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Pluto has a moderately eccentric and inclined orbit, ranging from 30 to 49 astronomical units (4.5 to 7.3 billion kilometres; 2.8 to 4.6 billion miles) from the Sun. Light from the Sun takes 5.5 hours to reach Pluto at its orbital distance of 39.5 AU (5.91 billion km; 3.67 billion mi).
It would then have the option of using Charon's gravity to leave the Pluto system after all Pluto science objectives are completed and study new KBOs beyond Pluto. Stern envisaged the probe being launched in 2030, marking the 100th anniversary of Pluto's discovery, and spending 7–8 years traveling to the Pluto system.
The closest approach distance to Pluto would have been about 15,000 km (9320.6 mi) at 17–18 km/s (38,027.9–40,264.9 mph), so as to allow for 1 km (0.6 mi) resolution mapping. After passing Pluto, the spacecraft would have used its imaging camera to search for Kuiper Belt objects .
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The timeline of discovery of Solar System planets and their natural satellites charts the progress of the discovery of new bodies over history. Each object is listed in chronological order of its discovery (multiple dates occur when the moments of imaging, observation, and publication differ), identified through its various designations (including temporary and permanent schemes), and the ...
Pluto likely acquired large moon Charon in a “kiss and capture” collision billions of years ago. It may have created a subsurface ocean on the icy dwarf planet.
The flyby increased New Horizons ' speed by 4 km/s (14,000 km/h; 9,000 mph), accelerating the probe to a velocity of 23 km/s (83,000 km/h; 51,000 mph) relative to the Sun and shortening its voyage to Pluto by three years. [107] The flyby was the center of a four-month intensive observation campaign lasting from January to June.