New Horizons, which passed Pluto in 2015, is on its way to new discoveries deep in the Kuiper Belt – a region inhabited by ancient remnants from the dawn of the solar system. It’ll encounter its next target, a cold, classic Kuiper Belt object called MU69, in late 2018. In the meantime, mission scientists are still poring over the data from New Horizons’ Pluto encounter, and wow! The discoveries they’re still making show Pluto – dwarf planet though it may now be – as one of the most fascinating worlds in our solar system.
Bottom line: New ScienceCast video on what’s still being learned from New Horizons’ 2015 Pluto encounter, plus a preview of the craft’s next target, MU69.
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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