The Clearest Images of Pluto Yet Captured by New Horizons Spacecraft (VIDEO)

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has sent back some of the best images yet of the historic Pluto flyby. They're some of the sharpest views of the dwarf planet to date, and the best close-ups that humans may see for decades.

Each week, the New Horizons spacecraft transmits data stored on its digital recorders from its flight through the Pluto system on July 14. These latest pictures are part of a sequence taken near New Horizons closest approach to Pluto with resolutions of about 250 to 280 feet per pixel. This reveals features less than half the size of a city block on Pluto's diverse surface.

"These close-up images, showing the diversity of terrain on Pluto, demonstrate the power of our robotic planetary explorers to return intriguing data to scientists back here on planet Earth," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, in a news release. "New Horizons thrilled us during the July flyby with the first close images of Pluto, and as the spacecraft transmits the treasure trove of images on its onboard memory back to us, we continue to be amazed by what we see."

The images reveal a bit more about this dwarf planet. More specifically, it gives researchers a window into Pluto's geology. This, in turn, may tell scientists a bit more about the history of this planet and also our solar system.

For more information, visit NASA's New Horizons website.

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