Lowell Dunes

This image from NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows small dunes and gullies along the interior rim of Lowell Crater.

NOAA's GOES-West satellite watched as Tropical Storm Lowell strengthened into a large hurricane during the morning of August 21 and opened its eye. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center, while tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 185 miles (295 km). The storm stretches over a greater distance. Lowell became the seventh hurricane of the Eastern Pacific Ocean season today, August 21 at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC). Maximum sustained winds had increased to 75 mph (120 kph) making Lowell a Category One hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale. Little change in intensity is forecast by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) today, and NHC forecasters expect a slow weakening trend later today through August 22. It was centered near latitude 20.0 north and longitude 122.1 west, about 810 miles (1,300 km) west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. It is moving to the northwest near 3 mph (4 kph) and is expected to move faster in that direction over the next two days. The NHC said that Lowell should begin to slowly weaken by August 22 as it moves over progressively cooler waters and into a drier and more stable air mass. Since Lowell is such a large cyclone, it will likely take longer than average to spin down. The GOES-West image of Lowell was created at the NASA/NOAA GOES Project, located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Rob Gutro NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center <b><a href="http://goes.gsfc.nasa.gov/" rel="nofollow">Credit: NOAA/NASA GOES Project</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>

The Frosted Craters of Northern Spring and Southern Autumn - Lowell Crater

NASA and NOAA satellites are studying the triple tropical tempests that are now romping through the Eastern Pacific Ocean. NOAA's GOES-West satellite captured Tropical Storm Karina, Tropical Storm Lowell and newly formed Tropical Storm Marie on August 22. NOAA's GOES-West satellite captured all three storms in an infrared image at 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT), and Tropical Lowell clearly dwarfs Karina to its west, and Marie to the east. The infrared image was created at NASA/NOAA's GOES Project at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. For more information about Lowell, visit: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/12e-eastern-pacific-ocean/" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/12e-eastern-pacific-ocean/</a> For more information about Karina, visit: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/karina-eastern-pacific/" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/karina-eastern-pacific/</a> Rob Gutro NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>

These dunes are located on the floor of Lowell Crater

The Lowell Observatory's High-speed Imaging Photometer for Occultation rests on its dolly in the lab prior to installation on the SOFIA airborne observatory.

Lowell Grissom, brother of Apollo 1 astronaut Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, delivers remarks at a reception following the dedication of the Apollo 1 monument, Thursday, June 2, 2022, in the Reception Hall of the Military Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. The monument honors and memorializes the Apollo 1 crew of Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Lowell Grissom, brother of Apollo 1 astronaut Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, is joined by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson as he places flowers at the Apollo 1 monument during its dedication at Arlington National Cemetery, Thursday, June 2, 2022, in Arlington, Va. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Lowell Grissom, brother of Apollo 1 astronaut Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, is joined by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson as he places flowers at the Apollo 1 monument during its dedication at Arlington National Cemetery, Thursday, June 2, 2022, in Arlington, Va. The monument honors and memorializes the Apollo 1 crew of Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

MSC Flight Crew visit Lowell Observatory at Flagstaff, AZ

MSC Flight Crew visit Lowell Observatory at Flagstaff, AZ

STS001-11-173 (12-14 April 1981) --- Space shuttle Columbia's view of Cape Cod, Boston, Plymouth, Glouster, Providence, Lowell, Taunton, and Worcester. Photo credit: NASA

Former NASA astronauts Buzz Aldrin, left, and Winston Scott, center, talk with Lowell Grissom, bother of astronaut Gus Grissom as they walk to the Space Mirror Memorial. The names of fallen astronauts from Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia, as well as the astronauts who perished in training and commercial airplane accidents are emblazoned on the monument. Each year spaceport employees and guests join others throughout NASA honoring the contributions of astronauts who have perished in the conquest of space.

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida paid tribute to the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other astronauts who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, during the agency's Day of Remembrance on Jan. 27, 2022. Lowell Grissom, brother of fall astronaut Virgil “Gus” Grissom, speaks during a ceremony at the Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Family members of fallen Apollo 1 astronauts gather beside a wreath placed at the Space Mirror Memorial following Kennedy Space Center's Day of Remembrance ceremony at the Kennedy visitor complex. From left to right are Lowell Grissom, brother of astronaut Gus Grissom; Carly Sparks, granddaughter of Grissom; Bonnie White Baer, daughter of astronaut Ed White II; and Sheryl Chaffee, daughter of Roger Chaffee.

