New Horizons takes new images of Pluto
Posted: Thu, Feb 5, 2015, 6:15 AM ET (1115 GMT)
NASA released Wednesday new images of Pluto and its largest moon taken by the New Horizons missions, the first from the spacecraft since it began the encounter phase of its mission. The images, taken in late January by the spacecraft's Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) instrument, are the best images to date taken by the spacecraft. Pluto is resolved in the LORRI images, but shows little detail; by May, though, the spacecraft will be providing images with resolutions better than the Hubble Space Telescope as it closes in on the dwarf planet. The spacecraft, launched in 2006, will fly past Pluto in mid-July. NASA and the New Horizons team released the images Wednesday on the 109th anniversary of the birth of Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930.
NASA released Wednesday new images of Pluto and its largest moon taken by the New Horizons missions, the first from the spacecraft since it began the encounter phase of its mission. The images, taken in late January by the spacecraft's Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) instrument, are the best images to date taken by the spacecraft. Pluto is resolved in the LORRI images, but shows little detail; by May, though, the spacecraft will be providing images with resolutions better than the Hubble Space Telescope as it closes in on the dwarf planet. The spacecraft, launched in 2006, will fly past Pluto in mid-July. NASA and the New Horizons team released the images Wednesday on the 109th anniversary of the birth of Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Friday, April 25
Boeing reports progress on containing Starliner costs
Space News — 5:52 am ET (0952 GMT) Katalyst Space acquires Atomos to accelerate in-space services
Space News — 5:51 am ET (0951 GMT) Okapi raises 13 million euros to expand space traffic management suite
Space News — 5:51 am ET (0951 GMT) Hidden and hampered: elevating the Office of Commercial Space Transportation
Space News — 5:51 am ET (0951 GMT) Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft arrives at Tiangong space station
Space News — 5:51 am ET (0951 GMT) |
