Thread by @Astropartigirl, 5 years ago on this day, Pluto went from being a blob [...]

5 years ago on this day, Pluto went from being a blob to a fascinating and complex planetary body, with a heart on it. It was our first look at a Kuiper Belt Object EVER. Let's look at some of the cool images New Horizons took. Thread! (1/n)
(Image credits go to NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI)

Getting close-ups of this dwarf planet revealed a rugged terrain I don't think anyone expected. Look at this!!
(2/n)

Oh, mountainous terrain? ALL OVER and OMG IT IS GORGEOUS! I still can't believe this is Pluto.
(3/n)

Oh, and would you have ever thought that ices actually flow on Pluto? Because ICES FLOW AND THIS IS ONE OF THE COOLEST AND MOST PROFOUND THINGS EVER!!
(4/n)

Move a little bit over around Sputnik Planum, and you get ALL THIS. Flowing ices, craters, mountains. THIS IS PLUTO, FRIENDS.
(5/n)

Better yet, take a tour of the icy planes of Pluto with this flyover video!
(6/n)

Oh and let's not forget Pluto's companion moon, Charon. IT IS GORGEOUS.
(7/n)

And yeah because Pluto is so amazing, let's look at the form of its icy terrain. There are pits, there are mountains, it is rugged, it is AWESOME.
(8/n)

Oh, and just when you thought that was a good as it gets, after New Horizons passed Pluto, it turned around to look back at this wondrous world and took a snap back-lit by the Sun revealing LAYERS AND LAYERS OF HAZES ACROSS THE ALREADY MIND-BOGGLING TERRAIN

(9/n)

Oh, and just when you thought that was a good as it gets, after New Horizons passed Pluto, it turned around to look back at this wondrous world and took a snap back-lit by the Sun revealing LAYERS AND LAYERS OF HAZES ACROSS THE ALREADY MIND-BOGGLING TERRAIN (9/n)

And as if in a grand finale, New Horizons snapped one of the most hauntingly beautiful images of Pluto yet: blue hazes surrounding the silhouette of this beautiful world in a photo backlit by the Sun. One of my favorites

(10/n)

And as if in a grand finale, New Horizons snapped one of the most hauntingly beautiful images of Pluto yet: blue hazes surrounding the silhouette of this beautiful world in a photo backlit by the Sun. One of my favorites (10/n)

One thing's for sure: whether you call Pluto a planet or a dwarf planet, nothing can take away how amazingly beautiful, shocking, and complex this world is. Nothing. Thank you New Horizons for being our eyes on the distant solar system!
(11/11)

Bonus: the reds you see on Pluto and Charon are due to this stuff called tholins. Back when they figured this out, Sagan wanted to call them "star-tar" and I thought you should all know that because