Family members of fallen astronauts Kathie Scobee Fulgham, Lowell Grissom, Sheryl Chaffee, and Karen Bassett Stevenson place a wreath at the Space Mirror Memorial at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, during the agency’s Day of Remembrance. The annual tradition pays tribute to fallen astronauts and astronaut candidates who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, including the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger STS-51L, and Columbia STS-107.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Lowell Grissom addresses guests attending a ceremony at the KSC Visitor Complex held in remembrance of the astronauts lost in the Apollo 1 fire: Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White II and Roger B. Chaffee. Grissom is the brother of Gus Grissom. Members of the Apollo 1 families, along with KSC Director Bill Parsons, Associate Administrator for Space Operations William Gerstenmaier, President of the Astronauts Memorial Foundation Stephen Feldman, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Astronauts Memorial Foundation William Potter and former astronaut John Young (seen at lower right), attended the ceremony. Photo credit:NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida paid tribute to the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other astronauts who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, during the agency's Day of Remembrance on Jan. 27, 2022. From left, Lowell Grissom, brother of Virgil “Gus” Grissom; Kathie Scobee Fulgham, daughter of Challenger Commander Francis R. Scobee; and Sheryl Chafee, daughter of Apollo 1 astronaut Roger Chafee, place a wreath in front of on-screen images of NASA astronauts who have perished in the line of duty. The ceremony was held in the Center for Space Education at Kennedy’s Visitor Complex in Florida.

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida paid tribute to the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other astronauts who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, during the agency's Day of Remembrance on Jan. 27, 2022. From left, Lowell Grissom, brother of Virgil “Gus” Grissom; Sheryl Chafee, daughter of Apollo 1 astronaut Roger Chafee; and Kathie Scobee Fulgham, daughter of Challenger Commander Francis R. Scobee, place carnations on the fence in front of the Space Mirror Memorial at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Lowell Grissom, brother of Gus Grissom, and Carly Sparks, granddaughter of Grissom, look at areas of the newly opened Apollo 1 tribute at the Apollo/Saturn V Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center opened Jan. 27, 2017. Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White II and Chaffee perished in a fire at the launch pad on Jan. 27, 1967, during training for the mission. The tribute highlights the lives and careers of the astronauts. The tribute features numerous items recalling the lives of the three astronauts. The tribute also includes the three-part hatch to the spacecraft itself, the first time any part of the Apollo 1 spacecraft has been displayed publicly. A version of the hatch after it was redesigned is also showcased as an example of improvements NASA made throughout the agency and to the Apollo spacecraft that would later carry astronauts to the moon.

STS058-105-016 (18 Oct-1 Nov 1993) --- This photograph includes much of the heart of New England, stretching from Boston and Boston Harbor (lower left) across New Hampshire and Vermont to Lake Champlain (upper left), and up to southern Maine (Portland is just off the photo at right center). The colors in this photograph are less vivid than those in STS-58-81-038, because the color changes on the deciduous trees in central and northern New England were past their peak when this photograph was taken. North of Boston flows the Merrimack River (which forms part of the state boundary between Massachusetts and New Hampshire). It is delineated by the small industrial towns (Concord, Manchester, Nashua, Lowell) which grew up on its banks. The White Mountains of New Hampshire are seen near the center, and Mt. Washington (6,288 feet) is capped with snow.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Guests and attendees salute the U.S. flag during a ceremony at the KSC Visitor Complex held in remembrance of the astronauts lost in the Apollo 1 fire: Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White II and Roger B. Chaffee. Among those gathered on stage are (from left) Faith Johnson, daughter of Theodore Freeman and Martha Chaffee, daughter of Roger Chaffee, Associate Administrator for Space Operations William Gerstenmaier and KSC Director Bill Parsons, plus former astronaut John Young and Lowell Grissom, brother of Gus Grissom (far right). At the podium is Stephen Feldman, president of the Astronauts Memorial Foundation. Behind the stage is the Space Mirror Memorial, designated as a national memorial by Congress and President George Bush in 1991 to honor fallen astronauts. Their names are emblazoned on the monument’s 42-½-foot-high by 50-foot-wide black granite surface as if to be projected into the heavens. Photo credit:NASA/Kim Shiflett

