An image from New Horizons shows the subtle variations in color on the dwarf planet Pluto's surface.

Principal component analysis is the technique that NASA used to capture this image. Many subtle color differences between Pluto's distinct regions are shown which means that the main color components across the surface of the planet varies.

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On July 14, this image was captured. Then on Nov. 9, it was presented at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Several major findings such as the discovery of what may be ice volcanoes on Pluto's surface were also announced.

NASA New Horizons has revealed much about the small, icy plains, volcanoes, mountains, chemical composition, and complex atmosphere of Pluto. Pluto's four tiniest moons rotating around the planet in pandemonium are also showed.

Pluto's Sputnik Planum has no crater. This has made scientists conclude that a geological processes made its surface smooth. These processes include glaciers, landslides, active volcanoes, earthquakes, and wind storms.

Principal Investigator Alan Stern of New Horizons, who is also a scientist at the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI) in Colorado, mentioned in a meeting at the Division of Planetary Science of the American Astronomical Society in National Harbor, Maryland, that what makes him glad is that a massive scale of small planets can be active, billions of years after their creation.

Earlier this year, New Horizons images that revealed the hazy atmosphere of Pluto surprised scientists. Now, colder and more compact atmosphere surrounding the dwarf planet has been seen. Scientists originally thought that the atmosphere creates a bubble nearly seven to eight times larger than Pluto itself. Scientists have, however, observed that the extended atmosphere is currently only about 2.5 times larger than Pluto.

TagsPluto, pluto images, New Horizons, NASA New Horizons, pluto news, pluto news nasa, NASA