Emily LakdawallaJan 31, 2007

New Horizons Jupiter Encounter Timeline

A year after its launch on January 19, 2006, New Horizons is fast closing in on Jupiter, the first target on its near decade-long journey. On February 28 the spacecraft will approach to within 2.3 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) of Jupiter before speeding along on to its way to the edge of the solar system. During the flyby, New Horizons will conduct around 700 separate observations of the giant planet. In addition to providing a gravity assist that shortens New Horizons' journey to Pluto by three years, the flyby serves as a dress rehearsal for the Pluto encounter, which is still more than eight years away. Many of the science observations will serve double duty, revealing new information about Jupiter and its moons at the same time as they test instrument operation modes and sequences for eventual use in the Pluto flyby.

The early part of the Jupiter flyby is dominated by observations with the Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), a black-and-white, high-resolution camera. Beginning about a week before closest approach, New Horizons' other science instruments come in to play. Alice is an ultraviolet spectrometer that will be used to capture images and to perform stellar occultations, watching stars pass behind Jupiter and its moons and using the winking starlight to probe their atmospheres. Ralph is a multispectral imager with two components, called MVIC and LEISA, that will study the composition of the surfaces of the moons and peer to some depth in Jupiter's atmosphere.  And about once a day, the spacecraft will turn to Earth to relay data to the Deep Space Network, whose giant radio dishes can perform precise tracking of the spacecraft to monitor its trajectory.

Quick links: Feb. 10 - Feb. 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 (closest approach) - Mar. 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5

Encounter timeline: January

Space-
craft
time
(UTC)

Days to
Jupiter
Closest
Approach
Event
Jan 8
21:42
-50.33Jupiter rotation movie (LORRI)
Range 81,622,011 km; phase 9.4°; 3.6°S, 249.8°W
As New Horizons approaches Jupiter, it will use its long-range imager to capture six sets of 11 hourly images, which can be assembled into movies showing the planet's rotation and, occasionally, the passage of the Galilean moons in front of and behind the planet.
Jan 9
17:42
-49.50Jupiter rotation movie (LORRI)
Range 80,415,496 km; phase 9.4°; 3.6°S, 182.7°W
Jan 10
04:45
-49.04Callirrhoe optical navigation (LORRI)
In a test of New Horizons LORRI's ability to perform optical navigation with a small, dim Kuiper Belt Object as a target, LORRI will observe Jupiter's outer irregular satellite Callirrhoe, a tiny rock 7 kilometers in diameter that orbits about 25 million kilometers from the planet.
Jan 14
17:42
-44.50Jupiter rotation movie (LORRI)
Range 72,374,456 km; phase 9.6°; 3.6°S, 215.4°W
Jan 15
13:42
-43.67Jupiter rotation movie (LORRI)
Range 70,967,804 km; phase 9.7°; 3.6°S, 257.1°W
Jan 17
01:41
-42.17"Kodak moment": Shadows of Io and Ganymede on Jupiter (LORRI)
Range 68,135,166 km; phase 9.7°; 3.6°S, 179.5°W
This is the first of seven observations during the encounter, referred to as "Kodak moments," that have been planned entirely for their expected aesthetic value.
Jan 20
23:42
-38.25Jupiter rotation movie (LORRI)
Range 62,328,754 km; phase 9.8°; 3.6°S, 256.3°W
Jan 21
19:42
-37.42Jupiter rotation movie (LORRI)
Range 60,922,743 km; phase 9.8°; 3.6°S, 298.0°W
Jan 24
04:41
-35.04"Kodak moment": Shadows of Io and Ganymede on Jupiter (LORRI)
Range 57,106,831 km; phase 9.8°; 3.7°S, 205.5°W

February

Space-
craft
time
(UTC)