Lowell Grissom, brother of Gus Grissom, observes areas of the newly opened Apollo 1 tribute at the Apollo/Saturn V Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center opened Jan. 27, 2017. Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White II and Chaffee perished in a fire at the launch pad on Jan. 27, 1967, during training for the mission. The tribute highlights the lives and careers of the astronauts. The tribute features numerous items recalling the lives of the three astronauts. The tribute also includes the three-part hatch to the spacecraft itself, the first time any part of the Apollo 1 spacecraft has been displayed publicly. A version of the hatch after it was redesigned is also showcased as an example of improvements NASA made throughout the agency and to the Apollo spacecraft that would later carry astronauts to the moon.

These three radar images of near-Earth asteroid 2003 SD220 were obtained on Dec. 15-17, by coordinating observations with NASA's 230-foot (70-meter) antenna at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California and the National Science Foundation's (NSF) 330-foot (100-meter) Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. The radar image on the left was obtained on Dec. 15 when asteroid 2003 SD220 was 2.8 million miles (4.5 million kilometers) from Earth. The radar image in the middle was generated from data collected on Dec. 16 when the asteroid was 2.5 million miles (4.0 million kilometers) from Earth. The image on the right was obtained on Dec. 17 when 2003 SD220 was 2.2 million miles (3.6 million kilometers) from Earth. The spatial resolution on the images is as fine as 12 feet (3.7 meters) per pixel. The radar images reveal the asteroid is at least one mile (1.6 kilometers) long. Asteroid 2003 SD220 was discovered on Sept. 29, 2003, by astronomers at the Lowell Observatory Near-Earth-Object Search (LONEOS) in Flagstaff, Arizona -- an early Near-Earth Object (NEO) survey project supported by NASA that is no longer in operation. The asteroid will fly safely past Earth on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018, at a distance of about 1.8 million miles (2.9 million kilometers). This will be the asteroid's closest approach in more than 400 years and the closest until 2070, when the asteroid will safely fly by slightly closer. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22970

Mosaic composed of 102 Viking Orbiter images of Mars, covering nearly a full hemisphere of the planet (approximate latitude -55 to 60 degrees, longitude 30 to 130 degrees). The mosaic is in a point-perspective projection with a scale of about 1 km/pixel. The color variations have been enhanced by a factor of about two, and the large-scale brightness variations (mostly due to sun-angle variations) have been normalized by large-scale filtering. The center of the scene shows the entire Valles Marineris canyon system, over 3,000 km long and up to 8 km deep, extending from Noctis Labyrinthus, the arcuate system of graben to the west, to the chaotic terrain to the east. Bright white layers of material in the eastern canyons may consist of carbonates deposited in ancient lakes. Huge ancient river channels begin from the chaotic terrain and from north-central canyons and run north. Many of the channels flowed into a basin called Acidalia Planitia, which is the dark area in the extreme north of this picture. The Viking 1 landing site (Mutch Memorial Station) is located in Chryse Planitia, south of Acidalia Planitia. The three Tharsis volcanoes (dark red spots), each about 25 km high, are visible to the west. The large crater with two prominent rings located at the bottom of this image is named Lowell, after the Flagstaff astronomer. The images were acquired by Viking Orbiter 1 in 1980 during early northern summer on Mars (Ls = 70 degrees); the atmosphere was relatively dust-free. A variety of clouds appear as bright blue streaks and hazes, and probably consist of water ice. Long, linear clouds north of central Valles Marineris appear to emanate from impact craters. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00003

