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New Horizons flyby Kuiper Belt Object Arrokoth on 01-01-2019 (Very Large File: 32.3 MB)
New Horizons was launched on January 19, 2006 with the primary mission to conduct a flyby study of Pluto and its moons in the Kuiper Belt. Arrokoth flyby on January 1, 2019.
New Horizons path, from launch on 1-19-2006, flyby Arrokoth 1-1-2019, animated 20 years (Very Large File: 56.5 MB)
New Horizons flyby Jupiter, closest approach 2-28-2007 5:43 UTC, animated 48 hours (178 KB)
New Horizons flyby Pluto, closest approach 7-14-2015 11:50 UTC, animated 48 hours (147 KB)
New Horizons flyby Kuiper Belt Object Arrokoth on 01-01-2019 (Large File: 4.6 MB)
The New Horizons (Wikipedia) space probe is an interplanetary space probe built by the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University for NASA.
It was launched on January 19, 2006 with the primary mission to conduct a flyby study of Pluto and its moons in the Kuiper Belt. It is the first spacecraft to explore Pluto and the Kuiper Belt up close.
Approaches 2002 JF56 on June 13, 2006 to within 102,000 km at 10:06 UTC.
Jupiter gravity assist on February 28, 2007, 05:43 UTC, 2.3045(10)^6 km.
Pluto Flyby: On July 14, 2015, Pluto-Charon encounter at 11:49:57 UTC. New Horizons made its historic closest approach to Pluto, capturing stunning images and valuable scientific data about the dwarf planet and its moons.
Kuiper Belt Exploration: After its Pluto encounter, New Horizons continued its journey into the Kuiper Belt.
Arrokoth (2014 MU69) flyby on January 1, 2019, at 05:35 UTC, as close as 3561 km, or 0.0000238015 AU if you plot it. NASA reports the closest approach at 3537.7 km, reconstructed, at 5:34:31 UTC.
Scientific Instruments: New Horizons carries a suite of scientific instruments, including cameras, spectrometers, and plasma analyzers, to study the composition, atmosphere, and environment of Pluto and other Kuiper Belt objects.
Continuing Mission: New Horizons is still traveling through the Kuiper Belt, and NASA may extend its mission to explore other distant objects in the future.
Arrokoth: Arrokoth (NASA) is the most distant object ever visited by a spacecraft, New Horizons, on January 1, 2019.
Arrokoth: Arrokoth (NASA) is the most distant object ever visited by a spacecraft, New Horizons, on January 1, 2019.
Official Name: Arrokoth (Wikipedia) (formerly known as Ultima Thule).
JPL Horizons Designation: (486958) 2014 MU69.
Location: Kuiper Belt, a region beyond Neptune populated by icy bodies.
Discovered: 2014 by the New Horizons team using the Hubble Space Telescope.
Shape: A contact binary, meaning it\'s made of two lobes joined together. It resembles a flattened snowman.
Size: About 36 km (22 miles) long at its longest axis.
Color: Very red, even redder than Pluto. This is due to the presence of complex organic molecules called tholins, formed by radiation interacting with ices.
Surface: Smooth with few craters, suggesting it\'s ancient and hasn\'t experienced many impacts.
Composition: Likely a mix of ices (water, methane, etc.) and organic materials.
Significance:
Most Distant Object Explored: Arrokoth is the most distant and most primitive object ever visited by a spacecraft.
Clues to Solar System Formation: Because it\'s so far from the Sun, Arrokoth has likely remained relatively unchanged since the early days of the solar system. Studying it helps us understand the conditions and processes that led to the formation of planets and other celestial bodies.
Building Blocks of Life: Recent research suggests that Arrokoth may contain sugars like ribose and glucose, which are essential for life as we know it. This raises exciting questions about the potential for life to exist elsewhere in the universe.
New Horizons Flyby on January 1, 2019 (See "New Horizons" for more information):
Plot Arrokoth/New_Horizons as the center body, and New Horizons, to visualize.
Closest approach by New Horizons at 5:35 UTC, as close as 3561 km, or 0.0000238015 AU if you plot it. ID 2486958.
Detailed Images: Stunning images revealed Arrokoth\'s unique shape and surface features.
Compositional Data: Instruments on New Horizons analyzed the light reflected from Arrokoth, giving us information about its composition.
Insights into Formation: Scientists are using the data to create models of how Arrokoth formed, which has implications for our understanding of planet formation in general.
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