This amazing photo of Pluto is just the beginning, NASA says

The veil has been pulled back from the surface of Pluto: A jaw-dropping new photo of the dwarf planet taken by NASA’s New Horizons probe reveals never-before-seen details, and it’s only the beginning of more amazing photos to come. The new image was the last snapshot taken before New Horizons went quiet in anticipation of its close flyby of Pluto, which was scheduled to take place early Tuesday morning. The photo shows two major features on Pluto’s surface that have been coming into view over the last few weeks: a large, bright, heart-shaped feature and the head of a darker region that is unofficially being called “the whale.” The incredibly detailed snapshot also reveals other, previously unseen geologic features on the dwarf planet’s surface.

I haven’t had very much sleep. But I have absolute confidence that [New Horizons] is going to turn around and send us that burst of data and tell us that it’s OK.

Alice Bowman, New Horizons’ mission operations manager

Science Pluto