Pluto
Latest about Pluto
NASA Unveils New Maps of Pluto, Moon Charon for Flyby Anniversary
By Doris Elin Urrutia published
On the two-year anniversary of the New Horizons probe's flyby of Pluto, mission scientists unveiled two detailed global maps of the dwarf planet and its largest moon, Charon.
NASA Pluto Probe's Next Target May Actually Be 'Swarm' of Objects
By Mike Wall published
The frigid, faraway body that NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will zoom by 18 months from now may actually be a cluster of small objects, new observations suggest.
Astronomers Are About to Get a Look at Pluto Probe's Next Flyby Target
By Mike Wall published
New Horizons team members have traveled to Argentina and South Africa to watch the Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69 — the mission's next flyby target — pass in front of a distant star.
How Did Pluto Get Its 'Whale'?
By Megan Gannon published
Some scientists believe Pluto's red "whale"-shaped region is the mark of a giant impact — the same one that produced Pluto's huge moon Charon.
Going Back to Pluto? Scientists to Push for Orbiter Mission
By Mike Wall published
The first up-close look at Pluto was so intriguing that some researchers want to go back and spend a lot more time studying the icy world.
The Mystery of Pluto's Beating Heart
By Paul Sutter published
I don't know about you, but I was shocked when NASA's New Horizons mission sent back its first batch of high-resolution images of the surface of Pluto.
Distant Dwarf Planet DeeDee Stirs Up the Pluto Planethood Debate
By Elizabeth Howell published
Recent observations that a tiny object in our solar system is a likely dwarf planet has some planetary scientists grumbling again about Pluto's demotion to that status.
NASA Pluto Probe Is More Than Halfway to Next Flyby Target
By Mike Wall published
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is now more than halfway from Pluto, which it famously flew past in July 2015, to its next flyby target: a distant object known as 2014 MU69.
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