Credit & Copyright: M. W. Buie
(Lowell Observatory),
D. J. Tholen (U. Hawaii), and K. Horne (St. Andrews)
Explanation:
Pluto is the only planet in our
Solar System remaining unphotographed by a passing
spacecraft. Distant
Pluto and its moon Charon therefore remain somewhat mysterious.
In addition to
direct imaging by the
Hubble Space Telescope,
careful tracking of brightness changes that
occur as each object eclipses the other have
allowed astronomers to build up the
above black & white surface maps.
These maps depict the face of
Pluto (left)
that always faces Charon, and the face of Charon
that always faces away from
Pluto. The rectangular pixels are an artifact of the mapping software. The
Pluto-Kuiper Express mission is tentatively planned
for launch in 2003 and should encounter Pluto
around the year 2012.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day