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Most detailed images yet of Pluto revealed

NASA releases first flyby pictures of dwarf planet.

December 11, 2015 at 11:36PM

The latest two full-frame images of Pluto and Charon were collected separately by New Horizons during approach on July 13 and July 14, 2015. The relative reflecivity, size, separation and orientations of Pluto and Charon are approximated in this composite image, and they are shown in approximate true color. (NASA) (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

WASHINGTON – After months of enjoying increasingly detailed images of Pluto, we've finally reached the peak: the most detailed images acquired by New Horizons during its July flyby of the distant dwarf planet. As it's unlikely that another Pluto-centric mission will occur anytime soon, we can basically assume that these are the most detailed images many of us will ever see of the alien world.

The Pluto flyby was arguably the scientific highlight of 2015. In a way, it's fitting that these highest resolution images are coming in just as the year is coming to a close.

The new images have resolutions of about 250-280 feet per pixel, which amounts to features the size of half a city block. We've gone from seeing Pluto as a distant, smudgy blur of light to seeing details a few hundred feet in size.

Planetary scientists still have to analyze all of this information to figure out what kind of world Pluto really is — and how it got to be that way. While the year of waiting for better and better views of Pluto has come to an end, our exploration of the dwarf planet is still in its infancy.

WASHINGTON POST

Images from New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager were combined with color data for sharp views of Pluto and moon Charon, top left. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Four images from New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were combined with color data from the Ralph instrument to create this sharper global view of Pluto. The images were taken when the spacecraft was 280,000 miles away and show features as small as 1.4 miles. (NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI) (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Backlit by the sun, Pluto's atmosphere rings its silhouette like a luminous halo in this image taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft around midnight EDT on July 15. This global portrait of the atmosphere was captured when the spacecraft was about 1.25 million miles from Pluto and shows structures as small as 12 miles across. (NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI) (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Four images from New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were combined with color data from the Ralph instrument to create this enhanced color global view of Pluto. The images were taken when the spacecraft was 280,000 miles away and show features as small as 1.4 miles. (NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI) (The Minnesota Star Tribune)