Chandra Release - September 14, 2016

Visual Description: Pluto

The X-ray and optical comparison of the dwarf planet Pluto features two distinct components. The main panel is the optical image taken from New Horizons on its approach to Pluto, while the inset at right shows an image of Pluto in X-rays from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.  The X-ray image depicts a bright blue fuzzy source, while the optical image displays a swath of reddish brown, tan and light grey colors.  The texture of the optical image looks rough and cratered, somewhat Moon-like, and has a slight heart shape on its surface to the lower right. As New Horizons approached Pluto in late 2014 and then flew by the planet during the summer of 2015, Chandra obtained its data during four separate observations. During each observation, Chandra detected low-energy X-rays from the dwarf planet.