{"id":110031,"date":"2024-10-03T20:25:09","date_gmt":"2024-10-03T13:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=110031"},"modified":"2024-10-03T20:25:09","modified_gmt":"2024-10-03T13:25:09","slug":"nasa-spacecraft-has-roamed-billions-of-miles-but-hasnt-reached-the-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=110031","title":{"rendered":"NASA spacecraft has roamed billions of miles \u2014 but hasn&#8217;t reached the &#8216;edge&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article\">\n<p>Zooming through the outer reaches of the solar system, A <a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/category\/nasa\" target=\"_self\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-element=\"offer\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>NASA<\/u><\/a> spacecraft just clocked a distance 60 times farther from the <a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/how-hot-is-sun-nasa\" target=\"_self\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-element=\"offer\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>sun<\/u><\/a> than Earth. <\/p>\n<p>The extraordinary benchmark announced this week means the <a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/new-horizons-snowman-images-mu69\" target=\"_self\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-element=\"offer\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>New Horizons<\/u><\/a> probe has doubled its 2015 distance, when it was snapping pictures of <a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/pluto-ocean-world-heart\" target=\"_self\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-element=\"offer\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>Pluto<\/u><\/a> and its <a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/nasa-mini-moon-earth\" target=\"_self\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-element=\"offer\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>moons<\/u><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps more surprising than this intangible deep-<a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/category\/space\" target=\"_self\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-element=\"offer\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>space<\/u><\/a> milestone is the one this intrepid spacecraft <em>hasn&#8217;t<\/em> reached yet: the outer edge of the solar system&#8217;s Kuiper Belt, a disk beyond <a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/james-webb-space-telescope-neptune-rings\" target=\"_self\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-element=\"offer\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>Neptune<\/u><\/a> of countless <a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/what-is-a-comet-facts\" target=\"_self\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-element=\"offer\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>comets<\/u><\/a> and thousands of tiny <a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/nasa-ceres-muddy-ocean-world\" target=\"_self\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-element=\"offer\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>ice worlds<\/u><\/a>. The far-flung region is littered with leftover rubble from the time when primitive planets were forming.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Scientists had expected the spacecraft to arrive at the proverbial edge about 1 billion miles ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"gap-4 justify-center items-center my-12 mx-auto w-full max-w-3xl md:my-16\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/games.mashable.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"\" data-ga-element=\"mashable_games_general\" data-ga-action=\"mashable_games_general\" data-ga-item=\"mashable_games_general\" data-ga-label=\"In-Content General Games Module\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"block mx-auto lg:hidden\" title=\"Mashable Games\" src=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/images\/mashable-games-mobile.png\" alt=\"Mashable Games\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\"\/><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"hidden lg:block\" title=\"Mashable Games\" src=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/images\/mashable-games-desktop.png\" alt=\"Mashable Games\" width=\"768\" height=\"180\"\/><br \/>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;Our Solar System\u2019s Kuiper Belt long appeared to be very small in comparison with many other planetary systems,&#8221; said Wes Fraser, a co-investigator for the New Horizons mission, in a <a href=\"https:\/\/pluto.jhuapl.edu\/News-Center\/News-Article.php?page=20240904\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-element=\"offer\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>statement<\/u><\/a>, &#8220;but our results suggest that idea might just have arisen due to an observational bias.&#8221;<\/p>\n<section x-data=\"window.newsletter()\" x-init=\"init()\" class=\"relative p-8 my-12 mx-auto w-full max-w-3xl border md:p-12 md:my-16 border-secondary-300\" data-ga-impression=\"\" data-ga-category=\"newsletters\" data-ga-module=\"incontent_nl_signup\" data-ga-label=\"mashablelightspeed\">\n<p>\nMashable Light Speed\n<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"mx-auto mt-8 w-full max-w-3xl font-sans text-lg leading-normal md:text-xl md:leading-7\">\n<span class=\"font-bold text-primary-400\">SEE ALSO:<\/span><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/nasa-ceres-muddy-ocean-world\" class=\"text-secondary-300\"><br \/>\nThis nearby dwarf planet&#8217;s ice may be left over from a dirty ocean<br \/>\n<svg class=\"inline-block ml-1 w-4 h-4 font-normal fill-current\"><use href=\"http:\/\/mashable.com\/images\/icons\/spritemap.svg#sprite-arrow-right-thin\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"eloquent-imagery-image\">\n<div class=\"flex justify-center\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"border border-gray-100\" src=\"https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/067MGOKzMJILZi414F92TzM\/images-4.fill.size_2000x1125.v1727901416.jpg\" alt=\"the New Horizons spacecraft\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/067MGOKzMJILZi414F92TzM\/images-4.fill.size_800x450.v1727901416.jpg 800w, https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/067MGOKzMJILZi414F92TzM\/images-4.fill.size_1400x788.v1727901416.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/067MGOKzMJILZi414F92TzM\/images-4.fill.size_2000x1125.v1727901416.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1408px) 100vw, 1408px\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<span class=\"normal-case text-gray-1000\">The New Horizons spacecraft has not reached interstellar space yet. <\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"text-gray-600 credit\">Credit: NASA \/ Johns Hopkins APL \/ SwRI \/ Steve Gribben illustration<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>While the spacecraft has whizzed away at 300 million miles per year, the New Horizons team has continued to collect data about the Kuiper Belt. What&#8217;s more, using the Japanese Subaru Telescope in Hawaii, New Horizon&#8217;s scientists detected a population of previously unknown cosmic objects. The group could be sprawled out to almost 90 times as far as Earth is from the sun, according to a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/2407.21142\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-element=\"offer\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>paper<\/u><\/a> published in the<strong> <\/strong><em>Planetary Science Journal<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The discovery suggests the Kuiper Belt may span much farther than once thought, or that there is perhaps another such belt even farther away than the one scientists have known about since the 1990s. The new finding could mean the spacecraft has a longer journey ahead \u2014 on the scale of billions of more miles \u2014 before it gets to <a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/nasa-voyager-2-mission-extended\" target=\"_self\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-element=\"offer\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>interstellar space<\/u><\/a>, the place outside the region affected by the sun\u2019s constant flow of material.