S73-35081 (July-September 1973) --- A view of approximately 3,600 square miles of north central Wyoming and southern Montana is seen in this Skylab 3 Earth Resources Experiments Package S190-B (five-inch Earth terrain camera) photograph taken from the Skylab space station in Earth orbit. The Big Horn River following northward crosses between the northwest trending Big Horn Mountains and the Pryor Mountains. Yellowtail Reservoir, named after a former chief of the Crow Indian tribe in the center of the picture is impounded by a dam across the small rectangular crop area along the Big Horn River (upper right) and the strip farming (yellow) practiced on the rolling hill along the Big Horn River and its tributaries (upper left corner and right edge). The low sun angle enhances the structural features of the mountains as well as the drainage patterns in the adjacent basins. Rock formation appears in this color photograph as they would to the eye from this altitude. The distinctive redbeds can be traced along the front of the Pryor Mountains and indicate the folding that occurred during mountain building. EREP investigators, Dr. Houston of the University of Wyoming and Dr. Hoppin of the University of Iowa, will analyze the photograph and use the results in geological mapping and mineral resource studies. Lowell, Wyoming (lower left corner) and Hardin, Montana (upper right corner) can be recognized. Federal agencies participating with NASA on the EREP project are the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Corps of Engineers. All EREP photography is available to the public through the Department of Interior?s Earth Resources Observations Systems Data Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 57198. (Alternate number SL3-86-337) Photo credit: NASA

The International Astronomical Union (IAU), the internationally recognized authority for naming celestial bodies and their surface features, approved names of 14 surface features on Pluto in August 2017. The names were proposed by NASA's New Horizons team following the first reconnaissance of Pluto and its moons by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2015. The names, listed below, pay homage to the underworld mythology, pioneering space missions, historic pioneers who crossed new horizons in exploration, and scientists and engineers associated with Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. Tombaugh Regio honors Clyde Tombaugh (1906-1997), the U.S. astronomer who discovered Pluto in 1930 from Lowell Observatory in Arizona. Burney crater honors Venetia Burney (1918-2009), who as an 11-year-old schoolgirl suggested the name "Pluto" for Clyde Tombaugh's newly discovered planet. Later in life she taught mathematics and economics. Sputnik Planitia is a large plain named for Sputnik 1, the first space satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. Tenzing Montes and Hillary Montes are mountain ranges honoring Tenzing Norgay (1914-1986) and Sir Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), the Indian/Nepali Sherpa and New Zealand mountaineer were the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest and return safely. Al-Idrisi Montes honors Ash-Sharif al-Idrisi (1100-1165/66), a noted Arab mapmaker and geographer whose landmark work of medieval geography is sometimes translated as "The Pleasure of Him Who Longs to Cross the Horizons.” Djanggawul Fossae defines a network of long, narrow depressions named for the Djanggawuls, three ancestral beings in indigenous Australian mythology who traveled between the island of the dead and Australia, creating the landscape and filling it with vegetation. Sleipnir Fossa is named for the powerful, eight-legged horse of Norse mythology that carried the god Odin into the underworld. Virgil Fossae honors Virgil, one of the greatest Roman poets and Dante's fictional guide through hell and purgatory in the Divine Comedy. Adlivun Cavus is a deep depression named for Adlivun, the underworld in Inuit mythology. Hayabusa Terra is a large land mass saluting the Japanese spacecraft and mission (2003-2010) that performed the first asteroid sample return. Voyager Terra honors the pair of NASA spacecraft, launched in 1977, that performed the first "grand tour" of all four giant planets. The Voyager spacecraft are now probing the boundary between the Sun and interstellar space. Tartarus Dorsa is a ridge named for Tartarus, the deepest, darkest pit of the underworld in Greek mythology. Elliot crater recognizes James Elliot (1943-2011), an MIT researcher who pioneered the use of stellar occultations to study the solar system -- leading to discoveries such as the rings of Uranus and the first detection of Pluto's thin atmosphere. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21944

