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

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.

8 pages - Initial Science paper from NASA's New Horizons Pluto Encounter

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• New Constraints on Additional Satellites of the Pluto System
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Cited by in corpus (137)

• Planetary Spectrum Generator: an accurate online radiative transfer suite for atmospheres, comets, small bodies and exoplanets
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• The size, shape, density and ring of the dwarf planet Haumea from a stellar occultation
• "TNOs are Cool": A survey of the trans-Neptunian region X. Analysis of classical Kuiper belt objects from Herschel and Spitzer observations
• The cosmic shoreline: the evidence that escape determines which planets have atmospheres, and what this may mean for Proxima Centauri b
• Modelling climate diversity, tidal dynamics and the fate of volatiles on TRAPPIST-1 planets
• Initial results from the New Horizons exploration of 2014 MU69, a small Kuiper Belt Object
• Impact Craters on Pluto and Charon Indicate a Deficit of Small Kuiper Belt Objects
• Scientific Discovery with the James Webb Space Telescope
• Detection of CO and HCN in Pluto's atmosphere with ALMA
• Convection in a volatile nitrogen-ice-rich layer drives Pluto's geological vigor
• Pluto's global surface composition through pixel-by-pixel Hapke modeling of New Horizons Ralph/LEISA data
• Mean radius and shape of Pluto and Charon from New Horizons images
• Structure and Composition of Pluto's atmosphere from the New Horizons Solar Ultraviolet Occultation
• Global Albedos of Pluto and Charon from LORRI New Horizons Observations
• Kuiper belt: formation and evolution
• The Small Satellites of Pluto as Observed by New Horizons
• The Pluto System After New Horizons
• Haze in Pluto's Atmosphere
• Pluto's atmosphere from the 29 June 2015 ground-based stellar occultation at the time of the New Horizons flyby
• A new astrobiological model of the atmosphere of Titan
• Interstellar Pickup Ion Observations to 38 AU
• Constraints on the Microphysics of Pluto's Photochemical Haze from New Horizons Observations
• An experimental study of the surface formation of methane in interstellar molecular clouds
• New Horizons Observations of the Cosmic Optical Background
• Interior Structures and Tidal Heating in the TRAPPIST-1 Planets
• The nitrogen cycles on Pluto over seasonal and astronomical timescales
• Plutos interaction with its space environment: Solar Wind, Energetic Particles & Dust
• OSSOS. VIII. The Transition Between Two Size Distribution Slopes in the Scattering Disk
• Recent Tectonic Activity on Pluto Driven by Phase Changes in the Ice Shell
• Pluto's Haze as a Surface Material
• Formation of Charon's Red Poles From Seasonally Cold-Trapped Volatiles
• Space Plasma Physics: A Review
• 3D modeling of organic haze in Pluto's atmosphere
• On the Origin and Thermal Stability of Arrokoths and Plutos Ices
• Penitentes as the origin of the bladed terrain of Tartarus Dorsa, Pluto
• Study of the plutino object (208996) 2003 AZ84 from stellar occultations: size, shape and topographic features
• Modeling glacial flow on and onto Pluto's Sputnik Planitia
• The CH4 cycles on Pluto over seasonal and astronomical timescales
• Spheroidal and ellipsoidal harmonic expansions of the gravitational potential of small Solar System bodies. Case study: Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
• Pluto's lower atmosphere and pressure evolution from ground-based stellar occultations, 1988-2016
• High-Precision Orbit Fitting and Uncertainty Analysis of (486958) 2014 MU69
• New Horizons Constraints on Charon's Present Day Atmosphere
• The density of mid-sized Kuiper belt objects from ALMA thermal observations
• The Role of Acetylene in the Chemical Evolution of Carbon Complexity
• The mass and density of the dwarf planet (225088) 2007 OR10
• The Fundamental Connections Between the Solar System and Exoplanetary Science
• Crater Density Predictions for New Horizons flyby target 2014 MU69
• A Measurement of the Cosmic Optical Background and Diffuse Galactic Light Scaling from the R < 50 AU New Horizons-LORRI Data
• The role of pebble fragmentation in planetesimal formation II. Numerical simulations
• Large-scale cryovolcanic resurfacing on Pluto
