Pluto To Come Into Focus In Two Weeks

We are about to be the first people in history to get up close and personal with the enigmatic dwarf planet Pluto.

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will zoom by Pluto on July 14. The spacecraft, which was launched back in 2006, has already been sending back some observations of the little planet and its moon Charon.

While these photos might be completely underwhelming on their own, realize that they're clearer than any other photo we've gotten to date – and as the days tick by, the clearer the photos will get.

The photos are helping scientists make their final course corrections. NASA said Tuesday that a 23-second thruster burst is the final planned targeting maneuver for the craft.

"We are really on the final path," said New Horizons Project Manager Glen Fountain. "It just gets better and more exciting every day."

NASA will soon be uploading the commands for the flyby, since communication between the probe and Earth takes about 4.5 hours (with there being nearly 3 billion miles in between).

As of Wednesday, New Horizons is just over 10 million miles from Pluto. The craft's closest approach will take it within about 6,200 miles of the dwarf planet.