Sky & Telescope's 15-cm Pluto Globe

You've seen the pictures from the New Horizons spacecraft – now hold Pluto in your hand! Our exclusive 6-inch globe combines a colorful NASA-authorized base map with informal names for 60 craters and other features on Pluto's surface. The mosaic used for this globe consists of more than 125 images acquired by cameras aboard NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft during the seven days prior to and during its close flyby on July 14, 2015. Because Pluto rotated slowly during this period, the spacecraft recorded some areas with much higher resolution than others. Also, because Pluto’s north pole is strongly tipped toward the Sun, areas south of –30° latitude were in shadow and not seen. Sky & Telescope collaborated with scientists Alan Stern (SWRI), Paul Schenk (LPI), Ross Beyer (SETI/NASA-Ames), and the New Horizons team to produce a base map showing Pluto's surface in approximate natural color and details as small as 1 mile (1½ km) across. The globe comes with a freestanding, clear plastic b