NASA renames Kuiper Belt object following controversy

NASA's nickname for the distant Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69, Ultima Thule, has been more than a little contentious. While it has innocuous meanings, Ultima Thule is also the term white supremacists use to refer to a mythical homeland. The agency i...

Ultima Thule is unlike anything we’ve seen in the solar system

It turns out Ultima Thule is a kind of lumpy space snowman. If you've been following NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, you know Ultima Thule is an object in Kuiper Belt, the donut-shaped region of icy bodies beyond Pluto. New Horizons made the farthest...

Pluto Photos of New Horizons Flyby Released


The first images of the New Horizons Pluto Flyby have been released by NASA. The new close-up images of a region near Pluto's equator reveal a giant surprise: a range of youthful mountains rising as...

New Horizons Survived Pluto Flyby


New Horizons is alive. The spacecraft made the planned call after its Pluto Flyby. NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft phoned home just before 9 p.m. EDT Tuesday to tell the mission team and the world it...

NASA Releases Best Photo Yet of Pluto


NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has flown by Pluto at the shortest distance of its mission. NASA as shared today the best photo yet of Pluto taken yesterday from 476,000 miles. The photos New...

NASA Coverage of New Horizons Pluto Flyby Starts at 7:30am ET


The NASA TV coverage of the New Horizons Pluto Flyby starts at 7:30am ET and lasts 30 minutes. At about 7:49am ET the New Horizons spacecraft is scheduled to be as close as the spacecraft will get to...

New Horizons Pluto FlyBy Featured in Google Doodle


Today is the big day for NASA's New Horizons spacecraft. In about 6 hours New Horizons will flyby Pluto delivering close-up photos of Pluto never seen before. This NASA spacecraft has been traveling...

Pluto is Larger Than Believed


NASA has new information from New Horizons as it approaches Pluto. The closest distance will be reached tomorrow on July 14. Today NASA can reveal the size of Pluto and its larger than thought. New...