Photos of Pluto and Its Moons

New Horizons Close View of Charon

NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

New Horizons provides unprecedented details of Pluto's moon, Charon, as presented in a NASA press conference on July 15, 2015, at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland.

Methane on Pluto

NASA TV

New Horizons' Ralph instrument using the LEISA spectrometer obtained information about the distribution of methane on Pluto, as presented in a NASA press conference on July 15, 2015, at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland.

Hydra Revealed

NASA TV

For the first time, New Horizons revealed the shape and size of Pluto's moon, Hydra, as presented in a NASA press conference on July 15, 2015, at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland.

July 13, 2015, New Horizons Image of Pluto

NASA/APL/SwRI

New Horizons spacecraft took this image of Pluto on July 13, 2015, at a distance of 476,000 miles (768,000 kilometers) from the surface. The color image uses lower-resolution color information from the Ralph instrument acquired earlier on July 13.

Pluto's Size Determined

NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI

NASA’s New Horizons mission provided data measuring Pluto at 1,473 miles (2,370 kilometers) in diameter. Pluto's moon Charon is at left. Image obtained July 11, 2015.

Pluto, July 12, 2015

NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI

New Horizons captured this photo of Pluto on July 12, 2015 from a distance of 1.6 million miles (2.5 million kilometers).

Charon, July 12, 2015

NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI

New Horizons spacecraft captured Pluto's moon, Charon, on July 12 from a distance of 1.6 million miles (2.5 million kilometers).

Charon's Craters and Chasms (Annotated)

NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI

Annotated version of the Charon image captured by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft on July 11, 2015.

Pluto and Charon compared to Earth

NASA

Graphic showing how Pluto and Charon would appear if placed slightly above Earth's surface and viewed from a great distance. Recent measurements by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft reveal indicate that Pluto has a diameter of 2370 kilometers, 18.5 percent that of Earth, while Charon has a diameter of 1208 km, 9.5 percent that of Earth.

Charon's Craters and Chasms

NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI

This photo of Charon, taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft on July 11, 2015, highlights the big Pluto moon’s intriguing dark polar cap and shows probable craters and canyons as well.

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