New horizons location
New Horizons is a spacecraft that was launched by NASA in 2006 to study the dwarf planet Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, a region of icy bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. The spacecraft was designed to fly by Pluto and its moons, and to study the composition and geology of the dwarf planet.
On July 14, 2015, New Horizons flew by Pluto, providing the first close-up images and data about the dwarf planet. The spacecraft then continued on its journey, exploring the Kuiper Belt and studying the composition and geology of other small, icy bodies in the region.
In 2019, New Horizons flew by a small, icy body called Ultima Thule (also known as 2014 MU69), which is located in the Kuiper Belt. The flyby provided new insights into the composition and geology of the object, and helped scientists to better understand the formation and evolution of the solar system.
Here is a summary of New Horizons' location and trajectory:
- Launch date: January 19, 2006
- Launch vehicle: Atlas V rocket
- Destination: Pluto and the Kuiper Belt
- Flyby of Pluto: July 14, 2015
- Flyby of Ultima Thule: January 1, 2019
- Current location: The Kuiper Belt, a region of icy bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune
- Distance from Earth: Approximately 4.1 billion miles (6.6 billion kilometers)
- Speed: Approximately 36,000 miles per hour (58,000 kilometers per hour)
New Horizons is now in the Kuiper Belt, where it will continue to explore and study the composition and geology of small, icy bodies in the region. The spacecraft is expected to continue operating until at least 2026, and may potentially be used to study other objects in the Kuiper Belt or even the Oort Cloud, a distant region of icy bodies that surrounds the solar system.