A Solar System Photo Gallery

A Solar System Photo Gallery
Pluto, Charon and Comets

	Pluto is shown in this reconstructed view in approximately true color. A Southwest Research Institute Team led by Eliot Young constructed a color map of Pluto's surface from Earth-based observations of eclipses of Pluto by its moon Charon from 1985 to 1990 (I have modified this version from their original). Pluto is about 2,300 km in diameter and is one of the largest of a family of icy bodies near and beyond the orbit of Neptune. This view shows the hemisphere which permanently faces Charon. The red-brown color may represent hydrocarbons mixed with the surface frost. (Credit: Eliot Young et ali, Southwest Research Institute, NASA)
	Charon is shown in this reconstructed view in black-and-white. Marc Buie constructed a map of Charon by analyzing observations of Pluto and Charon from 1954 to 1986 (I have blurred this version from their original). Charon is about 1,200 km in diameter. This view shows the hemisphere of Charon which permanently faces Pluto. Charon's surface is grey compared to Pluto's reddish surface. (Credit: Marc W. Buie, Lowell Observatory)
	Comet Halley is shown here in a composite of images taken by the Giotto probe on 14 March 1986 from 1,500 km away. The nucleus of Halley's Comet, 16 km long, is visible. The image shows gaseous jets from evaporating ices spewing from the surface of the nucleus. (Credit: ESA)
	Comet Borrelly is seen here in an image obtained by the Deep Space 1 probe in 2001 from 3,417 km away. This shows the 8-km long nucleus of the comet. (Credit: NASA, JPL)
	Comet Wild 2 is seen in this image from the Stardust probe taken on 2 January 2004 from 500 km away. (Credit: STARDUST team, NASA, JPL)
	The nucleus of Comet Temple 1 is shown here in an image taken 4 July 2005 from 3,000 km away by the Deep Impact impactor probe, shortly before it struck the comet's surface. (Credit: NASA, JPL)