News Archive / Tagged: Kuiper Belt Object

• First flyby images reveal Ultima Thule is a contact binary

  Laurel KornfeldJanuary 3rd, 2019

  New Horizons' first close flyby images of Ultima Thule show the Kuiper Belt object to be a contact binary composed of two lobes joined together.

• New Horizons cleared for optimal approach to Ultima Thule

  Laurel KornfeldDecember 25th, 2018

  New Horizons is clear to fly an optimal path for observation after hazard searches near Ultima Thule found no debris that could pose a danger to the probe.

• New Horizons team completes final trial run of Ultima Thule flyby

  Laurel KornfeldSeptember 30th, 2018

  When you're headed toward an object in the outer reaches of our solar system - what is one of the most important things you have to do?

• New Horizons scientists observe stellar occultation by Ultima Thule

  Laurel KornfeldAugust 4th, 2018

  As they did three times last summer, NASA's New Horizons team will observe a stellar occultation by the spacecraft's second target, Ultima Thule, from the narrow path where the Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) will cast its shadow.

• KBO could be evidence for a giant planet in the outer solar system

  Laurel KornfeldMay 31st, 2018

  The discovery of a distant Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) with an extremely eccentric orbit could be evidence that a giant planet is waiting to be discovered in the outer solar system.

• New Horizons mission invites public to celebrate New Year’s KBO flyby

  Laurel KornfeldJanuary 5th, 2018

  The world may have celebrated New Year's 2018 just days ago, but NASA's New Horizons mission is already inviting the public to welcome 2019 with a visit to Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) 2014 MU69.

• Occultation data hints New Horizons’ next flyby target may have a moon

  Laurel KornfeldDecember 13th, 2017

  New Horizons' second target – Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) 2014 MU69 – may have a small moon, mission science team member Marc Buie of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado, reported on Monday, December 11, 2017, at this week's meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in New Orleans, Louisiana.

• Engine burn refines New Horizons’ journey to KBO 2014 MU69

  Laurel KornfeldDecember 12th, 2017

  To optimize the timing of New Horizons' closest flyby of Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) 2014 MU69, mission engineers carried out the spacecraft's last engine burn during the long "cruise" phase of its journey – between Pluto and its second target (MU69) – on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017.

• Vote on names for New Horizons’ second target extended to Dec. 6

  Laurel KornfeldDecember 3rd, 2017

  NASA's public campaign seeking name suggestions for New Horizons' second target, 2014 MU69, has garnered so many creative suggestions that its deadline has been extended for another five days.

• New Horizons sets flight plan for 2nd target; IAU accepts Pluto system names

  Laurel KornfeldSeptember 9th, 2017

  NASA's New Horizons mission has filed a flight plan for its January 1, 2019, flyby of Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) 2014 MU69, which will bring the spacecraft three times closer to its second target than it came to Pluto during the upcoming encounter.

• New Horizons’ KBO target may be a binary

  Laurel KornfeldAugust 4th, 2017

  New Horizons' second target – Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) 2014 MU69 – may actually be a binary system composed of two objects that either touch one another or orbit very close together, according to observations conducted by mission scientists when the KBO passed in front of a star on July 17, 2017.

• New Horizons scientists study KBO by observing star occultation

  Laurel KornfeldJune 23rd, 2017

  A total of 54 New Horizons observation teams successfully obtained crucial data about the spacecraft's second target, 2014 MU69, when the Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) occulted (or passed in front of) a star on the night of June 2–3.

• Stellar occultations by KBO 2014 MU69 will give scientists crucial data

  Laurel KornfeldMay 28th, 2017

  Members of NASA's New Horizons team will have three opportunities to obtain crucial data regarding 2014 MU69 – the mission's second target – when the Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) occults three different stars within the next few weeks.

• Third largest dwarf planet found to have moon

  Laurel KornfeldMay 21st, 2017

  Dwarf planet 2007 OR10, the third largest of nine known dwarf planets in the Solar System, is orbited by a small moon, scientists discovered using current and archival images gathered by three separate observatories.

• New Horizons reaches halfway mark between Pluto and second target

  Laurel KornfeldApril 6th, 2017

  NASA's New Horizons spacecraft reached the halfway point between Pluto and its second flyby target, KBO 2014 MU69, at midnight UTC on Monday, April 3 (8:00 p.m. EDT on Sunday, April 2) at a distance of 486.19 million miles (782.45 million kilometers) from Pluto and the same distance to MU69.