--- title: Pluto: See It Transform in a Year of New Horizons Images description: New Horizons snapped the best pictures of Pluto to date on Tuesday morning. canonical: https://time.com/3957640/new-horizons-pluto-images/ author: Jacob Koffler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-14T19:14:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:02:29.942Z article:section: Science og:title: See Pluto Transform in a Year of New Horizons Images og:description: Our gif shows the evolution of its images from a barely perceptible gray blob to a closeup showing a heart-shaped area on Pluto's surface og:url: https://time.com/3957640/new-horizons-pluto-images/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc6fe4404a973049/69885ad535ba6f8dc3c0e2d2/new-horizons.gif?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: New Horizons Pluto Approach og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See Pluto Transform in a Year of New Horizons Images twitter:description: Our gif shows the evolution of its images from a barely perceptible gray blob to a closeup showing a heart-shaped area on Pluto's surface twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc6fe4404a973049/69885ad535ba6f8dc3c0e2d2/new-horizons.gif?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See Pluto Transform in a Year of New Horizons Images by [Jacob Koffler](https://time.com/author/jacob-koffler/) ## Jacob Koffler Jul 14, 2015 7:14 PM UTC  Pluto, as seen from New Horizons in pictures taken over the last year. The pictures become clearer as New Horizons approached and made its closest pass to the planet on Tuesday, July 14. Pluto, as seen from New Horizons in pictures taken over the last year. The pictures become clearer as New Horizons approached and made its closest pass to the planet on Tuesday, July 14.Images: NASA/APL/SwRI Animation: Jonathan D. Woods by [Jacob Koffler](https://time.com/author/jacob-koffler/) ## Jacob Koffler Jul 14, 2015 7:14 PM UTC NASA’s New Horizons space probe launched on Jan. 19, 2006, and has been snapping pictures as it approached Pluto. It flew within 6,000 miles of Pluto on Tuesday morning, resulting in the closest and [best images](http://time.com/3956938/new-horizons-pluto-flyby/) of Pluto humankind has ever seen. Over the course of its travel in the past year, as the gif shows, some of the snaps of Pluto have been far less than crisp. For more information on how Pluto is photographed, check out [Photographing Pluto: This Is How _New Horizons_ Works](http://time.com/3944157/new-horizons-pluto/). ### See Scenes From Astronaut Scott Kelly’s Second Month in Space  Astronaut Scott Kelly has posted a photo almost every day since arriving at the ISS. Here, see a selection from his second month of his year in space. (Via Twitter on May 13, 2015) NASA  "Get ready to test your #geography skills! I’ll post a new #SpaceGeo pic today. How to play: http://1.usa.gov/1bw0Xuh" - via Twitter on April 29, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Enjoying morning coffee with my friend @tomkochnews and @abc13houston aboard @Space\_Station. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on May 1, 2015 NASA  "#SaturdayMorning #coffee with my old friend #PlanetEarth. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on May 2, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "If I was looking through a microscope instead of a very big camera lens I would think I was looking at a virus" - via Twitter on May 3, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Had my first cup of fancy coffee yesterday from the much anticipated @Space\_Station #espresso machine. Not too bad." - via Twitter on May 4, 2015 NASA  "Space taco w rehydrated eggs, sausage & hot sauce on a tortilla. Happy #CincoDeMayo from @Space\_Station #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on May 5, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "#SpaceGeo! A serpent is known for deceptive traits, but don’t let this snake pull the wool over your eyes. Name it!" - via Twitter on May 6, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Looking at the sands of #Earth it's hard to imagine there are more stars than every grain on our planet.#YearInSpace" - via Twitter on May 7, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Subtropical Storm #Ana churns off the East coast of USA. #Wx from @Space\_Station. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on May 8, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "I don't know where in the US Southwest this is, but it sure is beautiful. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on May 9, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "#watercolor from space. #YearInSpace." - via Twitter on May 10, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "#MtEtna Highest European active #volcano lives up to its Italian name Mongibello (beautiful mountain) from space too" - via Twitter on May 11, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Caught our star peeking through #Dragon's solar arrays today. Good night from @Space\_Station! #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on May 13, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Watching my bro @ShuttleCDRKelly on #CelebrityJeopardy onboard @Space\_Station this morning. Great job representing!" - via Twitter on May 15, 2015 NASA  "The view out my window. #CapeTown #SouthAfrica. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on May 16, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "#Africa Interesting how a barren desert exposes Earth in a surprising way that is beautiful from space #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on May 18, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  ".@POTUS Welcome to @Twitter, Mr. President. You told me to #IG my mission up here Glad to see you tweeting down there" - via Twitter on May 19, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Guess what day it is? #SpaceGeo! New #geography trivia photo today. How to play: http://1.usa.gov/1bw0Xuh" - via Twitter on May 20, 2015 NASA  "Released #Dragon early this a.m. @ISS\_Research on Earth. Mission success! Congrats & good night from @Space\_Station!" - via Twitter on May 21, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "#RedSea. I'd sure like to jump into you this morning. #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on May 22, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "My ninth #SaturdayNight onboard @Space\_Station. #SaturdayFun! #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on May 23, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Just flew over you #Honolulu #Hawaii. Happy #MemorialDay! #YearInSpace" - via Twitter on May 24, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "This #MemorialDay honoring those who gave their lives in service to our nation with a picture of #ArlingtonCemetary" - via Twitter on May 25, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA  "Hard to imagine this underwater. My thoughts are w those affected by the floods back home. Stay safe. #HoustonFlood" - via Twitter on May 26, 2015 Scott Kelly—NASA _Read next:_ [_The Pluto Encounter Means More Than You Think_](http://time.com/3957126/pluto-new-horizons-meaning/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Download TIME’s mobile app for iOS to have your world explained wherever you go_](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/time-mobile/id328218429) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3957640/new-horizons-pluto-images/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3957640/new-horizons-pluto-images/"},"headline":"See Pluto Transform in a Year of New Horizons Images","datePublished":"2015-07-14T19:14:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:02:29.942Z","description":"Our gif shows the evolution of its images from a barely perceptible gray blob to a closeup showing a heart-shaped area on Pluto's surface","url":"https://time.com/3957640/new-horizons-pluto-images/","keywords":["Space"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc6fe4404a973049/69885ad535ba6f8dc3c0e2d2/new-horizons.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jacob Koffler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jacob-koffler/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcc6fe4404a973049/69885ad535ba6f8dc3c0e2d2/new-horizons.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"New Horizons Pluto Approach","caption":"Pluto, as seen from New Horizons in pictures taken over the last 12 months.","creditText":"Images: NASA/APL/SwRI Animation: Jonathan D. 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