E=mcsquared
JF-Expert Member
- Apr 1, 2009
- 236
- 40
The computer-generated images below are simulated views of New Horizons' location in the solar system. The images were created using the Satellite Tool Kit (STK) software, which was developed by Analytical Graphics, Inc. Images are updated every hour.
Click here to follow New Horizons as it passes each planet's orbit, starting with our own Moon.
Current Position
This image shows New Horizons' current position. The green segment of the line shows where New Horizons has traveled since launch; the red indicates the spacecraft's path toward Jupiter, Pluto and beyond. Positions of stars with magnitude 12 or brighter are shown from this perspective, which is above the Sun and "north" of Earth's orbit.
What Is an AU? The graphics on these pages note New Horizons' distance from Earth, Jupiter and Pluto in AU, or Astronomical Units. One AU is the average distance between the Sun and Earth, about 93 million miles or 149.6 million kilometers.
Heliocentric Velocity. The current position graphic also notes the spacecraft's heliocentric velocity - its speed with respect to the Sun - in kilometers per second. One kilometer per second is equivalent to 0.62 miles per second, or 2,237 miles per hour.
What Is 2002 JF56? On June 13, 2006, New Horizons passed approximately 102,000 kilometers (nearly 63,500 miles) from asteroid 2002 JF56, a small, relatively unknown body less than 5 kilometers (3 miles) in diameter. At that distance, the asteroid was so small that the Ralph imager could just barely resolve it. (The higher-resolution LORRI camera couldn't open its door until late August, to guard against accidental Sun pointing. So while LORRI could have resolved the asteroid, the camera couldn't observe it for safety reasons.)
But the "encounter" with 2002 JF56 was still highly useful to New Horizons. The team successfully tested Ralph's optical navigation and moving-target-tracking capabilities, using this flight test to gain valuable experience in tracking moving targets for the Jupiter and Pluto flybys.
In January 2007 the asteroid was renamed "APL" in honor of The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory's leading role in New Horizons and other NASA missions.
Full Trajectory: Overhead View
This image shows New Horizons' current position along its full planned trajectory. The green segment of the line shows where New Horizons has traveled since launch; the red indicates the spacecraft's future path. Positions of stars with magnitude 12 or brighter are shown from this perspective, which is above the Sun and "north" of Earth's orbit.
Full Trajectory - Side View
This image shows New Horizons' current position along its full planned trajectory. The green segment of the line shows where New Horizons has traveled since launch; the red indicates the spacecraft's future path. Positions of stars with magnitude 12 or brighter are shown from this perspective, which is slightly above the orbital plane of the planets.
Source: New Horizons Web Site
Click here to follow New Horizons as it passes each planet's orbit, starting with our own Moon.
Current Position
This image shows New Horizons' current position. The green segment of the line shows where New Horizons has traveled since launch; the red indicates the spacecraft's path toward Jupiter, Pluto and beyond. Positions of stars with magnitude 12 or brighter are shown from this perspective, which is above the Sun and "north" of Earth's orbit.
What Is an AU? The graphics on these pages note New Horizons' distance from Earth, Jupiter and Pluto in AU, or Astronomical Units. One AU is the average distance between the Sun and Earth, about 93 million miles or 149.6 million kilometers.
Heliocentric Velocity. The current position graphic also notes the spacecraft's heliocentric velocity - its speed with respect to the Sun - in kilometers per second. One kilometer per second is equivalent to 0.62 miles per second, or 2,237 miles per hour.
What Is 2002 JF56? On June 13, 2006, New Horizons passed approximately 102,000 kilometers (nearly 63,500 miles) from asteroid 2002 JF56, a small, relatively unknown body less than 5 kilometers (3 miles) in diameter. At that distance, the asteroid was so small that the Ralph imager could just barely resolve it. (The higher-resolution LORRI camera couldn't open its door until late August, to guard against accidental Sun pointing. So while LORRI could have resolved the asteroid, the camera couldn't observe it for safety reasons.)
But the "encounter" with 2002 JF56 was still highly useful to New Horizons. The team successfully tested Ralph's optical navigation and moving-target-tracking capabilities, using this flight test to gain valuable experience in tracking moving targets for the Jupiter and Pluto flybys.
In January 2007 the asteroid was renamed "APL" in honor of The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory's leading role in New Horizons and other NASA missions.
Full Trajectory: Overhead View
This image shows New Horizons' current position along its full planned trajectory. The green segment of the line shows where New Horizons has traveled since launch; the red indicates the spacecraft's future path. Positions of stars with magnitude 12 or brighter are shown from this perspective, which is above the Sun and "north" of Earth's orbit.
This image shows New Horizons' current position along its full planned trajectory. The green segment of the line shows where New Horizons has traveled since launch; the red indicates the spacecraft's future path. Positions of stars with magnitude 12 or brighter are shown from this perspective, which is slightly above the orbital plane of the planets.
Source: New Horizons Web Site
