Over the last few months, New Horizons has continued to send back images of Pluto from its closest July flyby of the dwarf planet. They're amazing. But today's releases put them all to shame. These images—the first in a series of high-res shots NASA will release in the coming weeks—are the sharpest humans will ever see of Pluto's surface. That is, until explorers send another probe out toward the Kuiper belt.
If you want to see the images in the highest resolution possible, click on the image to the left and zoom in. NASA also produced a video, below, scanning across the entire 50 mile-wide strip—ranging from the horizon, across the al-Idrisi mountains, and into Sputnik Planum.
The black and white images (from LORRI) might look plain at first glance, but really take the time to dive into that image: If you look carefully, you can see some incredible details. In the impact-ridden area north of the mountain range, some craters seem to have multiple layers—relics of different geological ages, perhaps, hidden in Pluto's icy crust. And Sputnik Planum's flats, on closer inspection, aren't so pristine. The plain is pockmarked with ridges of different sizes, like ripples left in sand as the tide goes out. Go on a tour for yourself, and get hyped for more of these up-close encounters.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/B0xkupKwjfM
