New Horizons Detects Methane on Pluto’s Surface
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has detected frozen methane on Pluto’s surface. Yes, there is methane on Pluto, and, no, it doesn’t come from cows. The…
Pluto
SOFIA Telescope Preparing for Pluto’s Occultation
The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy will attempt to view the dwarf planet Pluto as it passes in front of a distant star. The Stratosphere…
New Pluto Images from New Horizons
As NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft speeds closer to the Pluto system new images of Pluto are emerging, giving a better view of Pluto’s surface features….
Hubble Reveals That Two of Pluto’s Moons Wobble Unpredictably
New research provides important constraints on the sequence of events that led to the formation of the Pluto system, revealing the resonant interactions and chaotic…
New Horizons Photographs Pluto’s Faintest Known Moons for the First Time
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has photographed Kerberos and Styx – the smallest and faintest of Pluto’s five known moons. It’s a complete Pluto family photo…
Surface Features Detected on Pluto, Possible Polar Cap
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has detected surface features on Pluto, revealing bright and dark regions on the surface. The images were captured in early to…
New Horizons Spacecraft Views Pluto and Charon Rotation
These new images from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft show one complete rotation of Pluto and its largest moon Charon. This series of New Horizons images…
NASA’s New Horizons Nears Historic Encounter with Pluto
In just three months, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft will capture the first-ever close up images and scientific observations of Pluto and its system of large…
New Horizons Spots Small Moons Orbiting Pluto
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft views Pluto’s moons Nix and Hydra as it continues on its journey toward the dwarf planet. Exactly 85 years after Clyde…
New Horizons Returns New Images of Pluto
Headed towards Pluto, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has captured this new image of Pluto and its moon Charon. NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft returned its first…
New Horizons Begins First Stages of Pluto Encounter
After a voyage of more than 3 billion miles, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is ready to begin exploring Pluto. NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft recently began…
New Horizons Spacecraft Awakens for Encounter with Pluto System
After nearly nine years and three billion miles, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has come out of hibernation for its long-awaited 2015 encounter with the Pluto…
Planetary Scientists Debate: Is Pluto a Planet?
The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics held a new debate to discuss the planetary status of Pluto. Cambridge, Massachusetts – What is a planet? For generations…
New ScienceCast Video Previews What New Horizons May See on Pluto
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is only a year away from Pluto. This new ScienceCast video previews what researchers may see when the spacecraft makes its…
Cracks in Pluto’s Moon Charon Could Reveal That it Once Had an Underground Ocean
A new model will help reveal the evolution of Pluto’s moon Charon by predicting different fracture patterns on the surface of Charon depending on the…
The Formation of Pluto and Its Moons
A newly published study looks at the formation of Pluto and its low-mass satellites, finding Pluto and Charon formed from particles that coalesced together in…
New ScienceCast Video – Countdown to Pluto
A new ScienceCast video details what NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft might find when it reaches Pluto next January. One of the fastest spacecraft ever built…
Kerberos and Styx Accepted by IAU as Names for Pluto’s Fourth and Fifth Moon
Kerberos and Styx have been official recognized as the names for the fourth and fifth moons of Pluto. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is announcing…