Scottsdale 7/14/2015 7:26:13 PM
News / Science & Technology

NASA Spacecraft Takes Images of Pluto on Historic Flyby

NASA has released an image of Pluto taken by the New Horizons spacecraft. The spacecraft was launched in 2006 and passed by Jupiter in 2007 on it’s way to Pluto.The image was captured when the spacecraft was approximately 476,000 miles from Pluto, showing the planet in great detail. There is a feature on planet called the “heart,” and measures about 1,000 miles across and features dark, mottled and complex terrains.

The flyby also give scientists more of an insight into the solar system’s Kuiper Belt, which can help give scientists a more clear picture of how the solar system was formed.

"The exploration of Pluto and its moons by New Horizons represents the capstone event to 50 years of planetary exploration by NASA and the United States," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.

The New Horizons spacecraft it set to return in October of 2016, where all of the data will then be transmitted and reviewed.

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