NASA mission chases Pluto's shadow to catch details of its atmosphere

As NASA's New Horizons spacecraft closes in on Pluto—scheduled to make its closest approach on July 14—another mission much closer to Earth has caught sight of the dwarf planet's shadow: On June 29, SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy), a high-altitude NASA plane carrying a 100-inch-diameter telescope, raced over New Zealand to catch a stellar occultation—a rare celestial alignment in which Pluto passes directly between Earth and a distant star, casting a faint shadow on Earth. The way in which Pluto blocks starlight may tell scientists about the dwarf planet's atmospheric composition.

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