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The dramatic way our view of Pluto has changed over the past 87 years

Otherworldly.
Otherworldly.
Image: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI
By
Akshat Rathi
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Our complicated relationship with Pluto began in 1930, and has seen many twists and turns since then. On the 87th anniversary of the day when Pluto’s discovery was first revealed to the world (March 13, 1930), Quartz has compiled a series of images tracing how our view of this magnificent dwarf planet has changed over time.

Early 1930

On February 18, 1930, after nearly a year of searching, Clyde Tombaugh discovered a possible “Planet X” in photographic plates taken in January of that year.
On February 18, 1930, after nearly a year of searching, Clyde Tombaugh discovered a possible “Planet X” in photographic plates taken in January of that year.
Image: Wikimedia

February 1994

Pluto and moon Charon.
The European Space Agency’s Faint Object Camera snaps a photo of Pluto on February 21, 1994.
Image: R. Albrecht, ESA/ESO

March 1996

For the first time since Pluto’s discovery 66 years earlier, astronomers directly capture details of the surface of Pluto, thanks to the Hubble telescope.
For the first time since Pluto’s discovery 66 years earlier, astronomers directly capture details of the surface of Pluto, thanks to the Hubble telescope.
Image: Alan Stern (Southwest Research Institute), Marc Buie (Lowell Observatory), NASA and ESA

2002 and 2003

Multiple photos taken by the Hubble from 2002 to 2003 provide the most detailed view to date of the entire surface of Pluto..
Multiple photos taken by the Hubble from 2002 to 2003 provide the most detailed view to date of the entire surface of Pluto..
Image: NASA/ESA/SRI (M. Buie)

February 2006

A pair of small moons that Hubble discovered orbiting Pluto now have official names: Nix and Hydra, which are roughly 5,000 times fainter than Pluto and are about two to three times farther from Pluto than its large moon, Charon.
A pair of small moons that Hubble discovered orbiting Pluto now have official names: Nix and Hydra, which are roughly 5,000 times fainter than Pluto and are about two to three times farther from Pluto than its large moon, Charon.
Image: NASA

June 2015

These images, taken by New Horizons, show four different “faces” of Pluto as it rotates around its axis with a period of 6.4 days.
These images, taken by New Horizons, show four different “faces” of Pluto as it rotates around its axis with a period of 6.4 days.
Image: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

July 2015

The New Horizons probe gets closer. “The next time we see this part of Pluto at closest approach, a portion of this region will be imaged at about 500 times better resolution than we see today,” said Jeff Moore of NASA.
The New Horizons probe gets closer. “The next time we see this part of Pluto at closest approach, a portion of this region will be imaged at about 500 times better resolution than we see today,” said Jeff Moore of NASA.
Image: NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI

October 2015

Voila! Closer photos from New Horizons shows a remarkable range of subtle colors on Pluto’s surface, enhanced in this view to a rainbow of pale blues, yellows, oranges, and deep reds. The bright expanse is the western lobe of the “heart,” informally known as the Tombaugh Region, rich in nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane ices.
Voila! Closer photos from New Horizons shows a remarkable range of subtle colors on Pluto’s surface, enhanced in this view to a rainbow of pale blues, yellows, oranges, and deep reds. The bright expanse is the western lobe of the “heart,” informally known as the Tombaugh Region, rich in nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane ices.
Image: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

March 2016

Above the surface, scientists discovered layered hazes in the atmosphere that is both cooler and more compact than expected. This affects how Pluto’s upper atmosphere interacts with space, and how it contends with the stream of charged particles from the sun known as the solar wind.
Above the surface, scientists discovered layered hazes in the atmosphere that is both cooler and more compact than expected. This affects how Pluto’s upper atmosphere interacts with space, and how it contends with the stream of charged particles from the sun known as the solar wind.
Image: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI
The view of Pluto as seen by the New Horizons probe.
Image: NASA