Astrometry Request for TNO Observers
Following the successful exploration of the Pluto system and the classical TNO Arrokoth, new spacecraft mission concepts are being studied to again target dwarf planets and minor bodies of the […]
Tag Archives: Pluto
Methane Frosts Atop the Equatorial Mountains of Pluto
In 2015, the Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) instrument onboard the New Horizons spacecraft revealed bright, methane-rich frosts atop 3.5-kilometer-high mountains in the Cthulu region of Pluto. These methane-rich frosts possess […]
Pluto Got Off to a Hot Start
While the surface of Pluto is frigid today, its formation was likely to have been a hot, violent affair, according to a new study led by Carver Bierson of the […]
Pluto’s Chaotic Mountain Blocks May Have Slid Into Place
The western edge of Pluto’s Sputnik Planitia is home to a dramatic range of chaotic, fragmentary mountain blocks that rise more than a kilometer above the nitrogen ice plains that […]
Keeping It Cool in Pluto’s Haze
The New Horizons spacecraft discovered that the temperature of Pluto’s atmosphere is much lower than the previous estimates. The cooling mechanism is still a mystery, although modeling by Xi Zhang […]
DPS: Future Pluto and Kuiper Belt Missions Workshop
Sunday, 3:30 pm at DPS Provo, Battle Creek Room Interested DPS members please join us Sunday, October 15th, from 3:30-5:30 pm for a focused workshop on future missions to the […]
AGU Session 24786: Pluto and Charon in the Rear View, MU69 Dead Ahead off the Starboard Bow
We invite submissions across a broad range of topics: New Horizons’ July 2015 encounter with the Pluto system revolutionized our understanding of dwarf planets and the Kuiper belt. Data return […]
AGU Session 24786: Pluto and Charon in the Rear View, MU69 Dead Ahead off the Starboard Bow (P032)
We invite submissions across a broad range of topics: New Horizons’ July 2015 encounter with the Pluto system revolutionized our understanding of dwarf planets and the Kuiper belt. Data return only ended […]
GSA 2016 SESSION T164: GEOLOGY OF THE PLUTO SYSTEM
We invite contributions to a special session on the geology of Pluto, its large moon Charon, and the smaller satellites Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra, at the 2016 GSA Annual […]
ICARUS SPECIAL ISSUE ON THE PLUTO SYSTEM IN THE NEW HORIZONS ERA
A special issue of Icarus brings together papers about Pluto system science. In 2015, NASA’s New Horizons mission conducted the first ever reconnaissance of the Pluto system. Partly fueled by this flyby, […]
A Full View of Pluto’s Stunning Crescent
In September, the New Horizons team released a stunning but incomplete image of Pluto’s crescent. Thanks to new processing work by the science team, New Horizons is releasing the entire, […]
New Horizons Publishes First Research Paper in ‘Science,’ Describing Numerous Pluto System Findings
From Pluto’s unusual heart-shaped region to its extended atmosphere and intriguing moons, New Horizons has revealed a degree of diversity and complexity in the Pluto system that few expected in […]
Pluto’s Big Moon Charon Reveals a Colorful and Violent History
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has returned the best color and the highest resolution images yet of Pluto’s largest moon, Charon – and these pictures show a surprisingly complex and violent […]
From Mountains to Moons: Multiple Discoveries from NASA’s New Horizons Pluto Mission
Icy mountains on Pluto and a new, crisp view of its largest moon, Charon, are among the several discoveries announced Wednesday by NASA’s New Horizons team, just one day after […]
NASA’s New Horizons ‘Phones Home’ Safe after Pluto Flyby
The call everyone was waiting for is in. NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft phoned home just before 9 p.m. EDT Tuesday to tell the mission team and the world it had […]
NASA’s Three-Billion-Mile Journey to Pluto Reaches Historic Encounter
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is at Pluto. After a decade-long journey through our solar system, New Horizons made its closest approach to Pluto Tuesday, about 7,750 miles above the surface […]
NASA Missions Have Their Eyes Peeled on Pluto
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is speeding towards the edge of our solar system for a July 14 flyby of Pluto. It won’t be making observations alone; NASA’s fleet of observatories […]
Pluto Toolkit
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is fast approaching its close-up flyby of dwarf planet Pluto, 4.67 billion miles (7.5 billion kilometers) from Earth. Closest approach is on 14 July 2015. Use […]
New Custom Tool Lets You Experience ‘Pluto Time’
Just how dim is the sunlight on Pluto, some three billion miles away? While sunlight is much weaker than it is here on Earth, it isn’t as dark as you might […]
NASA’s Hubble Finds Pluto’s Moons Tumbling in Absolute Chaos
If you lived on one of Pluto’s moons, you might have a hard time determining when, or from which direction, the sun will rise each day. Comprehensive analysis of data […]