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back to article NASA names New Horizons' next target

NASA has tentatively named the next target for its New Horizons' probe. Now that the probe has finished its Pluto fly-by – although, as NASA notes, it's still busily transmitting the bulk of the images and data it collected back to Earth – the agency says it reckons a Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) called 2014 MU69 is a suitable …

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  1. Martin Budden Silver badge

    I wonder what shape it is? It's too small to have reached hydrostatic equilibrium so I won't assume a spherical cow, although it could resemble a (slow) sheep in a vacuum.

    2 0 Reply
    1. VinceH
      Reply Icon

      A sofa.

      6 0 Reply
      1. Graham Marsden
        Reply Icon
        Happy

        Maybe it's Russel's Teapot (or some other part of his tea service...)

        4 0 Reply
  2. Winkypop Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    January 1, 2019

    That'll make a lovely pre-retirement read.

    Bring it.

    2 0 Reply
  3. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Paris Hilton

    So it practically lies on the current trajectory.

    How much delta-V do you need?

    1 0 Reply
    1. MrT
      Reply Icon

      It might not need any extra...

      Current heliocentric speed 14.49km/s

      1km/s is roughly 2237mph (data from Johns Hopkins University APL)

      So, 32,424mph.

      1 billion miles in 1220 or so days is 34,153mph. Depends on how close to 1 billion miles it has to travel, but delta-V for exactly 1 billin is around another 1,700mph max. At current speed it'll cover 949 million miles, which is 'nearly' enough at zero delta-V.

      1 0 Reply
    2. Grikath
      Reply Icon

      Given that New Horizons already has solar escape velocity, not that much. It's more lateral delta-v that's needed. And as with all things ballistic, the sooner you start applying it, the less of it you need to get things where you want them. The longer they wait with the decision, the more they need to change the vector, and the harder they need to kick the can around to get it where they want it.

      But without the exact coordinates for the rendezvous, and the n-significant details about the thruster power on New Horizons, all you can do is speculate, instead of calculate.

      2 0 Reply
  4. Chris G
    Pint

    If I ran a business I would head hunt NASA or other space probe team members, they must be the best forward planners on this planet.

    A beer for all of them, keeping us looking forward and outward.

    21 0 Reply
  5. Little Mouse

    Fantastic!

    The closer New Horizons is when it passes, the more the fly-by is going to be of the blink-and-you-miss-it variety. And at just 45km across, it's going to have to pass by pretty damn close to take some sexy snaps.

    I can't wait - This news really brought a smile to my face. It's been an awesome year for space-related endeavours so far. Long may this continue.

    6 0 Reply
  6. Richard Altmann

    Hubble

    stuns me time and time again. To find such a small piece of gravel somewhere ouuut theeeeere! Makes me want to live my life again and study astronomy and forget about whinging clients: "Uh, the internet is so slow"

    4 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hubble

      I wholeheartedly agree. I've enjoyed being an engineer most of the time, but when I look at the amazing achievements of these guys it makes me feel very humble. NASA has broadened our knowledge in ways I could hardly imagine when I was a kid, whereas I've spent most of my working life making next year's landfill.

      5 0 Reply

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