New Horizons changes course for flyby of first post-Pluto destination on New Year’s Day 2019

New Horizons has sped past the Pluto system and is now on its way to its next target in the Kuiper Belt, 2014 MU69. Image Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI
New Horizons has sped past the Pluto system and is now on its way to its next target in the Kuiper Belt, 2014 MU69. Image Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

After having completed its successful encounter with Pluto and its moons last July, the New Horizons spacecraft is now setting its sights on its next target much farther out in the Kuiper Belt: a tiny rocky world called 2014 MU69, which is less than 30 miles in diameter and orbits nearly 1 billion miles past Pluto, in the far outer reaches of the Solar System.

Read MoreNew Horizons changes course for flyby of first post-Pluto destination on New Year’s Day 2019

The Kepler discovery controversy: objects orbiting new star likely cometary fragments, not aliens

Are the unusual objects around KIC 8462852 a giant swarm of comets or something else? Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle (SSC)
Are the unusual objects around KIC 8462852 a giant swarm of comets or something else? Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle (SSC)

There has been a lot of discussion during the past several days regarding a discovery by the Kepler Space Telescope, which, according to some, may be the first evidence for advanced extraterrestrial intelligence, or perhaps just a weird but natural phenomenon instead.

Read MoreThe Kepler discovery controversy: objects orbiting new star likely cometary fragments, not aliens

A whole new world: Pluto discoveries published in new ‘Science’ research paper

High-resolution view of Pluto from New Horizons. The large smoother area of ice is the western lobe of the “heart” feature. Image Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI
High-resolution view of Pluto from New Horizons. The large smoother area of ice is the western lobe of the “heart” feature. Image Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

It has been three months since the historic close flyby of Pluto by New Horizons, and new discoveries have been coming in quickly about this previously little-known world. The first paper detailing these results so far, “The Pluto System: Initial Results from its Exploration by New Horizons,” has now been published in Science. New Horizons has revealed Pluto and its moons to be more complex and geologically active than ever thought.

Read MoreA whole new world: Pluto discoveries published in new ‘Science’ research paper

Cassini sends back spectacular new images of the north pole region of Enceladus

New high-resolution view of the north polar region on Enceladus, showing a cratered surface crisscrossed by many cracks. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
New high-resolution view of the north polar region on Enceladus, showing a cratered surface crisscrossed by many cracks. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

The Cassini spacecraft has just successfully completed the first of three final close flybys of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, and has sent back some spectacular images of the northern regions of this icy and watery world, the best views ever seen so far. Two more upcoming flybys will dive back into the water vapor plumes at the south pole and measure how much heat is emanating from the tiny moon’s interior.

Read MoreCassini sends back spectacular new images of the north pole region of Enceladus

Cassini begins series of three close flybys of Saturn’s water moon Enceladus

Illustration of Cassini’s “E-20” flyby of Enceladus, which will provide new, detailed views of the moon’s north polar region. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Illustration of Cassini’s “E-20” flyby of Enceladus, which will provide new, detailed views of the moon’s north polar region. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Starting yesterday, the Cassini spacecraft is making the first of three scheduled close flybys of the moon Enceladus, which will provide the first good look at the north polar region of the tiny, water-spraying moon. These will be the final close-up views of this fascinating world during Cassini’s mission, and may help scientists to better understand the potential habitability of Enceladus, which has become a primary target of interest in the search for evidence of life elsewhere.

Read MoreCassini begins series of three close flybys of Saturn’s water moon Enceladus