Tuesday, May 13, 2014

PHOTOS The Hunt for KBOs for New Horizons’ Post-Pluto Encounter Continues

The Hunt for KBOs for New Horizons’ Post-Pluto Encounter Continues:

An artist’s conception of a KBO encounter by New Horizons. Credit: JHUAPL/SwRI.
PHOTOS The Hunt for KBOs for New Horizons’ Post-Pluto Encounter Continues
An artist’s conception of a KBO encounter by New Horizons. Credit: JHUAPL/SwRI.
Are you ready for the summer of 2015? A showdown of epic proportions is in the making, as NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is set to pass within 12,500 kilometres of Pluto — roughly a third of the distance of the ring of geosynchronous satellites orbiting the Earth —  a little over a year from now on July 14th, 2015.

But another question is already being raised, one that’s assuming center stage even before we explore Pluto and its retinue of moons: will New Horizons have another target available to study for its post-Pluto encounter out in the Kuiper Belt? Researchers say time is of the essence to find it.


No comments:

Post a Comment