It may be a “dwarf planet,” but it still has some dramatic terrain.
NASA released a new video of Pluto using elevation data and images gathered by its spacecraft, New Horizon. It’s the closest Earth-bound viewers will get to flying over the ex-planet, offering a glimpse of its icy plains and rugged peaks.
The clip is made up of over 100 photos gathered over six weeks from the NASA’s probe closest flyby in the summer of 2015. National Geographic reports New Horizon, after orbiting Pluto, continued to travel toward an object known as 2014 MU69, which is considered of the solar system’s building blocks. It’s expected to arrive in January 2019.
Scientists pieced together the images and generated additional frames with the data gathered by the orbiting spacecraft to create the video. To bring out details on the surface, they enhanced the color. NASA used a similar process to create the video of Charon, Pluto’s moon (below).
According to a NASA press release, both videos are the most comprehensive and detailed look at Pluto and Charon that’s ever been produced.
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