Hey Pluto...Your spot is showing!

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/350/6258/aad1815.abstract

 

Science 16 October 2015:
Vol. 350 no. 6258
DOI: 10.1126/science.aad1815

The Pluto system: Initial results from its exploration by New Horizons

1. S. A. Stern¹,*,
2. F. Bagenal²,
3. K. Ennico³,
4. G. R. Gladstone⁴,
5. W. M. Grundy⁵,
6. W. B. McKinnon⁶,
7. J. M. Moore³,
8. C. B. Olkin¹,
9. J. R. Spencer¹,
10. H. A. Weaver⁷,
11. L. A. Young¹,
12. T. Andert⁸,
13. J. Andrews¹,
14. M. Banks⁹,
15. B. Bauer⁷,
16. J. Bauman¹⁰,
17. O. S. Barnouin⁷,
18. P. Bedini⁷,
19. K. Beisser⁷,
20. R. A. Beyer³,
21. S. Bhaskaran¹¹,
22. R. P. Binzel¹²,
23. E. Birath¹,
24. M. Bird¹³,
25. D. J. Bogan¹⁴,
26. A. Bowman⁷,
27. V. J. Bray¹⁵,
28. M. Brozovic¹¹,
29. C. Bryan¹⁰,
30. M. R. Buckley⁷,
31. M. W. Buie¹,
32. B. J. Buratti¹¹,
33. S. S. Bushman⁷,
34. A. Calloway⁷,
35. B. Carcich¹⁶,
36. A. F. Cheng⁷,
37. S. Conard⁷,
38. C. A. Conrad¹,
39. J. C. Cook¹,
40. D. P. Cruikshank³,
41. O. S. Custodio⁷,
42. C. M. Dalle Ore³,
43. C. Deboy⁷,
44. Z. J. B. Dischner¹,
45. P. Dumont¹⁰,
46. A. M. Earle¹²,
47. H. A. Elliott⁴,
48. J. Ercol⁷,
49. C. M. Ernst⁷,
50. T. Finley¹,
51. S. H. Flanigan⁷,
52. G. Fountain⁷,
53. M. J. Freeze⁷,
54. T. Greathouse⁴,
55. J. L. Green¹⁷,
56. Y. Guo⁷,
57. M. Hahn¹⁸,
58. D. P. Hamilton¹⁹,
59. S. A. Hamilton⁷,
60. J. Hanley⁴,
61. A. Harch²⁰,
62. H. M. Hart⁷,
63. C. B. Hersman⁷,
64. A. Hill⁷,
65. M. E. Hill⁷,
66. D. P. Hinson²¹,
67. M. E. Holdridge⁷,
68. M. Horanyi²,
69. A. D. Howard²²,
70. C. J. A. Howett¹,
71. C. Jackman¹⁰,
72. R. A. Jacobson¹¹,
73. D. E. Jennings²³,
74. J. A. Kammer¹,
75. H. K. Kang⁷,
76. D. E. Kaufmann¹,
77. P. Kollmann⁷,
78. S. M. Krimigis⁷,
79. D. Kusnierkiewicz⁷,
80. T. R. Lauer²⁴,
81. J. E. Lee²⁵,
82. K. L. Lindstrom⁷,
83. I. R. Linscott²⁶,
84. C. M. Lisse⁷,
85. A. W. Lunsford²³,
86. V. A. Mallder⁷,
87. N. Martin²⁰,
88. D. J. McComas⁴,
89. R. L. McNutt Jr.⁷,
90. D. Mehoke⁷,
91. T. Mehoke⁷,
92. E. D. Melin⁷,
93. M. Mutchler²⁷,
94. D. Nelson¹⁰,
95. F. Nimmo²⁸,
96. J. I. Nunez⁷,
97. A. Ocampo¹⁷,
98. W. M. Owen¹¹,
99. M. Paetzold¹⁸,
100. B. Page¹⁰,
101. A. H. Parker¹,
102. J. W. Parker¹,
103. F. Pelletier¹⁰,
104. J. Peterson¹,
105. N. Pinkine⁷,
106. M. Piquette²,
107. S. B. Porter¹,
108. S. Protopapa¹⁹,
109. J. Redfern¹,
110. H. J. Reitsema²⁰,
111. D. C. Reuter²³,
112. J. H. Roberts⁷,
113. S. J. Robbins¹,
114. G. Rogers⁷,
115. D. Rose¹,
116. K. Runyon⁷,
117. K. D. Retherford⁴,
118. M. G. Ryschkewitsch⁷,
119. P. Schenk²⁹,
120. E. Schindhelm¹,
121. B. Sepan⁷,
122. M. R. Showalter²¹,
123. K. N. Singer¹,
124. M. Soluri³⁰,
125. D. Stanbridge¹⁰,
126. A. J. Steffl¹,
127. D. F. Strobel³¹,
128. T. Stryk³²,
129. M. E. Summers³³,
130. J. R. Szalay²,
131. M. Tapley⁴,
132. A. Taylor¹⁰,
133. H. Taylor⁷,
134. H. B. Throop⁹,
135. C. C. C. Tsang¹,
136. G. L. Tyler²⁶,
137. O. M. Umurhan³,
138. A. J. Verbiscer³⁴,
139. M. H. Versteeg⁴,
140. M. Vincent¹,
141. R. Webbert⁷,
142. S. Weidner⁴,
143. G. E. Weigle II⁴,
144. O. L. White³,
145. K. Whittenburg⁷,
146. B. G. Williams¹⁰,
147. K. Williams¹⁰,
148. S. Williams⁷,
149. W. W. Woods²⁶,
150. A. M. Zangari¹,
151. E. Zirnstein⁴