Temperature Comparison at Loki

The Role of Sulfur in Io Volcanoes

Earth-Based Observations of a Fire Fountain on Io

Nighttime Temperatures on Southern Io

Temperature Map of Io Night Side

Nighttime Temperatures on Ganymede

Galileo PPR Temperature Maps of Loki in October 1999

Io Nighttime Heat

Pre-Dawn Temperatures on Ganymede

Earth-based images of the Fall 1999 Loki Eruption

Daytime Temperatures on Europa

Sulfur Gas in Pele Plume

**This image was taken at 3:38 a.m. EDT on July 13, one day before New Horizons’ closest approach to Pluto.** New Horizons has obtained impressive new images of Pluto and its large moon Charon that highlight their compositional diversity. These are not actual color images of Pluto and Charon—they are shown here in exaggerated colors that make it easy to note the differences in surface material and features on each planetary body. The images were obtained using three of the color filters of the “Ralph” instrument on July 13 at 3:38 am EDT. New Horizons has seven science instruments on board the spacecraft—including “Ralph” and “Alice”, whose names are a throwback to the “Honeymooners,” a popular 1950s sitcom. “These images show that Pluto and Charon are truly complex worlds. There's a whole lot going on here,” said New Horizons co-investigator Will Grundy, Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona. “Our surface composition team is working as fast as we can to identify the substances in different regions on Pluto and unravel the processes that put them where they are.” The color data helps scientists understand the molecular make-up of ices on the surfaces of Pluto and Charon, as well as the age of geologic features such as craters. They can also tell us about surface changes caused by space “weather,” such as radiation. The new color images reveal that the “heart” of Pluto actually consists of two remarkably different-colored regions. In the false-color image, the heart consists of a western lobe shaped like an ice cream cone that appears peach color in this image. A mottled area on the right (east) side looks bluish. A mid-latitude band appears in shades ranging from pale blue through red. Even within the northern polar cap, in the upper part of the image, various shades of yellow-orange indicate subtle compositional differences. This image was obtained using three of the color filters of the Ralph instrument on July 13 at 3:38 am EDT and received on the ground on at 12:25 pm. Charon is Just as Colorful The surface of Charon is viewed using the same exaggerated color. The red on the dark northern polar cap of Charon is attributed to hydrocarbon and other molecules, a class of chemical compounds called tholins. The mottled colors at lower latitudes point to the diversity of terrains on Charon. This image was obtained using three of the color filters of the Ralph instrument on July 13 at 3:38 am EDT and received on the ground on at 12:25 pm. “We make these color images to highlight the variety of surface environments present in the Pluto system,” said Dennis Reuter, co-investigator with the New Horizons Composition Team. “They show us in an intuitive way that there is much still to learn from the data coming down.” Due to the three-billion-mile distance to Pluto, data takes 4 ½ hours to come to Earth, even at the speed of light. It will take 16 months for all of New Horizons’ science data to be received, and the treasure trove from this mission will be studied for decades to come. Image Caption: Pluto and Charon in False Color Show Compositional Diversity This July 13, 2015, image of Pluto and Charon is presented in false colors to make differences in surface material and features easy to see. It was obtained by the Ralph instrument on NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, using three filters to obtain color information, which is exaggerated in the image. These are not the actual colors of Pluto and Charon, and the apparent distance between the two bodies has been reduced for this side-by-side view. The image reveals that the bright heart-shaped region of Pluto includes areas that differ in color characteristics. The western lobe, shaped like an ice-cream cone, appears peach color in this image. A mottled area on the right (east) appears bluish. Even within Pluto's northern polar cap, in the upper part of the image, various shades of yellow-orange indicate subtle compositional differences. The surface of Charon is viewed using the same exaggerated color. The red on the dark northern polar cap of Charon is attributed to hydrocarbon materials including a class of chemical compounds called tholins. The mottled colors at lower latitudes point to the diversity of terrains on Charon. --- At 7:49 AM EDT on Tuesday, July 14 New Horizons sped past Pluto at 30,800 miles per hour (49,600 kilometers per hour), with a suite of seven science instruments. As planned, New Horizons went incommunicado as it hurtled through the Pluto-Charon system busily gathering data. The New Horizons team will breathe a sigh of relief when New Horizons “phones home” at approximately 9:02 p.m. EDT on July 14. The mission to the icy dwarf planet completes the initial reconnaissance of the solar system. Stay in touch with the New Horizons mission with #PlutoFlyby and on Facebook at: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/new.horizons1" rel="nofollow">www.facebook.com/new.horizons1</a>

The never-before-seen surface of the distant planet Pluto is resolved in these NASA Hubble Space Telescope pictures, taken with the European Space Agency Faint Object Camera FOC aboard Hubble.

This image-based surface map of Pluto was assembled by computer image processing software from four separate images of Pluto disk taken with the European Space Agency Faint Object Camera aboard NASA Hubble Space Telescope.