New Horizons images enable first test of interstellar navigation
10 months ago
- #astronomy
- #NASA
- #space-exploration
- NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is using the parallax effect to determine its position in the galaxy, marking the first example of interstellar navigation.
- Launched in 2006 to study Pluto, New Horizons has traveled beyond the Kuiper belt and is now speeding at tens of thousands of kilometers per hour.
- The parallax effect causes stars to appear in different positions from New Horizons’ viewpoint compared to Earth, enabling astronomers to calculate the probe’s location.
- Researchers compared New Horizons’ photos of Proxima Centauri and Wolf 359 with data from the Gaia space telescope to determine the spacecraft’s position.
- The parallax method is less accurate than NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) but could improve with better equipment and offers autonomous navigation benefits for deep space missions.
- Interstellar navigation using parallax could provide more accurate readings as spacecraft move further from Earth, reducing reliance on radio signals that take years to travel.