+ Author Affiliations

1. ¹Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA.
2. ²Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA.
3. ³National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.
4. ⁴Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 28510, USA.
5. ⁵Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA.
6. ⁶Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
7. ⁷Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA.
8. ⁸Universität der Bundeswehr München, Neubiberg 85577, Germany.
9. ⁹Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.
10. ¹⁰KinetX Aerospace, Tempe, AZ 85284, USA.
11. ¹¹NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011, USA.
12. ¹²Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
13. ¹³University of Bonn, Bonn D-53113, Germany.
14. ¹⁴NASA Headquarters (retired), Washington, DC 20546, USA.
15. ¹⁵University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
16. ¹⁶Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
17. ¹⁷NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546, USA.
18. ¹⁸Rheinisches Institut für Umweltforschung an der Universität zu Köln, Cologne 50931, Germany.
19. ¹⁹Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
20. ²⁰Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA.
21. ²¹Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.
22. ²²Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA.
23. ²³NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
24. ²⁴National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, AZ 26732, USA.
25. ²⁵NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL 35812, USA.
26. ²⁶Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
27. ²⁷Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
28. ²⁸University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
29. ²⁹Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX 77058, USA.
30. ³⁰Michael Soluri Photography, New York, NY 10014, USA.
31. ³¹Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
32. ³²Roane State Community College, Jamestown, TN 38556, USA.
33. ³³George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA.
34. ³⁴Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA.

1. ↵*Corresponding author. E-mail: astern@boulder.swri.edu

Abstract

The Pluto system was recently explored by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, making closest approach on 14 July 2015. Pluto’s surface displays diverse landforms, terrain ages, albedos, colors, and composition gradients. Evidence is found for a water-ice crust, geologically young surface units, surface ice convection, wind streaks, volatile transport, and glacial flow. Pluto’s atmosphere is highly extended, with trace hydrocarbons, a global haze layer, and a surface pressure near 10 microbars. Pluto’s diverse surface geology and long-term activity raise fundamental questions about how small planets remain active many billions of years after formation. Pluto’s large moon Charon displays tectonics and evidence for a heterogeneous crustal composition; its north pole displays puzzling dark terrain. Small satellites Hydra and Nix have higher albedos than expected