This image of the dwarf planet and its largest moon was captured by New Horizons’ Ralph color imager on July 14, 2015, five hours before Pluto closest approach.

The image above highlights the contrasting appearance of the two icy worlds, sometimes referred to as a binary planet.

Pluto shows a wide variety of subtle color variations, including yellowish patches on the north polar cap and subtly contrasting colors for the two halves of Pluto’s Tombaugh Regio (seen in the upper right quadrant of the image).

Charon is mostly gray, with a dark reddish polar cap.

In order to fit the dwarf planet and its moon in the same frame in their correct relative positions, the image has been rotated so the north pole on both Pluto and Charon is pointing towards the upper left.

The image was made with the blue, red, and near-infrared color filters of Ralph’s Multicolor Visible Imaging Camera.

It shows colors that are similar, but not identical, to what would be seen with the human eye, which is sensitive to a narrower range of wavelengths.