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If you want to learn more about that NASA exploration of the deepest deep-space object ever seen closeup, check the McAuliffe Shepard Discovery Center’s show “To Pluto and Beyond – New Horizons Visits Ultima Thule”.

The presentation will be Friday Feb. 1 at 7 p.m., the center’s monthly “first Friday of the month” program.

In “To Pluto and Beyond”, Dave McDonald will explore the New Horizons Mission that launched on January 19, 2006; flew by Pluto July 14, 2015 at 3 billion miles from Earth, and flew by Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule (2014 MU69) January 1, 2019 at over 4 billion miles from Earth. Dave McDonald was at New Horizons’ mission control for the flyby and the immediate science received back on Earth the day after it encountered Ultima Thule. His presentation will take a look at the first contact binary, the furthest solar system object ever close-encountered by a spacecraft, the technical achievements of this mission, the future of the mission, and some of the scientists involved with the mission – including Queen Guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May – as Dave McDonald unveils secrets that have been preserved for 4.5 billion years.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m.. The evening’s feature presentation begins at 7 p.m, followed by a planetarium show. Recommended for ages 8 and older. Free for members, $11.50 for adults, $10.50 seniors and students and $8.50 for children; children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information, visit www.starhop.com.

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