The 2015 wildfire season in the Arctic has been very intense – and very smoky. As of July 15, over 3,190,000 acres had burned across Canada, according to Natural Resources Canada. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), more than 600 fires had burned millions of acres in Alaska as of July 7. via NASA http://ift.tt/1Oxot7X

Pluto’s icy mountains have company. NASA’s New Horizons mission has discovered a new, apparently less lofty mountain range on the lower-left edge of Pluto’s best known feature. via NASA http://ift.tt/1gMQrRI

A NASA camera on the Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite has returned its first view of the entire sunlit side of Earth from one million miles away. via NASA http://ift.tt/1KgqOm1

Peering closely at the “heart of Pluto,” in the western half of what mission scientists have informally named Tombaugh Regio (Tombaugh Region), New Horizons’ Ralph instrument revealed evidence of carbon monoxide ice. The contours indicate that the concentration of frozen carbon monoxide increases towards the center of the “bull’s eye.” via NASA http://ift.tt/1fb6Vlr

This image of the sun was taken on July 15, 2015, with the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager onboard NASA’s Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory Ahead (STEREO-A) spacecraft, which collects images in several wavelengths of light that are invisible to the human eye. This image shows the sun in wavelengths of 171 angstroms, typically colorized in blue. via NASA http://ift.tt/1I5RgRI

New close-up images of a region near Pluto’s equator reveal a giant surprise: a range of youthful mountains. via NASA http://ift.tt/1MaSdcb

Guests and New Horizons team members countdown to the spacecraft’s closest approach to Pluto, Tuesday, July 14, 2015. via NASA http://ift.tt/1HtHJOE

One million miles to go; Pluto is more intriguing than ever! via NASA http://ift.tt/1HXsdQU

This little-known galaxy, officially named J04542829-6625280, but most often referred to as LEDA 89996, is a classic example of a spiral galaxy. via NASA http://ift.tt/1D5D2Je

Clouds part as NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft roars into the blue sky after an on-time liftoff at 2 p.m. EST aboard an Atlas V rocket from Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. via NASA http://ift.tt/1IM97Mt