Wrekking a Two Tonner: Instagram favs - This new high-resolution image of Pluto taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft combines blue, red and infrared images to further reveal its colorful landscape. In the first research paper from the mission released this week, data shows that the large, heart-shaped feature on Pluto's southern hemisphere is a glacier made of carbon monoxide and methane ices (quite poisonous to us humans). Team members have also discovered evidence for a water-ice rich crust, multiple haze layers above the surface in Pluto’s atmosphere, and that Pluto is somewhat larger and a bit more ice rich than expected. Evidence of glacial floes and other tectonic features were also discovered indicating that Pluto has been geologically active on the inside pretty recently. This has surprised scientists since prior understanding indicated that a dwarf planet like Pluto, after billions of years of cooling, should not be active. Even several months after New Horizons close approach, NASA has downloaded only about 15 percent of the total data collected in the flyby so there is much more to learn still about this curious world. (Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI) #astronomy #pluto #nasa #newhorizons #science