It may be a blotchy, sandy-colored blur, but the image below is the best map we currently have of the distance surface of Pluto. The map, stitched together from images taken by the new horizon space probes it makes its journey towards the dwarf planet, reveals the intriguing markings on the strange world in detail. Scientists have informally named and elongated dark patches around the equator of Pluto as the whale due to its shape and they have also identified a bright donut shape. Further around the equator, on the opposite side, are four more mysterious black alien spots that have excited and baffled astronomers around the world. Researchers have also now created a Google Earth overlay to allow would-be explorers to navigate their way across the dwarf planet's features for themselves. New Horizons is due to give scientists a close-up look at the surface of Pluto and its complex patterns when it flies past the planet at just 7,750miles on July 14.