Free Astronomy Magazine January-February 2016

4 The downloading of data memorized by the New Horizons spacecraft continues non-stop, along with the growing number of new discoveries made in the amazing Pluto system. Almost nothing of what scientists had unanticipated to find was found, while something completely unexpected has emerged. JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016 A Pluto very similar to the satellite Triton of Neptune, a Charon with a dark and pitted surface, and four other insignificant satellites. This is more or less what astronomers and geologists thought would be the likely result from The new fa of Pluto’s system the surveys of various kinds made by the New Horizons spacecraft during its 14 July flyby. Such expectations were met only to a very limited degree, as in fact Pluto’s system turned out to be a mine of surprises. In this latest update we will by Michele Ferrara PLANETOLOGY