Are you ready for the Plutonian system? After more than nine years in route the New Horizons spacecraft will be arriving at Pluto and it’s moons on July 14, 2015. The excitement is building for this historic occasion and the secrets unlocked by New Horizons will surely prove remarkable. At this writing we are 20 days away!
The Spacecraft instruments will be searching for answers such as: what Pluto’s atmosphere is made of, how the planet itself behaves, what the surface of Pluto looks like and how the solar wind interacts with Pluto’s atmosphere?
What to lean more about New Horizons, Pluto and the close approach? There’s an app for that! Pluto Safari is and app available for Android and iPhones and is a great resource. With the app you can check the following:
Countdown Timers: Track when New Horizons will reach Pluto – down to the second – with the Closest Approach to Pluto countdown clock. The distance to Pluto in miles is also displayed.
Location: Provides interactive views on the latest position of New Horizons and Pluto. Get a bird’s-eye view of our Solar System as New Horizons approaches Pluto. Rotate around a detailed 3D model of the New Horizons spacecraft, explore the Pluto system and its moons. Find Pluto in the sky from your home location, or even fly through some of the objects in the Kuiper Belt.
Timeline: Explore detailed New Horizons mission event dates and view select milestones in the interactive solar system simulator.
Guide: A multimedia guide to Pluto, its discovery, the first mission to explore it, and the controversy generated by its demotion to dwarf planet status.
News: Updated information on the latest mission news, data, and discoveries.
Poll: Do you agree with the IAU’s decision in 2006 to reclassify Pluto as a “dwarf planet”?
Use the app or go to the New Horizons mission page directly for all the latest discoveries and news.
Stay tuned as the approach to Pluto gets closer the information will increase exponentially!