Pluto

Latest about Pluto

This high-resolution image captured by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft combines blue, red and infrared images to show a bright expanse on Pluto known as Sputnik Planum, which has been found to be rich in nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane ices.
An icy supervolcano on Pluto may have erupted millions of years ago, leaving a massive crater on the frozen world.

By Nola Taylor Tillman Published

The caldera may have blasted out its cryomagma in a single explosive event, or it may have spread its eruptions over time.

Pluto
Is Pluto a planet or not? Who cares! Our love for the King of the Kuiper Belt is stronger than ever 95 years later

By John Loeffler Published

On the 95th anniversary of its discovery, Pluto remains one of the most beloved and enigmatic worlds in our solar system, whether you call it a planet or not.

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Clyde Tombaugh: The astronomer who discovered Pluto

By Nola Taylor Tillman last updated

Reference From farm boy to cosmic pioneer: The life and legacy of Clyde Tombaugh.

Reference
An illustration shows Pluto and its largest moon Charon
How Pluto captured its largest moon Charon with a 10-hour icy 'kiss'

By Robert Lea Published

Pluto may have got romantic to capture its largest moon, colliding and engaging in a passionate but icy 10 hour kiss with Charon billions of years ago.

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Pluto and its heart-shaped Sputnik Planitia as imaged by New Horizons spacecraft in 2015.
We could float effortlessly in Pluto's subsurface ocean

By Rahul Rao Published

A subsurface ocean of liquid water may exist beneath Pluto's nitrogen ice, according to an analysis of data collected by NASA's New Horizons probe.

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An image of a planet with a heart-shaped scar toward the bottom right.
Pluto's heart-shaped scar may offer clues to the frozen world's history

By Rahul Rao Published

How Pluto's Sputnik Planitia formed remains unknown, but researchers have imagined a body about the size of Switzerland crashing into Pluto at a shallow angle.

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A view of Pluto with its Big Planet Energy campaign for Pluto TV.
Pluto TV will rally to make Pluto a planet again on April 1 (it's no joke)

By Tariq Malik Published

Pluto may have lost its status as a full-fledged planet in 2006, but that doesn't mean it's a joke of a world this April Fools' Day and the folks behind Pluto TV want to make that clear.

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An image of Pluto.
Supervolcano eruption on Pluto hints at hidden ocean beneath the surface

By Sharmila Kuthunur Published

After analyzing some New Horizons images of Pluto, scientists found a supervolcano likely erupted on the planet as recently as a few million years ago.

Pluto
Pluto against the black background of space. The planet is a mix of colors from dark blood-red to white and a dusting of yellow at the top. In the lower right side of the image, the large white expanse of the Tombaugh Regio takes the shape of a heart.
Pluto: Everything you need to know about the dwarf planet

By Charles Q. Choi, Scott Dutfield last updated

Reference Pluto was once considered the ninth planet in the solar system, it was demoted in 2006 to dwarf planet status. We explore this icy body in more detail here.

Reference
Artwork of the dwarf planet Pluto (left) and its largest moon Charon.
Cracks on Pluto's moon Charon may be evidence of a frozen subsurface ocean

By Robert Lea Published

The icy volcanism of Pluto's moon Charon may be driven by an internal frozen ocean erupted through a thin shell.

Pluto
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