NASA's Hubble telescope will soon be used to find new celestial objects beyond Pluto so that NASA's New Horizons mission can visit one after its flyby of Pluto in July 2015.
Hubble will target a small area of the sky to look for a Kuiper Belt Object, or KBO, as part of its new assignment. The Kuiper Belt is an area that has been full of icy debris since the formation of the solar system some 4.6 billion years ago.
Researchers have never been able to see a KBO because the belt is located in a spot that's 5 billion miles away from the sun. It has never been visits by human-made objects either, according to NASA press release.
"I am pleased that our science peer-review process arrived at a consensus as to how to effectively use Hubble's unique capabilities to support the science goals of the New Horizons mission," Matt Mountain, director of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., said in a statement, according to the release.
Scientists will conduct a pilot observation using Hubble data, before fully carrying out the KBO search, according to NASA. The observation will involve using the space telescope to analyze an area of the sky in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius to identify objects orbiting inside the Kuiper Belt.
If the pilot test is able to successfully identify at least two KBOs, Hubble will be given the go-ahead to find an appropriate KBO for New Horizons to visit.
Hubble has played an important role in finding details about planets and their moons over the years. For example, recent Hubble solar system observations discovered a new satellite around Neptune, studied the magnetospheres of the gas-giant planets and found circumstantial evidence for oceans on Europa.
The search for a KBO won't be an easy task for Hubble however, because a typical KBO is usually no larger than Manhattan island. It could also be as black as charcoal, according to NASA.
"The planned search for a suitable target for New Horizons further demonstrates how Hubble is effectively being used to support humankind's initial reconnaissance of the solar system," Mountain said. "Likewise, it is also a preview of how the powerful capabilities of the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope will further bolster planetary science."
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