tldrdaily.news logo
Tag

New Horizons

All articles tagged with #new horizons

gaming16 hours ago

Animal Crossing’s 3.0 update revives cozy island life with Switch 2 upgrades

The Verge reports that Animal Crossing: New Horizons is getting a major 3.0 update that arrives for both Switch and Switch 2 as a free update, adding quality-of-life features like multi-item crafting, new Slumber Islands, and strafing, plus Zelda-inspired collaborations. A separate paid Switch 2 upgrade launching January 15 will bring exclusive features such as mouse controls and 12-player online co-op. Fans like Soleil and Fernando are excited to return to cozy island life and multiplayer decorating, while hoping for livelier villagers and more building customization.

via The Verge|
#animal-crossing#gaming#new-horizons
science5 months ago

New Horizons Might Reach Proxima Centauri if It Chose

The New Horizons spacecraft has demonstrated a groundbreaking method of interstellar navigation using optical stellar astrometry and parallax measurements, which could enable future spacecraft to navigate autonomously to distant stars like Proxima Centauri by measuring the apparent shifts in nearby stars' positions relative to background stars as it travels through space.

via Universe Today|
#interstellar-navigation#new-horizons#proxima-centauri
science6 months ago

Decade Later, Pluto's Iconic Photos and Future Uncertain

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft took a 6.25 GB, 15-month-long data transmission to send back a detailed, color-accurate image of Pluto, captured during its 2015 flyby, revealing a geologically active dwarf planet. The mission, which also visited Arrokoth, faces potential termination due to proposed budget cuts, risking the loss of valuable scientific insights into the outer solar system.

via PetaPixel|
#kuiper-belt#nasa#new-horizons
space-science1 year ago

"Arrokoth: The Sweet Red 'Sugar World' in the Kuiper Belt"

Researchers have simulated the conditions on the planetesimal Arrokoth and found that its red color likely comes from a surface rich in sugars formed by cosmic ray bombardment over 1.8 billion years. This discovery, made using data from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, suggests that similar processes on comets could have contributed to the origins of life on Earth.

via Phys.org|
#arrokoth#cosmic-rays#kuiper-belt
science1 year ago

"Sweet Discovery: Sugar-Rich World Found in Kuiper Belt"

A study led by planetary scientist Alan Stern has discovered significant amounts of complex organic molecules, including sugars, on Arrokoth, a distant object in the Kuiper Belt. This finding, made possible by the New Horizons mission's 2019 flyby, provides new insights into the chemical processes of the early solar system and potentially the origins of life on Earth.

via Newsweek|
#arrokoth#early-solar-system#kuiper-belt
science-and-space1 year ago

Pluto's Salty Subsurface Ocean Could Enable Effortless Floating

New research based on data from the New Horizons spacecraft suggests that Pluto has a subsurface ocean beneath a 40-80 km thick ice shell. This ocean, potentially as salty as Earth's Great Salt Lake, challenges previous assumptions that Pluto was too cold to support liquid water. The findings, derived from mathematical models and surface feature analysis, add to the growing evidence that Pluto is a dynamic world with an interior ocean.

via Universe Today|
#cryovolcanoes#new-horizons#ocean-worlds
space-exploration1 year ago

"Effortless Floating in Pluto's Hidden Ocean"

A recent study suggests that Pluto may have a subsurface ocean beneath its frozen surface, potentially deeper and denser than Earth's seawater. Clues from the New Horizons mission, such as the lack of an equatorial bulge and surface fractures, hint at this possibility. Researchers modeled the ocean's characteristics, estimating it to be 25-50 miles thick and 8% denser than Earth's seawater. However, the idea remains controversial, and more data is needed to confirm the existence of this ocean.

via Space.com|
#cryovolcanoes#new-horizons#pluto
space-science1 year ago

"The Violent Origins of Pluto's Mysterious Heart Revealed by Astrophysicists"

A new study suggests that the heart-shaped formation on Pluto's surface, known as Tombaugh Regio, was likely formed in a slow-motion, glancing collision with an icy rock wider than Kansas is long. Using computer simulations, researchers determined that the impact likely originated from an oblique collision, leading to its elongated shape, and did not result in the melting of Pluto's icy core. The study also suggests that Pluto's heart does not require a subsurface ocean to explain its position near the equator.

via Livescience.com|
#impact-simulation#new-horizons#nitrogen-ice
space1 year ago

"Discovery of Second Kuiper Belt by New Horizons"

The New Horizons spacecraft, known for its historic flybys of Pluto and Arrokoth, has found evidence for a possible second Kuiper Belt, indicating more dust at greater distances from the sun than expected. Chief scientist Alan Stern highlighted the unexpected discoveries and outlined plans for future exploration, including a proposed multiyear search for new Kuiper Belt Objects using ground-based telescopes. The spacecraft is in excellent health and has the potential to continue exploring into the 2040s, with goals of reaching the heliosphere’s termination shock and venturing into interstellar space.

via EarthSky|
#alan-stern#interstellar-space#kuiper-belt