Google has released a new Google Doodle to commemorate the historic flyby of Pluto by the New Horizons space probe.
The flyby will be Earth's first chance of an up close look at the dwarf planet, which is a ball of ice and rock that is orbiting the furthest edge of the solar system that we call home.
The thousand-pound New Horizons was sent by NASA to do the historic flyby, with the space probe hurtling through space at a speed of 31,000 miles per hour. The interstellar journey of New Horizons has already reportedly taken a time of over 9 years through a distance of 3 billion miles.
New Horizons will be taking pictures of Pluto as it flies by the planet, and these pictures will be the very first of their kind. The images will reveal a better picture to scientists of Pluto.
The Google Doodle for July 14, which was created by Kevin Laughlin, honors the groundbreaking voyage of New Horizons to the far reaches of the solar system where Pluto is located.
For those that would like to follow the breakthrough as it unfolds, the New Horizons page of NASA on YouTube will provide videos that detail the discoveries that New Horizons will make in its flyby of Pluto.
NASA has also released an app named Eyes on the Solar System to allow interested people to monitor the progress of New Horizons as it nears Pluto.
"When we get a clear look at the surface of Pluto for the very first time, I promise, it will knock your socks off," said New Horizons principal investigator with the Southwest Research Institute, Alan Stern, in a statement made earlier in the month.
In addition to monitoring the progress of the Pluto flyby of New Horizons, the app will also allow users to explore other interesting locations in space.
New Horizons was launched on Jan. 19, 2006 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, passing the orbit of Mars in April 7 of that year and flying by Jupiter in April 7 of 2006.
New Horizons will pass within 7,767 miles of Pluto, with the encounter with the planet expected to last between eight to 10 hours.
