And look what we found: Slate says that NASA’s Pluto-seeking probe New Horizons has almost reached the outermost not planet. (Or “dwarf” planet as Pluto is known since getting downgraded back in 2003). The probe should arrive next summer, after covering the 3.6 billion mile distance in just under nine years. Once there, it will collect gobs of data on Pluto and its five moons (Charon, Nix, Hydra, Styx and Kerberos). In the meantime, using its powerful Long Range Reconnaissance Imager telescope, or LORRI, New Horizon has been beaming back video of Charon, its largest moon, orbiting Pluto. The sequence, shot from a distance 10 times closer to Pluto than Earth is, “set a record for close-range imaging of Pluto,” says the mission’s Principal Investigator Alan Stern proudly, adding “we’ll smash that record again and again, starting in January, as approach operations begin.” — M.B.
Whenever we see the word “Pluto” we click on it
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By Mary Bruno
Mary was Crosscut's Editor-in-Chief and Interim Publisher. In more than 25 years as a journalist, she has worked as a writer, editor and editorial director for a variety of print and web publications,
Mary was Crosscut's Editor-in-Chief and Interim Publisher. In more than 25 years as a journalist, she has worked as a writer, editor and editorial director for a variety of print and web publications,