Just 11 weeks left to go until the closest flyby of New Horizons by Pluto. These images, released on April 29, 2015, show Pluto and its largest moon Charon, which is as large as Texas, revolving about their common center of mass. You can also see Pluto rotating about its own axis, ‘like a chicken on a BBQ spit’. Most amazingly, there are surface features visible on the surface of Pluto including a bright patch at one of the poles. NASA explained that these surface markings are remarkably visible compared to other planets given the distance and size of Pluto. These constitute the most detailed images ever captured of the ‘former planet’. The view will only get better from here.
