These are the newest images of Pluto from New Horizons, taken from May 8-12, 2015, at a distance of just under 77 million kilometres (50 million miles). More detail on the surface can be seen now, with a lot of albedo variations. Not much longer now until closest approach on July 14, when the best images then will have 5,000 times the resolution of these ones!
image gallery
Image Gallery: odd ‘shavings’ in Spirit of St. Louis crater on Mars
An interesting image from the Opportunity rover, sol 4023. There are a lot of little shavings-like bits on this brushed rock inside the Spirit of St. Louis crater. Are they just a peculiar result of the brushing of dust by the rover instrument or something else? Are they bits of the rock itself or other embedded material? Similar ones were seen once before, but they seem to be uncommon, even after most brushings.
Read MoreImage Gallery: odd ‘shavings’ in Spirit of St. Louis crater on Mars
Image Gallery: closer view of Ceres’ bright spots
This is the newest image of the main bright spots on dwarf planet Ceres taken by the Dawn spacecraft. It was taken on May 16, 2015, with a resolution of 700 metres (2,250 feet) per pixel. The second spot on the right can now be seen to be several smaller spots close together.
Image Gallery: the cliffs of Hathor on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
A stunning view of the Hathor and Seth regions on the comet, taken by the Rosetta spacecraft. The cliffs of Hathor loom in the background. Some jet activity can also be seen in the closer foreground. See also the Rosetta blog post here.
Read MoreImage Gallery: the cliffs of Hathor on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Image Gallery: oval mound with dark streaks
An interesting oval-shaped mound with dark streaks on Mars, as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and posted on Beautiful Mars.