More, Better Pluto Close-Ups Coming Soon

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — If you think Tuesday's flyby of Pluto was big, just wait until the pictures start rolling in. That's the word from scientists who plan to release the long-awaited images this (WED) afternoon. They'll be Pluto's first-ever close-ups. New Horizons already has provided the best pictures ever taken of Pluto, a dwarf planet way out on the edge of the solar system, 3 billion miles from Earth. Those views came during the spacecraft's final approach toward Pluto. But the best highest-resolution pictures were snapped as New Horizons swept within 7,700 miles of Pluto on Tuesday morning. Scientists didn't know until Tuesday night — when New Horizons phoned home — that the unprecedented encounter was a success. It will take 16 months to beam down all the scientific data. Pluto was discovered by Kansas farmer Clyde Tombaugh. The 24-year-old amateur astronomer was working as an intern at the Lowell Observatory in 1930 when he made his famous discovery.