Hubble: Most Detailed View To Date Of The Entire Surface Of Pluto

Just released, these images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope are the most detailed maps of Pluto to date, and won't be surpassed until 2015 when the New Horizons probe is within 6 months of its flyby of the dwarf planet.

By comparing these images with those previously taken by Hubble, astronomers have been able to detect brightness and color changes--a mix of white, dark-orange, and charcoal-black--on Pluto's surface.

Pluto has become significantly redder, while its illuminated northern hemisphere is getting brighter. These changes are most likely consequences of surface ice melting on the sunlit pole and then refreezing on the other pole, as the dwarf planet heads into the next phase of its 248-year-long seasonal cycle. -- Press Release

These images will be used to help further plan which hemisphere the New Horizons probe will gather its most detailed data on during its quick passage by Pluto.

Pluto: 90° Longitude

Pluto: 180° Longitude

Pluto: 270° Longitude




Full Photomap of Pluto
Credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Buie (Southwest Research Institute)

Jupiter

This true color mosaic of Jupiter was constructed from images taken by the narrow angle camera onboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft starting at 5:31 Universal time on December 29, 2000, as the spacecraft neared Jupiter during its flyby of the giant planet. It is the most detailed global color portrait of Jupiter ever produced... -- NASA/JPL/SSI

The Galilean satellite Io floats above the cloudtops of Jupiter in this image captured two days after Cassini's closest approach... -- NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

On January 15, 2001, Cassini resumed repeated imaging of Jupiter as it began its departure from the Jovian system. At this time, and throughout the departure phase, only a planetary crescent was visible... -- NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

This is a montage of New Horizons images of Jupiter and its volcanic moon Io, taken during the spacecraft's Jupiter flyby in early 2007... -- NASA/JHU/APL

Mission to Jupiter -- With its suite of science instruments, Juno will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. Juno's principal goal is to understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter. Underneath its dense cloud cover, Jupiter safeguards secrets to the fundamental processes and conditions that governed our solar system during its formation.
Mission Timeline: Launch - August 2011; Earth flyby gravity assist - October 2013; Jupiter arrival - August 2016
Image credit: NASA/JPL