﻿ Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2024 January 28 [2]The minor planet Pluto is shown up close, as seen by the passing New Horizons spacecraft, and in true color. Pluto is a complex mix of beige regions and some dark brown regions. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Pluto in True Color Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]JHU APL, [5]SwRI; Processing: [6]Alex Parker Explanation: What color is Pluto, really? It took some effort to figure out. Even given all of the [7]images sent back to Earth when the robotic [8]New Horizons spacecraft [9]sped past Pluto in 2015, processing these [10]multi-spectral frames to approximate what the [11]human eye would see was challenging. The result [12]featured here, released three years after the raw data was acquired by [13]New Horizons, is the highest resolution true color image of [14]Pluto ever taken. Visible in the image is the light-colored, heart-shaped, [15]Tombaugh Regio, with the unexpectedly smooth [16]Sputnik Planitia, made of frozen [17]nitrogen, filling its western lobe. New Horizons found the dwarf planet to have a [18]surprisingly complex surface composed of many regions having [19]perceptibly different hues. In total, though, Pluto is [20]mostly brown, with much of its muted color originating from small amounts of surface [21]methane energized by [22]ultraviolet light from the Sun. Tomorrow's picture: stars versus dust __________________________________________________________________ [23]< | [24]Archive | [25]Submissions | [26]Index | [27]Search | [28]Calendar | [29]RSS | [30]Education | [31]About APOD | [32]Discuss | [33]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [34]Robert Nemiroff ([35]MTU) & [36]Jerry Bonnell ([37]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn; [38]Specific rights apply. [39]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [40]ASD at [41]NASA / [42]GSFC, [43]NASA Science Activation & [44]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2401/PlutoTrueColor_NewHorizons_8000.jpg 3. https://www.nasa.gov/ 4. https://www.jhuapl.edu/ 5. https://www.swri.org/ 6. http://www.alexharrisonparker.com/ 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150831.html 8. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/new-horizons/ 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170731.html 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_(New_Horizons) 11. https://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/humanvision/accommodation/index.html 12. http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Galleries/Featured-Images/image.php?page=1&gallery_id=2ℑ_id=543 13. http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Mission/Spacecraft.php#Systems-and-Components 14. https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/pluto/ 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombaugh_Regio 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap161122.html 17. https://periodic.lanl.gov/7.shtml 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150914.html 19. https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https://i.redd.it/xvdk3cwfp1171.jpg 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060903.html 21. https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/first-you-see-it-then-you-dont-scientists-closer-to-explaining-mars-methane-mystery/ 22. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/10_ultravioletwaves 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240127.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 29. https://apod.com/feed.rss 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 32. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=240128 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240129.html 34. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 36. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 37. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 39. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 40. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 41. https://www.nasa.gov/ 42. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 43. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 44. http://www.mtu.edu/