Beyond Pluto

摘要

With Pluto rapidly shrinking from view, NASA's New Horizons probe is slipping further into a vast unexplored wilderness known as the Kuiper belt. This great frigid expanse beyond the gas giant Neptune is home to millions of icy bodies, known as Kuiper belt objects, many of which are thought to be pristine remnants from the birth of our planetary neighbourhood some 4.6 billion years ago. As the world continues to gawp at breathtaking images of the Kuiper belt's most famous inhabitant, Pluto, the plucky little probe that snapped them is about to embark on one last fly-by. It won't be easy: New Horizons's latest target is much smaller than the dwarf planet and there is uncertainty about its exact position. But if all goes to plan, this valedictory mission could yet be the most revealing phase of an awe-inspring journey.