WASHINGTON: NASA’s New Horizon’s probe is not scheduled for its anticipated flyby of Pluto until the summer, but has delivered images of two of the planet’s tiny moons, Nix and Hydra.
According to Space.com, the deep-space satellite snapped photos of the two moons between Jan. 27 and Feb. 8 from up to 125 million miles away. New Horizons is scheduled for its encounter with Pluto on July 14.
NASA’s exploration of Pluto is aligned with the late professor Clyde Tombaugh’s discovery of Pluto 85 years ago at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz. The space agency released the images of Nix and Hydra on Feb. 18, which was 85 years to the date of Tombaugh’s discovery.
“Professor Tombaugh’s discovery of Pluto was far ahead its time, heralding the discovery of the Kuiper Belt and a new class of planet,” Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator, said in a press release. “The New Horizons team salutes his historic accomplishment.”
NASA released the images as a seven-frame movie and they are the clearest images of Pluto’s moons to date.
“It’s thrilling to watch the details of the Pluto system emerge as we close the distance to the spacecraft’s July 14 encounter,” John Spencer, New Horizons science team member, said in the release. “This first good view of Nix and Hydra marks another major milestone, and a perfect way to celebrate the anniversary of Pluto’s discovery.”
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