Pluto
(Image credit: screenshot)

On Wednesday, NASA received the first close-up photos of Pluto from the New Horizons probe that completed an incredible nine-year, three-billion-mile journey to the remote dwarf planet. The images are both stunning and informative; the surface reveals mountains of ice as tall as 11,000 feet, and a lack of impact craters means the surface is relatively young — less than 100 million years old.

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Jeva Lange

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.