A mosaic of Pluto depicting its icy mountains has been clocking millions of views and thousands of retweets on the social media platform X. The 20-second video, created by zooming in on the photo of the dwarf
planet, showcased its icy mountains and hazy, frozen plains. Although mesmerised at first, a few wondered if the media circulating was snapped by space agency NASA or if it was another misguided AI slop shared to create baited engagement and generate monetary gains. “It took 9 years and 3 billion miles to get this shot,” wrote X account @MAstronomers.
Since being posted, the Pluto mosaic has been viewed nearly 18 million times on the Elon Musk-owned platform.
But first, why does the mysterious world of Pluto fascinate humans?
Planet Status Revoked
Pluto, discovered in 1930, has fascinated humans for decades. Its tall ice mountains, valleys, and craters give it a distinct characteristic and charm. Only 1,400 miles wide and located deep in the Kuiper Belt, Pluto was the ninth planet of our solar system before its status was revoked in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union. Why? Pluto failed to pass a key criterion that its fellow planets could pass.
Quoting the 2006 IAU Resolution, NASA, on its website, stated: “a dwarf planet is an object in orbit around the Sun that is large enough to pull itself into a nearly round shape but has not been able to clear its orbit of debris.” Pluto found itself in the dwarf category because it is small in size and shares its orbital path with too many objects surrounding it.
Pluto, however, did meet the two criteria needed to be a planet: 1) orbit the sun, and 2) be spherical due to its own gravity.
Mountains, Valleys, Craters
If the winter has you feeling cold and numb, Pluto may not be the ideal destination for you. The temperatures on Pluto can plummet to -226 to -240 degrees Celsius. This temperature, as we know it, is too extreme to support life. The dwarf planet’s atmosphere, made up of nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide, may be thin, but its mountains are quite imposing. Pluto’s tallest mountains are tall and can reach heights of up to 9,800 feet.
“Is It AI?”
When the mosaic of Pluto’s deathly cold surface went viral, a few onlookers assumed it was AI-generated. However, that couldn’t have been further from the truth.
It took 9 years and 3 billion miles to get this shot.
Pluto’s icy Mountains.pic.twitter.com/jpj3kSYQoz
— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) December 27, 2025
“Majestic Mountains and Frozen Plains”
The majestic photograph of the rugged Pluto surface was captured on July 14, 2015, by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft. On average, the distance between Earth and Pluto is 5.4365 billion km.
“Just 15 minutes after its closest approach to Pluto on July 14, 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft looked back toward the sun and captured this near-sunset view of the rugged, icy mountains and flat ice plains extending to Pluto’s horizon,” NASA described the photograph.
Source: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI
“The smooth expanse of the informally named Sputnik Planum (right) is flanked to the west (left) by rugged mountains up to 11,000 feet (3,500 meters) high, including the informally named Norgay Montes in the foreground and Hillary Montes on the skyline. The backlighting highlights more than a dozen layers of haze in Pluto’s tenuous but distended atmosphere. The image was taken from a distance of 11,000 miles (18,000 kilometers) to Pluto; the scene is 230 miles (380 kilometers) across,” the space agency added.
Pluto Loves Being In News
In early 2024, perhaps the most viewed photo of Pluto began circulating on social media.
The New Horizon spacecraft, which was tasked with studying Pluto and its five moons, captured the most striking visual of the dwarf planet.
Also Read: What Is The Colour Of Pluto? This 2015 Photo By NASA Reveals Stunning Details
“Our New Horizons spacecraft captured this heart-shaped glacier. It lies on Pluto’s surface, which also that features mountains, cliffs, valleys, craters, and plains, thought to be made of methane and nitrogen ice,” NASA wrote fondly.
