Pluto and Charon satellite seen by the New Horizons probe on July 14, 2015 at...

Pluto and Charon seen by New Horizons - Pluto and Charon seen by New Horizons - Pluto and Charon satellite seen by the New Horizons probe on July 14, 2015 at 250,000 km from the dwarf planet. Pluto and Charon are shown in enhanced color in this image, which is the highest - resolution color image of the pair so far returned to Earth by New Horizons. It was taken at 06:49 UT on July 14, 2015, five hours before Pluto closest approach, from a range of 150,000 miles (250,000 kilometers), with the spacecraft's Ralph instrument. The image highlights the contrasting appearance of the two worlds: Charon is mostly gray, with a dark reddish polar cap, while Pluto shows a wide variety of subtle color variations, including yellowish patches on the north polar cap and subtly contrasting colors for the two halves of Pluto's “” heart””, informally named Tombaugh Regio, seen in the upper right quadrant of the image. In order to fit Pluto and Charon in the same frame in their correct relative positions, the image has been rotated so the north pole on both Pluto and Charon is pointing towards the upper left. The image was made with the blue, red, and near - infrared color filters of Ralph's Multicolor Visible Imaging Camera, and shows colors that are similar, but not identical, to what would be seen with the human eye, which is sensitive to a narrower range of wavelengths