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New Horizons

Learn more about NASA's New Horizons mission, which performed history's first flyby of the Pluto system on July 14, 2015.

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A new Hubble Space Telescope image reveals the peculiar structure of a spiral galaxy with only one starry arm rotating about its center. While most barred spiral galaxies are characterized by a distinct bar-shaped structure of stars centered on a galactic core, this barred spiral isn't like most others. Located 21 million light-years from Earth, this strange galaxy, known as NGC 4618, was first thought to be a star cluster after the astronomer William Herschel discovered it in 1787. Astronomers now think that gravitational interactions with a neighboring galaxy may have influenced this galaxy's shape.

Pictures from space! Our image of the day

By Space.com Staff

A new Hubble Space Telescope image reveals the peculiar structure of a spiral galaxy with only one starry arm rotating about its center.

The uniform color and composition of Arrokoth’s surface shows the Kuiper Belt object formed from a small, uniform, cloud of material in the solar nebula, rather than a mishmash of matter from more separated parts of the nebula. The former supports the idea that Arrokoth formed in a local collapse of a cloud in the solar nebula.

Arrokoth unmasked: NASA probe's 'space snowman' encounter reveals how planetesimals are born

By Mike Wall

New Horizons' epic encounter with a small body in the far outer solar system is telling us a lot about how planets are born.

The most detailed image of Arrokoth, captured just minutes before New Horizons made its closest approach on Jan. 1, 2019.

One Year Ago, NASA's New Horizons Made the Most Distant Flyby in Space History

By Nola Taylor Redd

A year after New Horizons buzzed its second target, Arrokoth, a wealth of science has been revealed.

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew by the distant Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule (2014 MU69) on Jan. 1, 2019. The object, the most distant ever visited by a spacecraft, is now called Arrokoth.

Meet Arrokoth: Ultima Thule, the Most Distant Object Ever Explored, Has a New Name

By Mike Wall

Hopefully you weren't too attached to "2014 MU69," because the most distant object ever explored has a new name.

Pluto, as seen by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft during its historic flyby of the dwarf planet in July 2015.

NASA Eyes a Possible Return to Pluto, with a Longer Stay

By Mike Wall

NASA is thinking about going back to Pluto, this time to stay for a while.

new horizons spacecraft

Long After Historic Flybys, NASA's New Horizons Is Still Pioneering Science in the Kuiper Belt

By Meghan Bartels

New Horizons made an epic flyby of a Kuiper Belt object to ring in the New Year — but scientists need brand-new observations to truly understand that data.

This new Hubble Space Telescope view of Jupiter, taken on June 27, 2019, reveals the giant planet's trademark Great Red Spot, and a more intense color palette in the clouds swirling in Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere than seen in previous years. Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 observed Jupiter when the planet was 400 million miles (640 million kilometers) from Earth, when Jupiter was near "opposition," or almost directly opposite the sun in the sky.

Jupiter: Our Solar System's Largest Planet

By Charles Q. Choi

If Jupiter were the size of a basketball, Earth would be the size of a grape.

Uranus’ tilt essentially has the planet orbiting the Sun on its side, the axis of its spin is nearly pointing at the Sun.

Uranus: The Ringed Planet That Sits on its Side

By Charles Q. Choi

Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun and was the first to be discovered.

This artist’s concept shows NASA's New Horizons spacecraft during its 2015 encounter with Pluto and its moon, Charon.

New Horizons: Exploring Pluto and Beyond

By Elizabeth Howell

The New Horizons spacecraft reached the dwarf planet Pluto in July 2015.

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew by the distant Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule (2014 MU69) on Jan. 1, 2019.

A Gentle Kiss: How the Kuiper Belt Object Ultima Thule Was Born

By Mike Wall

A surprisingly gentle merger between two small primordial bodies formed the distant object Ultima Thule, a new study suggests.

Saturn’s famous rings are spectacular. The most recently discovered ring is at least 200 times the diameter of the planet and could fit one billion Earths.

Saturn: Facts About the Ringed Planet

By Charles Q. Choi

Learn about the physical characteristics of Saturn and its famous rings, what we know about Saturn’s moons and Saturn’s roots in Greek mythology.

This artist's impression shows the distant dwarf planet Eris in the distance with its moon Dysmonia in the foreground. Both call the Kuiper Belt "home." New observations have shown that Eris is smaller than previously thought and almost exactly the same size as Pluto. Eris is extremely re

The Kuiper Belt: Objects at the Edge of the Solar System

By Nola Taylor Redd

Beyond Neptune, the Kuiper Belt is a vast region of icy objects called Kupier Belt Objects (KBOs), including dwarf planets Pluto, Eris, Maumea and Makemake — and possibly a true ninth planet.

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew by the distant Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule (2014 MU69) on Jan. 1, 2019.

Ultima Thule's Mystery Mounds Puzzle Scientists

By Mike Wall

Ultima Thule is lumpy, and scientists aren't sure why.

Zooming in to Ultima Thule while riding along with NASA's New Horizons probe.

Queen Guitarist Brian May Scores Ultima Thule Flyby Time-Lapse Video

By Sarah Lewin

An ethereal track by Queen lead guitarist Brian May accompanies the awe-inspiring time-lapse view from NASA's New Horizons flyby of a distant solar system object.

A new map produced by the New Horizons team appears to show the many different lumps of rock that converged to form the object nicknamed Ultima Thule.

NASA's New Horizons Reveals Geologic 'Frankenstein' That Formed Ultima Thule

By Meghan Bartels

To make this image appear in 3D, stare "through" the computer screen and then focus on the ghostly image that should pop up between the two halves of this picture.

Ultima Thule Pops in 3D in This Incredible New Horizons View

By Meghan Bartels

The New Horizons spacecraft is speeding away from its recent flyby target, a distant icy space rock nicknamed Ultima Thule, but the view from Earth is only getting better.

Craters on the Pluto moon Charon's Vulcan Planitia, as seen by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft in July 2015.

In Pluto's Realm, Small Objects Are Rare

By Mike Wall

Researchers have noted a distinct dearth of small craters on Pluto and its largest moon, Charon.

A giant planet similar to Uranus or Neptune may orbit the sun in the solar system's outer reaches. Planet Nine is shown here in an artist's impression that includes hypothetical lightning on the planet's surface. The bright star to the right is the sun.

Newfound 'FarFarOut' Is Most Distant Solar System Body Ever Seen

By Mike Wall

Best-ever image of Ultima Thule made it back to Earth.

Best-Ever View of Distant Object Ultima Thule Reveals Weird Circles, Pits

By Mike Wall

The best-ever photos of Ultima Thule have made it down to Earth, and they heighten the intrigue about the frigid and faraway world.

Crescent View of Ultima Thule

Ultima Thule Beyond Pluto Is Flat Like a Pancake (and Not a Space Snowman After All)

By Mike Wall

The final photos that NASA's New Horizons spacecraft snapped of Ultima Thule during the probe's epic Jan. 1 flyby reveal the distant object to be much flatter than scientists had thought.