New Horizons Team Releases New Images And Science Findings At July 17 Briefing

The New Horizons science team released new images and science findings at today's July 17 mission briefing which was carried live on NASA TV. Below are the images that were released along with captions. We will write follow up articles over the next few days to provide more details about each new image and findings.

In the center left of the vast heart-shaped feature on Pluto – informally named “Tombaugh Regio” - lies a vast, craterless plain that appears to be no more than 100 million years old, and is possibly still being shaped by geologic processes. This frozen region is north of the icy mountains on Pluto and has been informally named Sputnik Planum (Sputnik Plain), after Earth’s first artificial satellite. The surface appears to be divided into irregularly-shaped segments that are ringed by narrow troughs. Features that appear to be groups of mounds and fields of small pits are also visible. This image was acquired by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on July 14 from a distance of 48,000 miles (77,000 kilometers). Features as small as one-half mile (1 kilometer) across are visible. The blocky appearance of some features is due to compression of the image. Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI

This annotated view of a portion of Sputnik Planum (Sputnik Plain), named for the first artificial satellite, shows an array of enigmatic features. The surface appears to be divided into irregularly shaped segments that are ringed by narrow troughs, some of which contain darker materials. Features that appear to be groups of mounds and fields of small pits are also visible. This image was acquired by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on July 14 from a distance of 48,000 miles (77,000 kilometers). Features as small as a half-mile (1 kilometer) across are visible. The blocky appearance of some features is due to compression of the image. Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI

Video Caption (above): This simulated flyover of Pluto’s Norgay Montes (Norgay Mountains) and Sputnik Planum (Sputnik Plain) was created from New Horizons closest-approach images. Norgay Montes have been informally named for Tenzing Norgay, one of the first two humans to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Sputnik Planum is informally named for Earth’s first artificial satellite. The images were acquired by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on July 14 from a distance of 48,000 miles (77,000 kilometers). Features as small as a half-mile (1 kilometer) across are visible. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI

Video caption (above): In the center left of Pluto’s vast heart-shaped feature – informally named “Tombaugh Regio” - lies a vast, craterless plain that appears to be no more than 100 million years old, and is possibly still being shaped by geologic processes. This frozen region is north of Pluto’s icy mountains and has been informally named Sputnik Planum (Sputnik Plain), after Earth’s first artificial satellite.

Peering closely at the heart of Pluto, in the western half of what mission scientists have informally named Tombaugh Regio - Tombaugh Region - New Horizons Ralph instrument revealed evidence of carbon monoxide ice. The contours indicate that the concentration of frozen carbon monoxide increases towards the center of the bulls eye. These data were acquired by the spacecraft on July 14 and transmitted to Earth on July 16. Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI

Homing in on the small satellite Nix, New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager captured this image, which shows features as small as 4 miles or 6 kilometers across. Mission scientists believe we are looking at one end of an elongated body about 25 miles or 40 kilometers in diameter. The image was acquired on July 13 from a distance of about 360,000 miles or 590,000 kilometers. Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI

Artist concept of the interaction of the solar wind (the supersonic outflow of electrically charged particles from the Sun) with the predominantly nitrogen atmosphere of Pluto. Some of the molecules that form the atmosphere have enough energy to overcome the weak gravity of Pluto and escape into space, where they are ionized by solar ultraviolet radiation. As the solar wind encounters the obstacle formed by the ions, it is slowed and diverted (depicted in the red region), possibly forming a shock wave upstream of Pluto. The ions are “picked up” by the solar wind and carried in its flow past the dwarf planet to form an ion or plasma tail (blue region). The Solar Wind around Pluto (SWAP) instrument on the New Horizons spacecraft made the first measurements of this region of low-energy atmospheric ions shortly after closest approach on July 14. Such measurements will enable the SWAP team to determine the rate at which Pluto loses its atmosphere and, in turn, will yield insight into the evolution of the atmosphere of Pluto and surface. Also illustrated are the orbits of the five moons of Pluto and the trajectory of the spacecraft. Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI

Video caption (above): This animation shows how the count rate observed by New Horizons’ Alice instrument decreases as Pluto’s atmosphere passes in front of the sun. The decreasing count rate is due to the ultraviolet sunlight having to pass through progressively larger amounts of the atmosphere as the spacecraft line of sight gets closer to Pluto. The observed count rates are compared with predictions based on two plausible models of Pluto’s atmosphere: a “turbulent” case, where the expected count rate is relatively large, due to small amounts of sunlight-absorbing hydrocarbons in the lower atmosphere, and a “stagnant” case, where much larger hydrocarbon abundances are predicted. The preliminary count rate data from Alice are matched by neither model, but are closer to the stagnant case. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

This figure shows how the Alice instrument count rate changed over time during the sunset and sunrise observations. The count rate is largest when the line of sight to the sun is outside of the atmosphere at the start and end times. Molecular nitrogen (N2) starts absorbing sunlight in the upper reaches of Pluto’s atmosphere, decreasing as the spacecraft approaches the planet’s shadow. As the occultation progresses, atmospheric methane and hydrocarbons can also absorb the sunlight and further decrease the count rate. When the spacecraft is totally in Pluto’s shadow the count rate goes to zero. As the spacecraft emerges from Pluto’s shadow into sunrise, the process is reversed. By plotting the observed count rate in the reverse time direction, it is seen that the atmospheres on opposite sides of Pluto are nearly identical. Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI

This figure shows the locations of the sunset and sunrise solar occultations observed by the Alice instrument on the New Horizons spacecraft. The sunset occultation occurred just south of the “heart” region of Pluto, from a range of 30,120 miles (48,200 km), while the sunrise occurred just north of the "whale tail", from a range of 35,650 miles (57,000 km). Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI

For the original Pluto press release, click here.