Pluto Today

NASA New Horizons Status: The PI's Perspective: Visiting Four Moons, in Just Four Years, for All Mankind

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 17:10:06

In June and July, members of the New Horizons science team, using the Hubble Space Telescope, discovered and confirmed that Pluto has a fourth moon!

Volunteer Star Gazers Needed for Space Mission

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 2:24:26

A team from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville has developed the website IceHunters which challenges the public to discover potential destinations for a NASA mission at the very edge of the solar system set to happen around 2015.

Astronomers Observe Pluto & Its Moons

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 2:23:09

A Williams College team of astronomers, headed by Bryce Babcock and Jay Pasachoff, have been in Hawaii, near Honolulu, to observe a rare double-double event about Pluto.

Reaching the Mid-Mission Milestone on the Way to Pluto

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 4:11:01

On Sunday, Oct. 17, at 3:24 Universal Time, we passed the halfway mark in the number of days from launch to Pluto encounter - the last of our halfway milestones en route to Pluto! From here, we have fewer days in front of us than behind us.

Nitrogen, Methane Dominate Icy Surface of Eris

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 20:01:53

A team of scientists has revealed that the frozen surface of Eris, the largest-known dwarf planet orbiting the Sun, is predominantly covered in nitrogen ice, similar to the surface of Pluto.

New Horizons Images: LORRI Looks Back at "Old Friend" Jupiter

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:34:18

In early 2007 New Horizons flew through the Jupiter system snapping stunning, close-up images of Jupiter and its largest moons. Fast forward to 2010 and New Horizons has given us another glimpse of old friend Jupiter.

MIT astronomer leads the first team to study a Kuiper Belt object during a stellar occultation

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 8:50:29

Until now, astronomers have used telescopes to find Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs), moon-sized bodies, and obtain their spectra to determine what types of ices are on their surface.

NASA New Horizons: The PI's Perspective: Ever Farther Across the Ocean of Space to a Distant and Unknown Shore

Thu, 3 Jun 2010 10:08:59

New Horizons is speeding through an ocean of space among the giant planets and the nearly 2.5 billion-mile expanse of the middle solar system. Onboard our spacecraft, all systems are "go" and we continue to speed outward at nearly a million miles per day.

The Approach Begins: New Horizons Is Half Way To Pluto

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 8:41:33

Today New Horizons is 15.96 astronomical units (2.39 billion kilometers, or 1.48 billion miles) from the Sun - halfway between Earth's location on launch day in Jan 2006, and Pluto's place during New Horizons' encounter with the planet in July 2015.

Pluto's White, Dark-Orange, and Charcoal Black Terrain Captured by Hubble

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 10:10:52

NASA has released the most detailed and dramatic images ever taken of the distant ~~dwarf~~ planet Pluto.

NASA Announces News Telecon To Discuss Hubble Images Of Pluto

Mon, 1 Feb 2010 18:27:29

NASA will hold a news media telecon at 1 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 4, to discuss the latest Hubble images of the distant ~~dwarf~~ planet Pluto.

NASA New Horizons: The PI's Perspective: Farewell 2009

Sun, 6 Dec 2009 16:02:37

New Horizons is now more than 1,400 days into its 9.5-year journey and well past 15 AU (astronomical units) from the Sun. We still have about 2,050 days ahead of us before we reach the Pluto system.

NASA New Horizons: The PI's Perspective: Science Never Sleeps

Fri, 4 Sep 2009 20:54:50

We put New Horizons back into hibernation last week, on Aug. 27. This event signaled the completion of our third active spacecraft and payload checkout, which occupied us for most of July and August.

New Horizons Checks Out, Enters Hibernation

Fri, 4 Sep 2009 20:49:59

The New Horizons mission team has closed out a successful summer workout, putting its Pluto-bound spacecraft back into hibernation Aug. 27 after seven weeks of functional tests and system checks.