Posted in Astronomy at 12:00 on 25 May 2025
On 18/5/25 and 19/5 25 Astronomy Picture of the Day featured time-lapsed videos of photos of Pluto and Charon taken by the New Horizons spacecraft.
I haven’t embedded the videos as I think they are copyright but the links take you to them.
Stunning stuff.
To think that the first time I posted on the Plutonian system these worlds were mere dots.
Posted in Astronomy at 20:00 on 22 May 2025
A view taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacacraft from above Pluto. From Astronomy Picture of the Day for 15/5/25.
The ice mountains of Norgay Montes on left, with Hillary Montes along the horizon and Sputnik Planum to right. Clouds in the thin atmosphere appear to the top.
Posted in Astronomy at 20:30 on 1 February 2024
From Astronomy Picture of the Day for 28/1/24. Constructed from images sent back by the New Horizons probe, Pluto as it would apear to the naked eye:-
Posted in Astronomy at 20:30 on 20 January 2021
Remember those days when Pluto was just a blip on a photographic plate, then merely a fuzzy set of dots on a Hubble telescope image?
No more.
Astronomy Picture of the Day for 15/1/21 featured this photo taken by the New Horizons probe 15 minutes after its closest approach to the (dwarf) planet when it was 18,000 kilometres away from the surface.
Some of the mountains on show are comparable in height to the highest on Earth but of course they are not composed of rock but most likely of ice. The plains below them may contain solid nitrogen or carbon dioxide.
Also visible above Pluto’s horizon is its tenuous atmosphere.
Posted in Astronomy at 12:00 on 22 September 2019
From Astronomy Picture of the Day, 10/9/19.
Pluto, how it would appear to human eyes. Mostly brown, apparently.
Posted in Astronomy at 17:24 on 10 July 2018
From Astronomy Picture of the Day for 6/7/2018, this is a picture of Pluto’s moon Charon (though which is primary and which satellite when one’s diameter is only twice the other’s is pushing it) taken by the New Horizons probe in its journey through Pluto’s system.
The inset shows the first ever indication of Charon’s existence – a grainy bump on an indistinct photograph from 40 years ago.
Posted in Astronomy at 12:00 on 18 July 2017
Videos made from actual New Horizons footage and digital models of the surfaces of Pluto and Charon are now on You Tube. (I got the steer from the Daily Galaxy.)
Pluto:-
Charon:-
Posted in Astronomy at 20:00 on 11 June 2016
A stunning picture taken by the New Horizons probe of a backlit Pluto showing its hazy but stratified atmosphere appeared on Astronomy Picture of the Day on 9/6/16.
Posted in Astronomy at 20:00 on 23 February 2016
Yet more fruit from NASA’s New Horizon spacecraft’s visit to Pluto.
An astounding video of Pluto’s moon Charon.
From Astronomy Picture of the Day via You Tube:-
Posted in Astronomy at 19:00 on 15 November 2015
From The Daily Galaxy 10/11/15. Pluto has ice volcanoes. (Some sort of false colouring here obviously.)
These two are called Wright Mons and Piccard Mons:-
The ice may be a mixture of water ice, nitrogen, ammonia, or methane.
From Astronomy Picture of the Day 14/11/15 comes this photo of Wright Mons:-
