NASA New Horizons Captures Nix and Hydra Moons in Spectacular New Image

First Posted: Jul 22, 2015 06:56 AM EDT

Scientists have captured some startling images of Pluto's two moons, Nix and Hydra, with the help of the New Horizons spacecraft. The images show the jelly bean-shaped moons when New Horizons was about 102,000 miles from Nix.

Pluto's small, irregularly shaped moon, Hydra, can be seen on the right of the picture. The image itself was taken on July 14, 2015, and shows Hydra when it was about 143,000 miles away from the moon. Features as small as .7 miles are visible on Hydra, which measures 34 miles in length.

Pluto's largest moon, Charon, has largely captured the imaginations of the public. In this latest image, though, researchers are highlighting Pluto's smaller and lesser-known moons. Nix and Hydra are the second and third moons to be discovered and are approximately the same size.

Although the overall surface color of Nix is grey in the image, a newfound region on the moon has a distinct red tint. Hints of a bullseye pattern has led scientists to speculate that the reddish region may actually be a crater.

"Additional compositional data has already been taken of Nix, but it is not yet downlinked," said Carly Howett, mission scientist, in a news release. "It will tell us why this region is redder than its surroundings. This observation is so tantalizing, I'm finding it hard to be patient for more Nix data to be downlinked."

The researchers are currently studying the two moons, but they're looking forward to seeing Pluto's other satellites, including Styx and Kerberos. Images of these two moons are expected to be transmitted to Earth no later than mid-October.

For more information on the New Horizons mission, visit NASA's website.