• Early formation of moons around large trans-Neptunian objects via giant impacts
• Primordial N2 provides a cosmochemical explanation for the existence of Sputnik Planitia, Pluto
• Observational Constraints on Planet Nine: Astrometry of Pluto and Other Trans-Neptunian Objects
• Results from a triple chord stellar occultation and far-infrared photometry of the trans-Neptunian object (229762) 2007 UK126
• Direct Measurement of Interparticle Forces of Titan Aerosol Analogs ("Tholin") Using Atomic Force Microscopy
• The Puzzling Detection of X-rays From Pluto by Chandra
• Relevance of Tidal Heating on Large TNOs
• Self-preserving ice layers on CO2 clathrate particles: implications for Enceladus, Pluto and similar ocean worlds
• A large topographic feature on the surface of the trans-Neptunian object (307261) 2002 MS${}_4$ measured from stellar occultations
• The Eris/Dysnomia system I: The orbit of Dysnomia
• The Short Rotation Period of Hi'iaka, Haumea's Largest Satellite
• The First High-Phase Observations of a KBO: New Horizons Imaging of (15810) 1994 JR1 from the Kuiper Belt
• Organized Autotelescopes for Serendipitous Event Survey (OASES): design and performance
• Ongoing Resurfacing of KBO Eris by Volatile Transport in Local, Collisional, Sublimation Atmosphere Regime
• Modeling Pluto's Minimum Pressure: Implications for Haze Production
• Morphological Comparison of Blocks in Chaos Terrains on Pluto, Europa, and Mars
• Linking the formation and fate of exo-Kuiper belts within solar system analogues
• Stellar occultations by Trans-Neptunian Objects
• The Contraction/Expansion History of Charon with implication for its Planetary Scale Tectonic Belt
• Measuring temperature and ammonia hydrate ice on Charon in 2015 from Keck/OSIRIS spectra
• Constraining the Nordtvedt parameter with the BepiColombo Radioscience experiment
• Crustal Failure on Icy Moons from a Strong Tidal Encounter
• Triton Haze Analogues: the Role of Carbon Monoxide in Haze Formation
• The trans-Neptunian object (84922) 2003 VS2 through stellar occultations
• Evidence for a rapid decrease in Pluto's atmospheric pressure revealed by a stellar occultation in 2019
• Laboratory Measurement of Volatile Ice Vapor Pressures with a Quartz Crystal Microbalance
• Exploration of trans-Neptunian objects using the Direct Fusion Drive
• The Wide-Binary Origin of The Pluto-Charon System
• Nitrogen Atmospheres of the Icy Bodies in the Solar System
• The Effect of Adsorbed Liquid and Material Density on Saltation Threshold: Insight from Laboratory and Wind Tunnel Experiments
• Pluto's atmosphere in plateau phase since 2015 from a stellar occultation at Devasthal
• A Search for Temporal Changes on Pluto and Charon
• The New Horizons and Hubble Space Telescope Search For Rings, Dust, and Debris in the Pluto-Charon System
• Volatile transport modeling on Triton with new observational constraints
• A Pluto-Charon Sonata: The Dynamical Architecture of the Circumbinary Satellite System
• Evidence for Possible Clouds in Pluto's Present Day Atmosphere
• New Constraints on Pluto's Sputnik Planitia Ice Sheet from a Coupled Reorientation-Climate Model
• Onset of oligarchic growth and implication for accretion histories of dwarf planets
• A Pluto--Charon Sonata: Dynamical Limits on the Masses of the Small Satellites
• Sublimation as an effective mechanism for flattened lobes of (486958) Arrokoth
• Cryogenic-specific reddish coloration by cryoplasma: New explanation to color diversity of outer solar system objects
• A Pluto-Charon Concerto: An Impact on Charon as the Origin of the Small Satellites
• Limits on the number of primordial Scattered Disk objects at Pluto mass and higher from the absence of their dynamical signatures on the present day trans-Neptunian Populations
• The Spectrum of Pluto, 0.40 - 0.93 $\mu$m I. Secular and longitudinal distribution of ices and complex organics
• Multiverse Predictions for Habitability: The Number of Stars and their Properties
• Impact Craters on Pluto and Charon and Terrain Age Estimates
• On the Estimation of Circumbinary Orbital Properties
• An atmospheric general circulation model for Pluto with predictions for New Horizons temperature profiles
• A bimodal distribution of haze in Pluto's atmosphere
• A Pluto--Charon Concerto II. Formation of a Circumbinary Disk of Debris After the Giant Impact
• Can the gravitational effect of Planet X be detected in current-era tracking of the known major and minor planets?
