NASA’s New Horizons Marks 10 Years Since Pluto’s Iconic Heart Discovery

Quick Summary

• NASA’s New horizons spacecraft captured the most accurate natural color image of Pluto on July 14,2015.
• The image was refined using data from the Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC) to approximate true colors perceptible to the human eye.
• Striking features include Pluto’s icy “heart,” Sputnik Planitia, rich in nitrogen and methane compounds.
• the processed image does not combine data from other New Horizons instruments or imagers.

Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest research Institute/Alex Parker

Indian Opinion Analysis
NASA’s dedication to refining astronomical imagery underscores its commitment to advancing scientific accuracy and understanding of celestial bodies like Pluto. It offers an indirect inspiration for India’s advancements in space science through missions like chandrayaan and Mangalyaan by showcasing what detailed calibration of data can achieve post-flight operations. For India, being an emerging space exploration leader, these examples emphasize the importance of higher investment in imaging technology while fostering global collaborations for planetary research.

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