Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2023 August 18 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Northern Pluto Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]Johns Hopkins Univ./APL, [5]Southwest Research Institute Explanation: [6]Gaze across the frozen canyons of northern Pluto in this contrast enhanced color scene. The image data used to construct it was acquired in July 2015 by the New Horizons spacecraft as it made the first reconnaissance flight through the remote Pluto system six billion kilometers from the Sun. [7]Now known as Lowell Regio, the region was named for Percival Lowell, founder of the Lowell Observatory. Also famous for his speculation that there were canals on Mars, Lowell started the search that ultimately [8]led to Pluto's discovery in 1930 by [9]Clyde Tombaugh. In this frame Pluto's [10]North Pole is above and left of center. The pale bluish floor of the broad canyon on the left is about 70 kilometers (45 miles) wide, running vertically toward the south. Higher elevations take on a yellowish hue. [11]New Horizon's measurements were used to determine that in addition to nitrogen ice, methane ice is abundant across Lowell Regio. So far, Pluto is the only [12]Solar System world named by an 11-year-old girl. Tomorrow's picture: ringed ice giant __________________________________________________________________ [13]< | [14]Archive | [15]Submissions | [16]Index | [17]Search | [18]Calendar | [19]RSS | [20]Education | [21]About APOD | [22]Discuss | [23]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [24]Robert Nemiroff ([25]MTU) & [26]Jerry Bonnell ([27]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [28]Specific rights apply. [29]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [30]ASD at [31]NASA / [32]GSFC [33]NASA Science Activation & [34]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2308/nh-northpolerotatedcontrast.jpg 3. http://www.nasa.gov/ 4. http://www.jhuapl.edu/ 5. http://www.swri.edu/ 6. http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Galleries/Featured-Images/image.php?page=14&gallery_id=2ℑ_id=412 7. https://www.iau.org/public/images/detail/ann19052a/ 8. https://lowell.edu/discover/telescopes-exhibits/pluto-discovery-telescope/ 9. https://earthsky.org/space/clyde-tombaugh-discovered-pluto-on-february-18-1930/ 10. http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Galleries/Featured-Images/image.php?page=14&gallery_id=2ℑ_id=413 11. http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/pluto-the-ice-plot-thickens 12. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/dwarf-planets/pluto/in-depth/ 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230817.html 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 17. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 22. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230818 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230819.html 24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 27. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 29. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 30. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 31. https://www.nasa.gov/ 32. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 33. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 34. http://www.mtu.edu/