<\/p>\n<div class=\"eloquent-imagery-image\">\n<div class=\"flex justify-center\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"border border-gray-100\" src=\"https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/067MGOKzMJILZi414F92TzM\/images-3.fill.size_525x750.v1727900584.webp\" alt=\"New Horizons observing Kuiper Belt object\" width=\"525\" height=\"750\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/067MGOKzMJILZi414F92TzM\/images-3.fill.size_800x1143.v1727900584.webp 800w, https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/067MGOKzMJILZi414F92TzM\/images-3.fill.size_1400x2000.v1727900584.webp 1400w, https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/067MGOKzMJILZi414F92TzM\/images-3.fill.size_2000x2857.v1727900584.webp 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1408px) 100vw, 1408px\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<span class=\"normal-case text-gray-1000\">New Horizons delivered this composite image of Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth when it flew by in January 2019. <\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"text-gray-600 credit\">Credit: NASA \/ JHUAPL \/ SWRI<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;Maybe, if this result is confirmed, our Kuiper Belt isn\u2019t all that small and unusual after all, compared to those around other stars,&#8221; Fraser said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Scientists don&#8217;t know much about the new population of objects yet, but one possibility is that Neptune&#8217;s gravity is affecting the group, causing its orbit to be a precise multiple of the planet&#8217;s. Regardless, their mere existence would seem to meddle with conventional ideas about how the solar system formed, perhaps indicating planetary material came from a much larger vicinity than previously thought.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>New Horizons launched in early 2006, first visiting Jupiter for a gravity boost and scientific studies in 2007. Nine years into its mission, it flew by Pluto. Then, on Jan. 1, 2019, it arrived at its next major target, a Kuiper Belt object roughly 4 billion miles from Earth. This icy red dumbbell-shaped world, only 21 miles wide, is the farthest object a spacecraft has ever encountered. The team officially named it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/solar-system\/far-far-away-in-the-sky-new-horizons-kuiper-belt-flyby-object-officially-named-arrokoth\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-element=\"offer\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>Arrokoth<\/u><\/a>, a Powhatan and Algonquian word meaning &#8220;sky,&#8221; after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/nasa-named-its-next-new-horizons-target-ultima-thule-mythical-land-nazi-844318\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-element=\"offer\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>the Latin first choice<\/u><\/a> sparked controversy for having icky associations with Nazis.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"eloquent-imagery-image\">\n<div class=\"flex justify-center\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"border border-gray-100\" src=\"https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/067MGOKzMJILZi414F92TzM\/images-2.fill.size_2000x980.v1727900229.jpg\" alt=\"Mapping New Horizons full trajectory\" width=\"2000\" height=\"980\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/067MGOKzMJILZi414F92TzM\/images-2.fill.size_800x392.v1727900229.jpg 800w, https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/067MGOKzMJILZi414F92TzM\/images-2.fill.size_1400x686.v1727900229.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/067MGOKzMJILZi414F92TzM\/images-2.fill.size_2000x980.v1727900229.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1408px) 100vw, 1408px\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<span class=\"normal-case text-gray-1000\">The New Horizons spacecraft is thought to have enough power and fuel to operate over a distance of 100 times that of the Earth from the sun. <\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"text-gray-600 credit\">Credit: NASA \/ JHUAPL \/ SwRI infographic<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The spacecraft&#8217;s life expectancy lasts until 2050, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AlanStern\/status\/1841267140894019766\" target=\"_blank\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-element=\"offer\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" title=\"(opens in a new window)\" rel=\"noopener\">said planetary scientist Alan Stern<\/a>, who&#8217;s directing the mission for NASA. It has enough power and fuel to continue operating beyond a distance 100 times farther from the sun than Earth.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If it does survive the trek into interstellar space, it won&#8217;t be the first to get there. <a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/nasa-voyager-1-data-problems\" target=\"_self\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-element=\"offer\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>Voyager 1<\/u><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/nasa-voyager-2-mission-extended\" target=\"_self\" data-ga-click=\"1\" data-ga-element=\"offer\" data-ga-label=\"$text\" data-ga-item=\"text-link\" data-ga-module=\"content_body\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>Voyager 2<\/u><\/a>, both launched in 1977, have each drifted outside the solar system, at over 15 billion and 12 billion miles from Earth, respectively.<\/p>\n<section class=\"mx-auto max-w-7xl\">\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n    var facebookPixelLoaded = false;\n    window.addEventListener('load', function(){\n        document.addEventListener('scroll', facebookPixelScript);\n        document.addEventListener('mousemove', facebookPixelScript);\n    })\n    function facebookPixelScript() {\n        if (!facebookPixelLoaded) {\n            facebookPixelLoaded = true;\n            document.removeEventListener('scroll', facebookPixelScript);\n            document.removeEventListener('mousemove', facebookPixelScript);\n            !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n                n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;\n                n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n                t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,\n                document,'script','\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n            fbq('init', '1453039084979896');\n            fbq('track', \"PageView\");\n        }\n    }\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/nasa-new-horizons-kuiper-belt-distance\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zooming through the outer reaches of the solar system, A NASA spacecraft just clocked a distance 60 times farther from the sun than Earth. The extraordinary benchmark announced this week &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=110031\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8628],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=110031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110031\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=110031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=110031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=110031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}