The probe imaged the orb on the day of its flyby of Pluto

Jul 23, 2015 11:55 GMT  ·  By

On July 14, NASA's New Horizons probe completed a flyby of the Pluto system at the farther end of the Solar System. The craft came as close as 7,750 miles (12,470 kilometers) of the dwarf planet and imaged landscapes on its surface in unprecedented detail. 

Although it was Pluto that was the probe's primary target, the moons orbiting the dwarf planet weren't simply ignored. New Horizons photographed them too and images revealing their particularities are now pouring in.

Just days ago, NASA scientists released a view of a mountain hiding inside a ditch on Charon, Pluto's largest moon. Now, it's the moons Nix and Hydra that are in the limelight.

Nix, measuring 26 miles (42 kilometers) in length and 22 miles (36 kilometers) in width, was imaged on July 14 from a distance of roughly 102,000 miles (165,000 kilometers).

As for Hydra, said to be 34 miles (55 kilometers) long and 25 miles (40 kilometers) wide, New Horizons pictured it on July 14 as well, albeit from the slightly more impressive distance of 143,000 miles (231,000 kilometers).

In the view below, Nix is shown on the left and Hydra on the right. True, the images are not all that clear, but they are more than enough for scientists to get a sense of what these two orbs are like.

There is a reddish spot on Nix

Pluto's moons Nix and Hydra are about the same size. What's more, they were both discovered in 2005. Still, when it comes to their appearance and their makeup, they are nothing alike.

Thus, New Horizons' July 14 view of Nix shows a peculiar reddish spot on this celestial body. Astronomers have not yet determined what this spot is, but they think it might be a crater.

“New Horizons’ first color image of Pluto’s moon Nix, in which colors have been enhanced, reveals an intriguing region on the jelly bean-shaped satellite,” NASA researchers write in a statement.

“Although the overall surface color of Nix is neutral grey in the image, the newfound region has a distinct red tint. Hints of a bull’s-eye pattern lead scientists to speculate that the reddish region is a crater,” they add.

While Nix looks like a cosmic jelly bean of sorts, Hydra appears to resemble the state of Michigan. Like Nix, it too seems to accommodate for impact craters on its surface. Of these craters, one looks darker than its surrounding landscapes.

During its flyby of the Pluto system, New Horizons also snapped images of Pluto's most recently discovered moons, Kerberos and Styx. Views of these celestial bodies should reach us here on Earth in the weeks to come.

Nix (left) and Hydra (right)
Nix (left) and Hydra (right)

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The Pluto system
Nix (left) and Hydra (right)
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