Pluto's "Heart" Spied by New Horizons Spacecraft

Space.com
July 8, 2015


Pluto looks especially welcoming in a new photo by NASA's approaching New Horizons probe.

The image, which New Horizons took July 7 when it was less than 5 million miles from Pluto, shows a large heart-shaped feature on the dwarf planet's surface.

The bright "heart" is about 1,200 miles wide, NASA officials said.
To it's left lies an 1,860 mile long dark patch along Pluto's equator, that mission scientists are calling "the whale."

New Horizons should get much better looks at both of these intriguing features in the coming days - especially during it's July 14 flyby, when the probe will zoom within 7,800 miles of Pluto's surface.

More + photo:
http://www.space.com/29884-pluto-heart-new-horizons-photo.html