When NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft sailed past Pluto in 2015, it captured an image of the dwarf planet’s heart-shaped geography. But while it was there, New Horizons also caught a glimpse of Pluto’s dark side. Continue reading More Evidence that Pluto Might Have a Subsurface Ocean
Tag Archives: NEW HORIZONS
New Horizons Just Set a Record for Taking the Furthest Photographs Away From Earth
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is now 3.79 billion miles from Earth, or around 41 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun, and far beyond the orbit of Neptune. Using its Long Range Reconnaissance Imager, it snapped these images of Kuiper Belt Objects 2012 HZ84 (left) and 2012 HE85 (right)—and they’re the furthest images ever taken away from Earth.
Continue reading New Horizons Just Set a Record for Taking the Furthest Photographs Away From Earth
Pluto Is Emitting X-Rays, and That’s Really Weird
Something very strange is going on around Pluto. The icy world that sits some 3.6 billion miles from the sun appears to be emitting x-rays—high energy radiation associated with gases with temperatures of a million degrees. That makes Pluto the furthest known x-ray source in our solar system. If confirmed, the finding could reshape our understanding of the dwarf planet’s atmosphere.
Continue reading Pluto Is Emitting X-Rays, and That’s Really Weird
What’s the Fastest Spacecraft Ever?
For spacecraft that zoom through the cosmos at thousands of miles per hour, calculating which one is traveling the fastest is more complicated than simply clocking the first to cross a finish line.
Expect To See New Data From the Kuiper Belt in 2019
In 2015, NASA’s New Horizons mission made history when it captured the first detailed images of Pluto at the far edges of our solar system. Now, it’s set to go even further after the NASA mission received an official green light to extend its mission into 2019.
Continue reading Expect To See New Data From the Kuiper Belt in 2019
It Looks Like Pluto Has a Liquid Water Ocean
For a frigid little space rock at the ass-end of the solar system, Pluto is full surprises. Ice volcanoes, hazy skies, vast plains of churning nitrogen, what’s next? Just maybe, a subsurface ocean.
Continue reading It Looks Like Pluto Has a Liquid Water Ocean
BEYOND PLUTO: MEET THE NEW HORIZONS SPACECRAFT’S NEXT TARGET
The Pluto flyby was arguably one of 2015’s top scientific achievements, maybe even one of the most memorable moments in the last decade. We now know what our ex-ninth planet looks like, and it’s spectacular. Pluto turned out to have some surprising features like glaciers, nitrogen lakes, ice volcanoes, and the list is growing. The New Horizons mission to Pluto has surpassed everyone’s expectations, and the good news is, the team has no plans of stopping yet. This summer, they’re hoping to win an extended mission to explore another strange new world.
Continue reading BEYOND PLUTO: MEET THE NEW HORIZONS SPACECRAFT’S NEXT TARGET
