We all saw plenty of stunning images of Pluto recently as the New Horizons spacecraft sped by the dwarf planet on the outer rim of our solar system and snapped the clearest shots of it we’ll ever see, but what did that journey look like in motion?
Exactly like this video. The NASA animation’s frames are all real pictures that New Horizons took as it squeaked by only 12,500 kilometers off of Pluto’s surface, and it’s mesmerizing.
Meanwhile, New Horizons is soldiering on further into the Kuiper Belt of small, frigid bodies that extends out beyond our solar system’s planets. The spacecraft’s next destination there is an object called 2014 MU69—almost one billion miles beyond Pluto—which it will reach in 2019. Drive safe, little buddy. So long, and thanks for all the pics.
(via Gizmodo)
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