0 results
Pluto-Charon in color on July 8, 2015

Space Missions

Pluto and Charon: The Odd Couple

With just one day remaining until New Horizons makes its historic flyby, missions scientists are amazed by the views of Pluto and Charon already in hand.

Solar System

Glimpsing Pluto’s Curious Equator

Here’s a taste of what New Horizons hopes to resolve when it passes by Pluto next Tuesday, July 14th.

Would Pluto's surface look like this?

Solar System

It's Always "Pluto Time" Somewhere

Sunlight on Pluto is only a thousandth as strong as it is here on Earth. With careful timing, you can experience what it'd be like to stand on Pluto at noon.

New Horizons' scientific payload

Space Missions

Pluto: The Last Picture Show

In his second "insider blog" about the New Horizons mission, principle investigator Alan Stern offers a look at what we might find at Pluto. It sounds like science fiction, but it's not: NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is on final approach to the Pluto system! After 112 months in flight, the…

Alan Stern awaits New Horizons's launch

Solar System

New Horizons: Navigating to Pluto

In the first of a series of installments written exclusively for Sky & Telescope, New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern offers his behind-the-scenes perspective on what it took to get the spacecraft to Pluto.

Solar System

Targeting Crisis Averted for New Horizons

NASA scientists have found three potential Kuiper belt objects in the nick of time, saving the Pluto-bound probe from missing out on half of its mission.

Solar System

One Year Until New Horizons

New Horizons will reach Pluto a year from today, and the scientific community is abuzz with speculation about what the space probe might see when it gets there. Meanwhile, the New Horizons team scours the skies for a Kuiper Belt Object that New Horizons can visit after its Pluto flyby.