--- title: Pluto New Horizons: New False Color Photos Show Makeup description: The images highlight differences between the surface of Pluto and its largest moon, Charon. canonical: https://time.com/3957994/pluto-false-color-photos/ author: Katy Osborn article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-14T21:57:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:58:35.009Z article:section: Science og:title: New False Color Photos Set Pluto and Its Moon Apart og:description: The images highlight differences between the surface of Pluto and its largest moon, Charon. og:url: https://time.com/3957994/pluto-false-color-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc714d8b50cd2e53e/69885ae335ba6f7021c0e2ed/pluto-charon.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Pluto and Charon in False Color Show Compositional Diversity og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: New False Color Photos Set Pluto and Its Moon Apart twitter:description: The images highlight differences between the surface of Pluto and its largest moon, Charon. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc714d8b50cd2e53e/69885ae335ba6f7021c0e2ed/pluto-charon.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # New False Color Photos Set Pluto and Its Moon Apart ## Video: NASA Celebrates Historic Pluto Mission [Watch (HLS stream): NASA Celebrates Historic Pluto Mission](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/WkGiVtGO.m3u8) (1:36)  _Published 2015-07-15. NASA is celebrating an historic first mission to Pluto as the world anxiously awaits more images of the dwarf planet._ by [Katy Osborn](https://time.com/author/katy-osborn/) ## Katy Osborn Jul 14, 2015 9:57 PM UTC  Pluto and Charon in False Color Show Compositional Diversity Pluto and Charon in False Color Show Compositional DiversityNASA/APL/SwRI by [Katy Osborn](https://time.com/author/katy-osborn/) ## Katy Osborn Jul 14, 2015 9:57 PM UTC NASA’s New Horizons Team has released new exaggerated color images from its space probe flyby of Pluto and its moons, highlighting differences between the surface of Pluto and its largest moon, Charon. The images, which were obtained and color-filtered early Monday morning using “Ralph,” one of the seven science instruments on the NASA New Horizons spacecraft that passed just above 7,000 miles away from Pluto on Tuesday, reveal information about the weather on the dwarf planet and its moon, the age of their craters and the molecular make-up of the ice that appears to be prevalent on both surfaces, [NASA reports](http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/pluto-and-charon-shine-in-false-color). The filtered images also show Pluto’s heart—a newly-discovered geological feature on Pluto’s surface that scientists are particularly excited about—as being made up of two seemingly distinct regions: just a taste of how much scientists still have to learn from the New Horizons data as it trickles in. 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