Peapix

  • Bing Gallery
  • Extension
Peapix
Bing Gallery
Extension
  • United States
    All
    Australia Canada China Germany France India Japan Spain United Kingdom United States Italy Brazil

Bing Gallery

Australia Canada China Germany France India Japan Spain United Kingdom United States Italy Brazil
  1. Bing Gallery
  2. United States
  3. 2020
  4. February 18
  5. Pluto's crescent imaged by NASA's New Horizons interplanetary space probe
arrow_back_ios arrow_forward_ios Pluto's crescent imaged by NASA's New Horizons interplanetary space probe

February 18, 2020

Pluto's crescent imaged by NASA's New Horizons interplanetary space probe

© NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI/Science Photo Librar

Too awesome to be a planet

Pluto was first spotted on this day in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh, a 23-year-old astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Because it's so far away—about 40 times as far from the sun as Earth is—scientists knew relatively little about Pluto until the New Horizons spacecraft reached it in 2015. In a flyby study, the craft spent more than five months gathering detailed information about Pluto and its moons. What did they find out? There’s a heart-shaped glacier, blue skies, spinning moons, mountains as high as the Rockies, and it snows—but the snow is red.

Once thought to be one of nine full-fledged planets orbiting our sun, in 2006 Pluto was stripped of its planetary status and reclassified as merely a dwarf planet. (Sorry, Pluto.) Though it may no longer be considered a true planet, it's still the largest dwarf planet of our solar system and holds plenty of mysteries waiting to be discovered.

abstract moon astronomy circle space dark

Related Images

Young stars forming in the Tarantula Nebula, James Webb Space TelescopeYoung stars forming in the Tarantula Nebula, James Webb Space Telescope
Milky Way over Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park, PortugalMilky Way over Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park, Portugal
Perseid meteor shower, Cottonwood Canyon State Park, OregonPerseid meteor shower, Cottonwood Canyon State Park, Oregon
The moon seen from the Orion spacecraft of NASA's Artemis missionThe moon seen from the Orion spacecraft of NASA's Artemis mission
Milky Way over Joshua Tree National Park, CaliforniaMilky Way over Joshua Tree National Park, California
Moon rising, Tucson, ArizonaMoon rising, Tucson, Arizona
The Milky Way over Zabriskie Point, Death Valley, CaliforniaThe Milky Way over Zabriskie Point, Death Valley, California
MarsMars

Today on Bing

Eben Ice Caves, Upper Peninsula, Michigan

Eben Ice Caves, Upper Peninsula, Michigan

Feb 18, 2023
Great tits on a branch during winter in France

Great tits on a branch during winter in France

Feb 18, 2022
Rocks in the Verzasca River near the hamlet of Lavertezzo in the Valle Verzasca of Switzerland

Rocks in the Verzasca River near the hamlet of Lavertezzo in the Valle Verzasca of Switzerland

Feb 18, 2021
Stitched panorama of the Lincoln Memorial with a view toward the Washington Monument, Washington, DC

Stitched panorama of the Lincoln Memorial with a view toward the Washington Monument, Washington, DC

Feb 18, 2019
Great horned owl near Lake Tohopekaliga, south of St. Cloud, Florida

Great horned owl near Lake Tohopekaliga, south of St. Cloud, Florida

Feb 18, 2018
Vieste on the Adriatic coast of Italy

Vieste on the Adriatic coast of Italy

Feb 18, 2017

Related Tags

astronomy star nature sky landscape outdoor object milky way night night sky dark outdoor mountain moon universe nebula space outer space galaxy constellation screenshot
Share photo
Share
Pin
Tweet
Line
  • © 2023 Peapix.com
  • API
  • App
  • Privacy
The images are provided for wallpaper use only.