Sarah MorrisonApr 08, 2016

How to Make a Pluto Globe

I reprojected NASA's publically released photomosaic of Pluto (produced by the Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Lab) so that you can cut it out and attach it to a sphere to make a Pluto globe! See image and sizing instructions below:

Make your own Pluto globe
Make your own Pluto globe Sarah J. Morrison created this printable Pluto globe using a JHUAPL-produced photomosaic. See her directions for how to make the globe here.Image: NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI / Sarah J. Morrison

(Click the image above to navigate to the full-resolution version.)

Sizing instructions:

I have sized the actual map itself to be 2000 pixels wide (the image is 2010 pixels wide) so just size the width when you print it out to equal the circumference of whatever size ball you want to put it around. As an example, if you are using an 8-inch diameter styrofoam ball, the width of the map should be π*8=25.1327 inches. The map is 2000 pixels by 1000 pixels so it should have ~79.5775 pixels per inch for an ~8 inch ball. There are 5 pixels added on either side of the map so the image size is 2010 x 1010 pixels so for an 8 inch ball the total image size should be 25.2584 x 12.6920 inches when printed.

When I made my globe, I used an 8-inch styrofoam ball and satin pins to attach the map to the globe. I recommend cutting off as much of the black outline as possible on each longitude strip. If you somehow end up with excess, you can always fudge the south pole a bit. ;)

Happy globe-making!

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