Wake-up robot named New Horizons was at 3 pm US time, although NASA scientists in the new control center to get confirmation that the rise of the robots at 9:30 pm.
New Horizons is being located at a great distance, so that the radio signals are sent in the speed of light takes 4 hours 25 minutes to arrive at Earth.
The target of research and observation of Pluto, its moons, and other celestial bodies in the outer edge of our planetary system will begin January 15 next year. New Horizons will reach the closest point to Pluto on July 14.
In our solar system, Pluto lies in the Kuiper Belt, an area on the outer side of Neptune, which was inhabited by the small heavenly bodies. The objects on average covered in ice and is believed to be debris leftover formation of our solar system some 4.6 billion years ago. The Kuiper Belt is the only area that has not been explored in our solar system.
Since the discovery in 1930, Pluto has always been a mystery. Researchers difficult to explain why there is a tiny planet, with a radius of only 1,190 km, at the end of the row of giant planets such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
In 1992 astronomers discovered that Pluto is not alone in the area of the Kuiper Belt, so that the International Astronomical States to reconsider its position as a planet.
In 2006, when New Horizons is on his way, the status of Pluto downgraded to a dwarf planet. The Kuiper Belt is no more than a dwarf planet discovered in 1000. (Reuters)
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