NASA's New Horizons spacecraft captured this high-resolution enhanced color view of Pluto on July 14, 2015. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute hide caption
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Left: the best current image of the minor planet known as Ultima Thule. Right: an illustration of one possible appearance of the distant object. Its rotation is shown in red. NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI; sketch courtesy of James Tuttle Keane hide caption
The Japanese Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii has the right attributes for searching for Planet Nine. National Astronomical Observatory of Japan hide caption
Astronomers Are On A Celestial Treasure Hunt. The Prize? Planet Nine
Members of the New Horizons team celebrated last year with a blown-up image of the postage stamp when the probe made its closest approach to Pluto. Bill Ingalls/AP hide caption
The pair of galaxies NGC 1531/2, engaged in a spirited waltz, is located about 70 million light-years away toward the southern constellation Eridanus (The River). R. Gendler and J.E. Ovaldsen/ESO/IDA hide caption
Pluto's shoreline of Sputnik Planum is seen in the highest-resolution images yet to come from New Horizons. John Spencer of the Southwest Research Institute says the details support the idea that the mountains "are huge ice blocks that have been jostled and tumbled and somehow transported to their present locations." NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI hide caption
The new object is one of many dwarf planets orbiting at the edge of the solar system. This artist's conception shows the previous record-holder for distance, a dwarf planet called Eris. ESO/L. Calçada hide caption
The heart-shaped glacier on Pluto's surface is made of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane. Researchers aren't sure how it formed. NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI hide caption
Pluto's atmosphere has a haze of blue, in this color picture taken by the New Horizons spacecraft that was released by NASA. NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI hide caption
This view of Pluto is based on high-resolution images taken on by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft and shows a diverse and complex surface variety. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute hide caption
Members of the New Horizons science team react to seeing the spacecraft's image of Pluto on Tuesday, before its closest approach. Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP hide caption
New close-up images of a region near Pluto's equator reveal a giant surprise: a range of youthful mountains. NASA hide caption
The last image of Pluto taken by New Horizons. NASA hide caption
An image of Pluto that was taken by New Horizons shortly before its flyby Tuesday shows a heart-shaped pattern on the planet's surface. NASA says Pluto "sent a love note back to Earth." NASA/Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute hide caption
A portrait of Pluto (right) and its moon Charon in a colorized, composite image made July 11 during the final approach of the New Horizons spacecraft. Astronomers are eager to get a much closer view of the icy world Tuesday. NASA-JHUAPL-SWRI hide caption
NASA's New Horizons mission will be the first ever to visit Pluto and its moons. This artist's conception shows the probe as it passes the dwarf planet. JHUAPL/SwRI hide caption
Computer modeling illustrations of Pluto's moon Nix demonstrate that its orientation changes unpredictably as it orbits the "double planet" of Pluto and Charon. M. Showalter (SETI)/G. Bacon (STScI)/NASA/ESA hide caption
An artist's concept shows the New Horizons spacecraft as it approaches Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, in July 2015. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute hide caption
Artist concept of New Horizons spacecraft. The Hubble Space Telescope is being pressed into service to help scientists look for a post-Pluto target for the space probe. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute hide caption
An artist's illustration, which Hubble Site says shows the Pluto system from the surface of one of its moons. NASA.gov hide caption