New Horizons' Results: Flowing Ice, Haze, and Mysterious Plains on Pluto

A little more than a week after the intrepid New Horizons made its brief but historic rendezvous with our solar system's favorite dwarf planet, NASA is already revealing some stunning images and data from Pluto's surface. Now, NASA experts are saying that the protoplanet is more exciting and more mysterious than they ever expected.

"We knew that a mission to Pluto would bring some surprises, and now -- 10 days after closest approach -- we can say that our expectation has been more than surpassed," John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement on Friday (July 24). "With flowing ices, exotic surface chemistry, mountain ranges, and vast haze, Pluto is showing a diversity of planetary geology that is truly thrilling."

The Highest Haze

Interestingly, one of the most stunning images captured by New Horizons was not taken when the spacecraft was closest to Pluto. Instead, the below photo was taken seven hours after the fly-by, when New Horizons aimed its Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) back at Pluto, capturing sunlight streaming through the atmosphere. This silhouetted shot revealed stunning hazes ringing the terrestrial world that reach up to 80 miles high (130 km). (Scroll to read on...)

This could explain the uncharacteristically smooth nature of the Sputnik Planum, but it's a theory that can only be confirmed after higher-resolution and stereo images from New Horizons' digital recorders get into the hands of GGI scientists. This crucial information is due to be sent back to Earth for review sometime early next year.

"With the flyby in the rearview mirror, a decade-long journey to Pluto is over --but, the science payoff is only beginning," said Jim Green, director of Planetary Science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Data from New Horizons will continue to fuel discovery for years to come."

"We've only scratched the surface of our Pluto exploration," Stern added, "but it already seems clear to me that in the initial reconnaissance of the solar system, the best was saved for last."

For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

- follow Brian on Twitter @BS_ButNoBS