9 Things The New Horizon Probe Has Taught Us About Pluto

3. The Heart Is Broken

As the colours were enhanced in the now famous image of the heart they have revealed that it is split almost right down the middle, with two different compositions on each side. These images are not what an observer could see with the naked eye, but by cranking up the saturation, we can pick out details on the surface that may have otherwise been missed.

Whilst everything we know about can and probably will change in the coming months, scientists are beginning to make deductions about the surface composition of the little planet. The thin nitrogen atmosphere extends far enough out in to space to be detected, but observations about the icy surface will have to be made from the detailed images and measurements that New Horizons is due to beam back to earth in the future.