Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2024 January 28
   [2]The minor planet Pluto is shown up close, as seen by the passing New
   Horizons spacecraft, and in true color. Pluto is a complex mix of beige
     regions and some dark brown regions. Please see the explanation for
                         more detailed information.

                             Pluto in True Color
   Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]JHU APL, [5]SwRI; Processing: [6]Alex Parker

   Explanation: What color is Pluto, really? It took some effort to figure
   out. Even given all of the [7]images sent back to Earth when the
   robotic [8]New Horizons spacecraft [9]sped past Pluto in 2015,
   processing these [10]multi-spectral frames to approximate what the
   [11]human eye would see was challenging. The result [12]featured here,
   released three years after the raw data was acquired by [13]New
   Horizons, is the highest resolution true color image of [14]Pluto ever
   taken. Visible in the image is the light-colored, heart-shaped,
   [15]Tombaugh Regio, with the unexpectedly smooth [16]Sputnik Planitia,
   made of frozen [17]nitrogen, filling its western lobe. New Horizons
   found the dwarf planet to have a [18]surprisingly complex surface
   composed of many regions having [19]perceptibly different hues. In
   total, though, Pluto is [20]mostly brown, with much of its muted color
   originating from small amounts of surface [21]methane energized by
   [22]ultraviolet light from the Sun.

                    Tomorrow's picture: stars versus dust
     __________________________________________________________________

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     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [34]Robert Nemiroff ([35]MTU) & [36]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([37]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn; [38]Specific rights apply.
              [39]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [40]ASD at [41]NASA / [42]GSFC,
                         [43]NASA Science Activation
                           & [44]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2401/PlutoTrueColor_NewHorizons_8000.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/
   4. https://www.jhuapl.edu/
   5. https://www.swri.org/
   6. http://www.alexharrisonparker.com/
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150831.html
   8. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/new-horizons/
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170731.html
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_(New_Horizons)
  11. https://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/humanvision/accommodation/index.html
  12. http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Galleries/Featured-Images/image.php?page=1&gallery_id=2ℑ_id=543
  13. http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Mission/Spacecraft.php#Systems-and-Components
  14. https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/pluto/
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombaugh_Regio
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap161122.html
  17. https://periodic.lanl.gov/7.shtml
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150914.html
  19. https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https://i.redd.it/xvdk3cwfp1171.jpg
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060903.html
  21. https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/first-you-see-it-then-you-dont-scientists-closer-to-explaining-mars-methane-mystery/
  22. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/10_ultravioletwaves
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240127.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  29. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  32. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=240128
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240129.html
  34. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  36. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  37. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  40. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  43. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  44. http://www.mtu.edu/