{"id":11338,"date":"2015-09-10T16:59:38","date_gmt":"2015-09-10T20:59:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=11338"},"modified":"2015-09-10T17:12:14","modified_gmt":"2015-09-10T21:12:14","slug":"new-horizons-new-images-now-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=11338","title":{"rendered":"New Horizons: New images now online"},"content":{"rendered":"

It will take over a year to download all the images and scientific data collected when the New Horizons<\/a> probe flew past the Pluto system. The mission team recently began\u00a0downloading imagery again from the probe after a period of focusing on instrumentation data. Several new pictures have been posted in\u00a0the\u00a0Science Photos Gallery<\/a>.\u00a0Here are some examples (click on the images for larger versions):\u00a0New Pluto Images from NASA\u2019s New Horizons: It\u2019s Complicated –\u00a0NASA<\/a><\/p>\n

Pluto’s Haze<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Composite-Haze-Image-9-10-15[1]\"<\/a>
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.<\/figcaption><\/figure>—<\/p>\n

Pluto in Twilight<\/a><\/p>\n

\"twilight-9-10-15[1]\"<\/a>
This image of Pluto from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, processed in two different ways, shows how Pluto’s bright, high-altitude atmospheric haze produces a twilight that softly illuminates the surface before sunrise and after sunset, allowing the sensitive cameras on New Horizons to see details in nighttime regions that would otherwise be invisible. The right-hand version of the image has been greatly brightened to bring out faint details of rugged haze-lit topography beyond Pluto\u2019s terminator, which is the line separating day and night. The image was taken as New Horizons flew past Pluto on July 14, 2015, from a distance of 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers).<\/figcaption><\/figure>—<\/p>\n

Charon’s Complexity<\/a><\/p>\n

\"charon-9-10-15[1]\"<\/a>
This image of Pluto’s largest moon Charon, taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft 10 hours before its closest approach to Pluto on July 14, 2015 from a distance of 290,000 miles (470,000 kilometers), is a recently downlinked, much higher quality version of a Charon image released on July 15. Charon, which is 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) in diameter, displays a surprisingly complex geological history, including tectonic fracturing; relatively smooth, fractured plains in the lower right; several enigmatic mountains surrounded by sunken terrain features on the right side; and heavily cratered regions in the center and upper left portion of the disk. There are also complex reflectivity patterns on Charon\u2019s surface, including bright and dark crater rays, and the conspicuous dark north polar region at the top of the image. The smallest visible features are 2.9 miles 4.6 kilometers) in size<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(See also\u00a0New Horizons Probes the Mystery of Charon\u2019s Red Pole –\u00a0Pluto New Horizons<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Looking Over Pluto<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Spherical-Mosaic-9-10-15[1]\"<\/a>
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\u2019s 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).<\/figcaption><\/figure>—<\/p>\n

Surface Variety<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Surface-Features-Callouts-9-10-15[1]\"<\/a>
Mosaic of high-resolution images of Pluto, transmitted by 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 (1,600 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). The two white rectangles show the locations of the two closeup views by New Horizons, released separately.<\/figcaption><\/figure>The areas in the rectangles can be seen in more detail at\u00a0Chaos Region<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Dark Areas<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It will take over a year to download all the images and scientific data collected when the New Horizons probe flew past the Pluto system. The mission team recently began\u00a0downloading imagery again from the probe after a period of focusing on instrumentation data. Several new pictures have been posted in\u00a0the\u00a0Science Photos Gallery.\u00a0Here are some examples … Continue reading New Horizons: New images now online<\/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],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pluto","category-space-science"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-2WS","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10956,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10956","url_meta":{"origin":11338,"position":0},"title":"New Horizons: Misc. resources, websites, etc.","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The next few days will be extremely busy and exciting for the New Horizons\u00a0team. However, images and data from the closest approach on Tuesday won't start being transmitted back to earth till \u00a0Wednesday. The probe must focus all its attention on the planet during the fly-by. You can follow the\u00a0latest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pluto and beyond"","block_context":{"text":"Pluto and beyond","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=97"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/DaElspuqbUA\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10950,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10950","url_meta":{"origin":11338,"position":1},"title":"New Horizons: Pluto by Moonlight + Images + Videos: Daily briefing + History + In Focus","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are several items related to\u00a0the New Horizons Pluto fly-by mission: *\u00a0Pluto by Moonlight\u00a0- An article about the dark south polar region of Pluto *\u00a0New Horizons SOC\u00a0- gallery of images from the New Horizons probe. * July 11th Daily Briefing: https:\/\/youtu.be\/oywH-z6nTTQ *\u00a0How Pluto Was Discovered - Space Pod 07\/10\/15 https:\/\/youtu.be\/WA1WY3O4mpM\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pluto and beyond"","block_context":{"text":"Pluto and beyond","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=97"},"img":{"alt_text":"Image converted using ifftoany","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/moonlit1-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10906,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10906","url_meta":{"origin":11338,"position":2},"title":"New images of Pluto from the New Horizons spacecraft","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"New images of Pluto taken by the\u00a0New Horizons\u00a0probe have just been released: Latest Images of Pluto from New Horizons These are the most recent high-resolution views of Pluto sent by NASA\u2019s New Horizons spacecraft, including one showing the four mysterious dark spots on Pluto that have captured the imagination of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pluto and beyond"","block_context":{"text":"Pluto and beyond","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=97"},"img":{"alt_text":"nh-pluto-bw-series-7-6-2015[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/nh-pluto-bw-series-7-6-20151.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8506,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=8506","url_meta":{"origin":11338,"position":3},"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. 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