page_title: Geography of Pluto
section_title: The Donut
hierarchical_section_title: Geography of Pluto / Topographical features / The Donut
caption_attribution_description: English: The Whale and the Donut - July 3, 2015 - CROP from original image - and then - added text/coordinates(via JASC Paint Shop Pro v6.02) Release Date: July 7, 2015 Keywords: LORRI, MVIC, Pluto, Ralph http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Multimedia/Science-Photos/image.php?gallery_id=2&amp;image_id=204 This map of Pluto, created from images taken from June 27-July 3, 2015, by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on New Horizons, was combined with lower-resolution color data from the spacecraft's Ralph instrument. The center of the map corresponds to the side of Pluto that will be seen close-up during New Horizons' July 14 flyby. This map gives mission scientists an important tool to decipher the complex and intriguing pattern of bright and dark markings on Pluto's surface. Features from all sides of Pluto can now be seen at a glance and from a consistent perspective, making it much easier to compare their shapes and sizes. The elongated dark area informally known as "the whale," along the equator on the left side of the map, is one of the darkest regions visible to New Horizons. It measures some 1,860 miles (3,000 kilometers) in length. Directly to the right of the whale’s "snout" is the brightest region visible on the planet, which is roughly 990 miles (1,600 kilometers) across. This may be a region where relatively fresh deposits of frost—perhaps including frozen methane, nitrogen and/or carbon monoxide—form a bright coating.
context_page_description: The geography of Pluto entails the delineation and characterization of regions on Pluto. Plutonian geography is mainly focused on what is called physical geography on Earth; that is, the distribution of physical features across Pluto and their cartographic representations. On 14 July 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft became the first spacecraft to fly by Pluto. During its brief flyby, New Horizons made detailed geographical measurements and observations of Pluto and its moons.
context_section_description: A bright, ring-shaped feature about 350 km (220 mi) across located near the tail of the "Whale" in low-resolution images is nicknamed the "Donut". It does not appear as a ring in higher-resolution images.
caption: The "Donut" is cradled in the Tail of The Whale
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