This is humanity's best look yet at Pluto
Earth, meet Pluto.
The photo above was taken on Monday as NASA's New Horizons probe approached Pluto; it's the closest look we've ever gotten of the dwarf planet, and it was three billion miles and nine years in the making.
Traveling at 10 miles a second, NASA's New Horizons probe successfully flew by Pluto on Tuesday at 7:59 a.m. EST. It then lost contact with Earth, and isn't expected to say "mission accomplished" until about 9 p.m. EST. As it journeys around the dwarf planet, it will be collecting data and photos, which Earth should receive by Wednesday afternoon (it takes approximately four and a half hours just to transfer data back to Earth). Think of the above as NASA's teaser.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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