A stunning silhouette of Pluto taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft after it shot past the icy orb last week show an extensive layer of atmospheric haze, while close-up pictures of the ground reveal flows of nitrogen ice, Reuters cited scientists as saying on Friday. New Horizons became the first spacecraft to visit Pluto and its entourage of moons and so far has returned about 5 percent of the pictures and science data collected in the days leading up to, during and immediately following the July 14 flyby. The latest batch of images includes a backlit view of Pluto with sun, located more than 3 billion miles away, shining around and through the planet's atmosphere. Analysis shows distinct layers of haze in Pluto's nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane atmosphere. The haze extends at least 100 miles (161 km) off the surface. -- SPA 00:03 LOCAL TIME 21:03 GMT تغريد
