NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has provided the clearest view yet of Pluto, left, and its moon, Charon, right. The moon, originally discovered in 1978, is thought to be approximately 19,000 km (12,000 mi) away from the surface of the planet.

Pluto is the farthest planet from the sun, although it occasionally comes closer in than Neptune, owing to its highly eccentric orbit. The small, rocky, and cold planet takes 247.7 years to revolve around the sun. This painting depicts Pluto, foreground; its moon, Charon, background; and the sun, a bright but distant star.