The dwarf planet is getting more and more interesting ever since the flyby of Pluto as captured by NASA this July.
In a recent photo released by NASA, the planet shows a blue sky of its haze layer and some patches of frozen water.
Pluto's haze layer shows its blue color in this picture taken by the New Horizons Ralph/Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC). The high-altitude haze is thought to be similar in nature to that seen at Saturn's moon Titan. The source of both hazes likely involves sunlight-initiated chemical reactions of nitrogen and methane, leading to relatively small, soot-like particles (called tholins) that grow as they settle toward the surface. This image was generated by software that combines information from blue, red and near-infrared images to replicate the color a human eye would perceive as closely as possible. - NASA
The breakthrough discovery is a step higher because any part of the Kuiper Belt, a region beyond Neptune that is home to a number of asteroids and comets.
"Who would have expected a blue sky in the Kuiper Belt? It's gorgeous," said Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator from Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
However, the blue sky effect on Pluto is due to soot-like particles called tholins unlike earth's nitrogen particles.
Aside from the blue sky, another discovery is the tiny patches of frozen water which appears to be red. Scientists were able to detect water ice with the use of a tool called spectral composition mapper on New Horizons.
"Understanding why water appears exactly where it does, and not in other places, is a challenge that we are digging into," said science team member Jason Cook of SwRI.
"I'm surprised that this water ice is so red," said Silvia Protopapa, a science team member from the University of Maryland, College Park.
A nuclear-powered spacecraft of New Horizons became the first spaceship to pass by Pluto last July 14. It is expected to continually send data back to earth until late 2016.
