                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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.

                              2026 September 6
      The large sphere is pictured with different color regions on its
   surface. Irregularly shaped parts of tan, white, and brown. Please see
               the explanation for more detailed information.

                           Pluto in Enhanced Color
    Image Credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins Univ./APL, Southwest Research Inst.

   Explanation: Pluto is more colorful than we can see. Color data and
   high-resolution images of our Solar System's most famous dwarf planet,
   taken by the robotic New Horizons spacecraft during its flyby in 2015
   July, have been digitally combined to give an enhanced-color view of
   this ancient world sporting an unexpectedly young surface. The featured
   enhanced color image is not only esthetically pretty but scientifically
   useful, making surface regions of differing chemical composition
   visually distinct. For example, the light-colored heart-shaped Tombaugh
   Regio on the lower right is clearly shown here to be divisible into two
   regions that are geologically different, with the leftmost lobe,
   Sputnik Planitia, also appearing unusually smooth. After Pluto, New
   Horizons continued on, shooting past asteroid Arrokoth in 2019 with
   enough speed to escape our Solar System completely.

                      Tomorrow's picture: dusty pelican
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

