New Horizons • AP1

Approach Phase 1 continues as expected, and will last another few days. Starting with one week of OpNav imaging of Pluto and Charon (enough time observe one complete orbit of Charon around Pluto) from January 25 to February 1, and transitioning to imaging with higher sensitivity began with the goal of imaging the next two brightest of Pluto moons, Nix and Hydra.

85 years after the discovery of Pluto, New Horizons to took its first photographs of Nix (red box) and its clearest images of Hydra (yellow box) looking like faint stars in the starry background, faint against the bright, overexposed light of Pluto and Charon.

Images in this series will taken, one every two days till March 6, to observe one full 38 day orbit of Hydra around Pluto.  This will be the end of OpNav 2, and New Horizons will turn its antenna towards the Earth for a long period of data downlink.  Based on the first navigational data returned, New Horizons may adjust its path towards Pluto slightly on March 10.