<p>It's brighter on Pluto than you think.</p>

<p>NASA developed a tool called <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-lets-you-experience-pluto-time-with-new-custom-tool/" rel="noreferrer">Pluto time</a>, which tells you when at your place the ambient light conditions are similar to the ones on Pluto.  This occurs when the Sun is only 2° below the horizon!  That's quite shortly after sunset, and considerably before the end of civil twilight, which is when it's 6° below.</p>

<p>All of these photos were taken at local "Pluto time":</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/VuUnu.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/VuUnu.jpg" alt="Pluto time"></a>
<br />Pluto time, according to NASA.  <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-lets-you-experience-pluto-time-with-new-custom-tool/" rel="noreferrer">Source: NASA</a></p>

<p>To answer your question: all it takes is a slightly longer exposure time / larger aperture / higher gain (what photographers may call ISO) than taking photos closer to the Sun.  It's easily bright enough for outdoor activities (except perhaps on a cloudy evening and/or in a dense forest, but neither should be common beyond the orbit of Neptune), so have fun <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/nitrogen-glaciers-flow-on-pluto-1.18062" rel="noreferrer">glacier hiking</a> on Pluto!</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-27T15:48:11.960Z
Yep! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight#Intensity_in_the_Solar_System
HyperLuminal
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-28T11:51:46.873Z
That's so cool.   It makes perfect sense but it had never occurred to me.
userLTK
CC BY-SA 4.0
2015-07-27T11:00:51.387Z
2019-12-09T14:54:53.423Z
2019-12-09T14:54:53.423Z
gerrit
<p>The photos of Pluto from New Horizons are truly beautiful.</p>

<p>But considering that Pluto is so far away from its nearest start - our Sun - how is it so well lit up? </p>

<p>Did the New Horizons have a massive flash mounted on its camera to illuminate the planet or is there just a lot of ambient light in space? </p>

<p>I'm really curious.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/qSUR1.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/qSUR1.jpg" alt="Pluto"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-27T06:16:24.823Z
A flashbulb suitable for lighting up Pluto would bear more than a passing resemblance to [Tsar Bomba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Bomba)
Mark
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-27T06:44:57.760Z
A combination of sensitive detectors, aperture and exposure. Also a lot of post processing (it is a composite from more than one sensor)
Conrad Turner
<light><pluto><artificial-satellite>
How did New Horizons take such well-lit pictures of Pluto?
CodyBugstein
# How did New Horizons take such well-lit pictures of Pluto?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-07-27)

The photos of Pluto from New Horizons are truly beautiful.

But considering that Pluto is so far away from its nearest start - our Sun - how is it so well lit up?

Did the New Horizons have a massive flash mounted on its camera to illuminate the planet or is there just a lot of ambient light in space?

I'm really curious.

[![Pluto](https://i.sstatic.net/qSUR1.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/qSUR1.jpg)

**Tags:** light, pluto, artificial-satellite

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: A flashbulb suitable for lighting up Pluto would bear more than a passing resemblance to [Tsar Bomba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Bomba)  
> **username_2**: A combination of sensitive detectors, aperture and exposure. Also a lot of post processing (it is a composite from more than one sensor)  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2015-07-27. Score: 31 | Accepted answer

It's brighter on Pluto than you think.

NASA developed a tool called [Pluto time](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-lets-you-experience-pluto-time-with-new-custom-tool/), which tells you when at your place the ambient light conditions are similar to the ones on Pluto. This occurs when the Sun is only 2° below the horizon! That's quite shortly after sunset, and considerably before the end of civil twilight, which is when it's 6° below.

All of these photos were taken at local "Pluto time":

[![Pluto time](https://i.sstatic.net/VuUnu.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/VuUnu.jpg)
  
Pluto time, according to NASA. [Source: NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-lets-you-experience-pluto-time-with-new-custom-tool/)

To answer your question: all it takes is a slightly longer exposure time / larger aperture / higher gain (what photographers may call ISO) than taking photos closer to the Sun. It's easily bright enough for outdoor activities (except perhaps on a cloudy evening and/or in a dense forest, but neither should be common beyond the orbit of Neptune), so have fun [glacier hiking](http://www.nature.com/news/nitrogen-glaciers-flow-on-pluto-1.18062) on Pluto!

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Yep! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight#Intensity_in_the_Solar_System  
> **username_5**: That's so cool.   It makes perfect sense but it had never occurred to me.  

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