Sure, you've seen Pluto. But have you seen Pluto ... on principal component analysis?
That's the statistical technique used by NASA to highlight differences in the color of the dwarf planet's surface that might not be obvious to the naked eye. Think of it like turning the contrast way up, but scientifically. The image was taken from about 22,000 miles away on July 14 by the New Horizons probe, which is now well on its way to the rocky Kuiper Belt.
Related: NASA Shows Pluto Flyby Video and Picks Next Destination for New Horizons
By making these slight differences in color extra-obvious (even more than the enhanced color photo), patterns emerge that otherwise may seem to be just noise or random features. Compare the colorful version above with the true-color version below and see how patterns jump out at you.
New Horizons may be millions of miles past Pluto, but it's still beaming information to scientists at NASA, where planetologists and astronomers are busy picking it apart for juicy new insights. Expect more interesting imagery and discoveries to keep showing up for quite a while.
