New Horizons finds that Pluto is bigger, icier than previously thought

Pluto.
(Image credit: Twitter.com/NewScientist)

It turns out that Pluto isn't as small as scientists thought: NASA's New Horizons probe has sent imagery back to Earth showing that the planet's diameter is 1,473 miles (plus or minus 12.4 miles), making it 30 miles wider than the dwarf planet Eris, whose discovery caused Pluto’s demotion from being a full-fledged planet in 2006.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.