3fps","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/PR_E12_proper_nosat_3fps.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9847,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=9847","url_meta":{"origin":10933,"position":3},"title":"New Horizons returns new images of Pluto","author":"TopSpacer","date":"February 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The New Horizons spacecraft moves ever closer to Pluto and to its fly-by this summer. 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