All articles tagged with #kuiper belt
NASA's New Horizons woke from a 321-day hibernation at the solar system’s edge with all systems reported healthy. The spacecraft has resumed science data transmission from about 5.9 billion miles from Earth (≈64 AU) and will study the heliopause and outer heliosphere with more sensitive instruments than the Voyager probes, sending data back across an ~8 hours 52 minutes light-time delay as it continues toward interstellar space.
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft woke on June 23 from a planned hibernation nearly 6 billion miles from Earth, resuming its distant Kuiper Belt investigations a decade after its Pluto flyby. Flight controllers say the probe is in good shape and will begin transmitting data gathered during the sleep period; hibernation has extended its lifespan, and the mission, focused through 2029, could continue beyond if the spacecraft remains healthy—as it eyes more objects beyond Pluto and toward interstellar space.
NASA’s New Horizons has awakened from its longest sleep, about 5.9 billion miles from Earth, to resume transmitting data from the Kuiper Belt and continue studying Pluto, Arrokoth, and distant icy bodies. Launched in 2006, the probe’s historic Pluto flyby in 2015 and subsequent Kuiper Belt observations are helping scientists understand how planets form. The spacecraft remains healthy and, if it stays that way, could extend its mission toward interstellar space beyond 2029 as it keeps gathering valuable outer-solar-system data.
NASA’s New Horizons sped three billion miles to Pluto for a single, high-speed flyby at more than 30,000 mph because it wasn’t designed to brake into orbit; a powerful launch and a gravity assist from Jupiter got it there in under a decade. The mission prioritized data collection during closest approach and briefly went radio-silent to maximize science. Downlink of the roughly 50 billion bits of data took about 15 months due to distance, limited transmitter power, and shared antenna time, but revealed Pluto’s heart-shaped Sputnik Planitia, tall water-ice mountains, a hazy atmosphere, and signs of geological activity, reshaping our view of this distant world.
NASA’s New Horizons has awakened from a 321‑day hibernation about 64 astronomical units from Earth (roughly 10 billion km) and will begin sending back a year’s worth of stored data while studying the outer heliosphere’s termination shock—the boundary where the solar wind slows and blends with interstellar material. Having passed Pluto and Arrokoth, the probe is now venturing farther into the Kuiper Belt region and beyond, with no new target identified; its path could see it leaving the Kuiper Belt around 2028–2029 as it continues toward interstellar space, with an approximate nine‑hour one‑way radio link and a current “green” status from mission control.
NASA’s New Horizons woke from a nearly yearlong hibernation about 6 billion miles from Earth and is expected to operate into the 2050s, studying how the solar wind slows as it moves through the Kuiper Belt and planning one more flyby with Rubin Observatory help. Measurements show solar wind is about 13-15% slower at the edge than near Earth.
NASA's New Horizons woke from a year-long hibernation nearly 6 billion miles from Earth and will begin transmitting data gathered over the last 321 days. The spacecraft is healthy and will soon study hydrogen in the outer heliosphere and the termination shock—the solar wind boundary at the edge of our solar system—as it speeds farther from the Sun.
NASA's New Horizons completed a nine-year, 3-billion-mile voyage to Pluto, flyby in 2015 revealed a 1,000-km heart-shaped glacier of frozen nitrogen and a landscape so young it challenged prior models; now 5.7 billion miles away, the probe is in hibernation awaiting NASA's funding decisions, with data still trickling back and potential wake-up in 2026 if approved.
Astronomers using a 2024 stellar occultation detected signs of a thin, possibly temporary atmosphere around the tiny Kuiper Belt object 2002 XV93 (about 500 km across), challenging assumptions that such small bodies can hold an atmosphere. Any atmosphere would likely last under 1,000 years without replenishment, and no frozen surface gases were found by JWST to fuel it. Two scenarios are proposed: recent internal gas release or a comet impact. If confirmed, this would be the first atmosphere detected on a trans-Neptunian object other than Pluto, prompting further observations to understand the mechanism.
The article reviews renewed evidence and ongoing controversy over Planet Nine, noting that irregular orbits of distant Kuiper Belt objects and new distant bodies like 2023 KQ14 have kept the hypothesis viable but unproven. Long orbital periods and limited data mean there is no definitive detection yet; if a ninth planet exists, it would likely lie farther than ~500 AU. Ongoing ground- and space-based observations—and future missions—are needed to clarify whether a massive unseen planet shapes these orbits.
Astronomers using stellar occultations detected a very thin atmosphere around the small trans-Neptunian object 2002 XV93, making it only the second TNO known to have an atmosphere after Pluto. The atmosphere is about 5–10 million times thinner than Earth's and is expected to vanish within 100–1,000 years unless replenished, possibly by cryovolcanic activity beneath the icy surface or by a recent impact. Observations via occultation are ongoing, with JWST follow-up planned to determine its composition and whether the atmosphere is fading or replenished.
Astronomers using stellar occultation detected a thin atmosphere around the 500 km-wide Kuiper Belt object 2002 XV93, a surprising find for such a small body that normally cannot retain gases. The atmosphere’s origin is uncertain—possible ice‑volcano outgassing or a recent impact—and could dissipate within about a thousand years. The study, published in Nature Astronomy on May 6, 2026, broadens ideas about where atmospheres can exist in the outer solar system.
Astronomers observed the small Kuiper Belt object 2002 XV93 (about 311 miles across) during a stellar occultation and found a very thin atmosphere, making it only the second TNO known to have one after Pluto. The atmosphere, five to ten million times thinner than Earth's, could result from cryovolcanic activity or a recent icy impact; its persistence or dissipation could help distinguish between these sources. Future James Webb Space Telescope observations may detect additional gases like methane or carbon monoxide.
A diminutive trans-Neptunian object known as (612533) 2002 XV93 (a ~500 km Pluto-like body in Neptune’s 2:3 resonance) has unexpectedly developed a thin atmosphere (exosphere). Its presence was inferred from a January 2024 stellar occultation observed by a Japan-led team; the exosphere is extremely tenuous, with surface pressures of 100–200 nanobars—5 to 10 million times thinner than Earth’s. The atmosphere could originate from a recent impact or from cryovolcanic outgassing, but either way it challenges the idea that only large bodies can sustain atmospheres. If it’s impact-driven, the gas would escape within ~1,000 years; if outgassing, the source is ongoing beneath the surface. JWST observations and density monitoring in coming years should help pinpoint the cause. The discovery was published May 4 in Nature Astronomy.
Astronomers using a rare January 2024 stellar occultation in Japan detected a thin atmosphere around the small trans-Neptunian object (612533) 2002 XV93, a body about 500 km across in the Kuiper Belt. The atmosphere is estimated to be 5–10 million times thinner than Earth's. It could be produced by cryovolcanism or a past impact; if replenished regularly, it might persist longer, otherwise it could dissipate in a few hundred years. Future observations, including with the James Webb Space Telescope, aim to determine its composition and evolution, potentially overturning assumptions that tiny, distant objects can’t have atmospheres and highlighting Kuiper Belt activity.