• The Albedos, Sizes, Colors and Satellites of Dwarf Planets Compared with Newly Measured Dwarf Planet 2013 FY27
• A Pluto-Charon Sonata III. Growth of Charon from a Circum-Pluto Ring of Debris
• A deep analysis for New Horizons' KBO search images
• The surface age of Sputnik Planum, Pluto, must be less than 10 million years
• On the Origin of the Pluto System
• New Horizons Upper Limits on O${}_2$ in Pluto's Present Day Atmosphere
• A Deep Search for Additional Satellites around the Dwarf Planet Haumea
• Integral field spectroscopy with the solar gravitational lens
• Using Cosmogenic Lithium, Beryllium and Boron to Determine the Surface Ages of Icy Objects in the Outer Solar System
• Excess Ultraviolet Emission at High Galactic Latitudes: A New Horizons View
• Reconciling results of 2019 and 2020 stellar occultations on Pluto's atmosphere. New constraints from both the 5 September 2019 event and consistency analysis
• Evaluation of short-term temporal evolution of Pluto's surface composition from 2014-2017 with APO/TripleSpec
• High-temperature measurements of acetylene VUV absorption cross sections and application to warm exoplanet atmospheres
• Outer Solar System Exploration: A Compelling and Unified Dual Mission Decadal Strategy for Exploring Uranus, Neptune, Triton, Dwarf Planets, and Small KBOs and Centaurs
• Low rock mass fraction within trans-Neptunian objects inferred from the spin-orbit evolution of Orcus-Vanth and Salacia-Actaea
• A One-Dimensional Energy Balance Model Parameterization for the Formation of CO2 Ice on the Surfaces of Eccentric Extrasolar Planets
• Secondary cratering from Rheasilvia as the possible origin of Vesta's equatorial troughs
• Orbit determination of the moons of the Pluto-Charon system
• Photochemistry and Haze Formation
• Solid Accretion onto Neptune-Mass Planets I: In-Situ Accretion and Constraints from the metallicity of Uranus and Neptune
• Pluto Geologic Map: Use of Crater Data to Understand Age Relationships
• Study of Pluto's Atmosphere Based on 2020 Stellar Occultation Light Curve Results
• Nitrogen Loss from Pluto's Birth to the Present Day via Atmospheric Escape, Photochemical Destruction, and Impact Erosion
• Twin Worlds, Divergent Fates: How Obliquity has differently shaped Pluto's and Triton's landscapes and climates
• Feasibility study of a mission to Sedna -- Nuclear propulsion and advanced solar sailing concepts
• Orbital analysis of the Pluto-Charon moon system's mutual interactions and forced frequencies
• Changes in Pluto's Atmosphere Based on Stellar Occultation Data from 2017 to 2023
• New Investigations of Dark Floored Pits in the Volatile Ice of Sputnik Planitia on Pluto
• Pluto Follow On Missions: Background, Rationale, and New Mission Recommendations
• Global Climate Model Occultation Lightcurves Tested by August 2018 Ground-Based Stellar Occultation
• The Tidal-Thermal Evolution of the Pluto-Charon System
• Electronic and optical properties of crystalline nitrogen versus black phosphorus: A comparative first-principles study
• On Charon's Far-Ultraviolet Surface Reflectance