⏰ when
When did New Horizons fly past Pluto?
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Quick Answer
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew past Pluto on 14 July 2015, giving humanity its first close-up images of the dwarf planet.
The Full Story
New Horizons launched on 19 January 2006, when Pluto was still classified as a planet. After a journey of more than nine years and about 5 billion km, it passed about 12,500 km above Pluto's surface. Its images revealed mountains of water ice, vast nitrogen-ice plains and a bright heart-shaped region now called Tombaugh Regio. It also studied Pluto's largest moon, Charon. On 1 January 2019, New Horizons flew past Arrokoth, the most distant object ever explored up close.
Key Facts
1.New Horizons launched on 19 January 2006.
2.It made its closest approach to Pluto on 14 July 2015.
3.Pluto's heart-shaped region is named Tombaugh Regio.
YouTube Angle
Suggested video title for this topic:
"Nine years to Pluto — the flyby that revealed a heart-shaped world."