Darkness on a Dwarf Planet | Space Wallpaper

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Darkness on a Dwarf Planet
It may have lost its status as a planet, but Pluto still offers much to space explorers. (Image credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins Univ./APL, Southwest Research Institute)

The New Horizons spacecraft snapped this image of Pluto's dark side in July of 2015. The Sun is behind the dwarf planet, casting an eerie illumination, spotlighting Pluto's unexpected and yet breathtaking atmosphere. Pluto resides in the Kuiper belt at the edge of our solar system. [Learn more about the dwarf planet.]

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Space.com Staff
Space.com Staff
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Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.