New Horizons has taken images of the "Wishing Well" star cluster and the Kuiper belt objects 2012 HZ84 and 2012 HE85 using its LORRI instrument. New Horizons was over 6.12 billion kilometers (40.9 AU) away from Earth when it took the images (archive), beating the previous record by Voyager 1:
New Horizons was even farther from home than NASA's Voyager 1 when it captured the famous "Pale Blue Dot" image of Earth. That picture was part of a composite of 60 images looking back at the solar system, on Feb. 14, 1990, when Voyager was 3.75 billion miles (6.06 billion kilometers, or about 40.5 astronomical units [AU]) from Earth. Voyager 1's cameras were turned off shortly after that portrait, leaving its distance record unchallenged for more than 27 years.
[...] During its extended mission in the Kuiper Belt, which began in 2017, New Horizons is aiming to observe at least two-dozen other KBOs, dwarf planets and "Centaurs," former KBOs in unstable orbits that cross the orbits of the giant planets. Mission scientists study the images to determine the objects' shapes and surface properties, and to check for moons and rings. The spacecraft also is making nearly continuous measurements of the plasma, dust and neutral-gas environment along its path.
Previously: New Horizons Measures the Brightness of Galaxies Before Going Into Hibernation
New Horizons Target 2014 MU69 May be a "Contact Binary"
New Horizons Flyby Plan Finalized; Pluto Features Named
Tiny Moon Possibly Orbiting 2014 MU69
(Score: 4, Informative) by YttriumOxide on Sunday February 11 2018, @06:25AM (2 children)
Maybe it's just because I haven't had my morning coffee yet, but talking about the Pale Blue Dot image made me think that New Horizons had been directed to snap a picture of Earth from way out in the Kuiper Belt.
But no, it's simply that these are the farthest away from earth a camera has been while taking photos of other things. Still interesting, but kind of a let down when you're expecting a new "really distant selfie".
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday February 12 2018, @02:40AM (1 child)
Taking pictures of KBOs at oblique angles is more important than another Earth selfie.
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(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday February 15 2018, @12:05AM
Selfies are important too. I told them, "do the selfie, let's see what that one looks like."