Days to
Jupiter
Closest
Approach
Event
Feb 10
13:40
-17.67"Kodak moment": Jupiter full disk (LORRI)
Range 29,079,744 km; phase 8.7°; 4.0°S, 263.9°W
At this distance, Jupiter's globe will entirely fill the field of view of the long-range imager.
Feb 22
16:23
-5.55Stellar occultation by Jupiter, ingress (Alice)
Range 9,597,585 km; phase 2.4°; 5.2°S, 0.2°W
The ultraviolet spectrometer will stare at a bright star as it appears to sink beneath Jupiter's limb. Stellar occultations provide information on the composition, temperature, density, and structure of the upper atmosphere of a planet.
Feb 22
23:35
-5.25Stellar occultation by Jupiter, egress (Alice)
Range 9,116,194 km; phase 2.9°; 5.3°S, 262.4°W
Alice will watch as the same star rises from the limb on the other side of Jupiter.

February 24

Space-
craft
time
(UTC)

Days to
Jupiter
Closest
Approach
Event
00:40-4.21Io imaging: Pele on limb (LORRI, Alice)
Range 7,856,307 km; phase 4.8°; 5.4°S, 340.2°W
Lots of Io imaging is planned in order to check whether the many volcanoes discovered by Voyager and monitored by Galileo are active or dormant, and to search for changes in surface features that may have resulted from volcanic activity in the years since Galileo's demise. Researchers will examine Io's limb to look for telltale plumes signifying volcanic eruptions.
01:35-4.17Europa UV spectroscopy (Alice)
Range 8,071,585 km; phase 6.4°; 5.0°S, 6.6°W
Alice will be used repeatedly throughout the encounter to study the sparse atmosphere above Europa.
05:00-4.03Io approach imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 7,575,510 km; phase 7.4°; 5.5°S, 15.1°W
05:30-4.01Rings: search for embedded ringmoons (LORRI)
Because of its communications problems, Galileo was unable to perform searches for as-yet-undiscovered moons in Jupiter's ring system. New Horizons will perform the most detailed survey of Jupiter's rings to date: LORRI will take 49 images over 8 hours.
13:50-3.66Io approach imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 6,627,459 km; phase 11.9°; 6.0°S, 84.7°W
14:42-3.63Turn to Earth for communication session with the DSN
New Horizons will spend more than 8 hours pointed at Earth, returning data, which will also permit the DSN to track New Horizons' trajectory.
23:00-3.28Jupiter Lyman alpha/H3+ airglow map (LEISA, Alice)
Range 6,006,808 km; phase 10.8°; 6.2°S, 176.7°W

February 25

Space
-craft
time
(UTC)

Days to
Jupiter
Closest
Approach
Event
00:00-3.24Europa UV spectroscopy (Alice)
Range 5,927,715 km; phase 17.3°; 6.1°S, 90.5°W
01:00-3.20Jupiter Lyman alpha/H3+ airglow map (LEISA, Alice)
Range 5,894,924 km; phase 11.2°; 6.2°S, 239.6°W
The hydrogen-rich atmosphere of Jupiter shows a lot of structure in ultraviolet wavelengths, especially at the Lyman alpha wavelength of 121.6 nanometers.
02:00-3.15Europa UV spectroscopy (Alice)
Range 5,709,637 km; phase 18.0°; 6.2°S, 98.3°W
02:30-3.13Ring imaging (for phase curve) (LORRI)
Range 5,799,275 km; phase 11.7°; ring opening angle 6.3°
The light-reflecting properties of the icy and dusty surfaces of the particles in Jupiter's rings are highly dependent upon the phase (illumination angle) at which the observations are performed. LORRI will perform six detailed surveys of the ring system throughout the flyby to build up a detailed data set on how the brightness of the rings changes with changing phase.
05:00-3.03Io approach imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 5,276,976 km; phase 10.3°; 6.8°S, 215.8°W
05:35-3.00Europa UV spectroscopy (Alice)
Range 5,333,908 km; phase 19.0°; 6.5°S, 112.2°W
08:30-2.88Io approach imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 5,217,587 km; phase 9.9°; 6.7°S, 243.8°W
09:00-2.86Ganymede eclipse (MVIC, LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 6,395,720 km; phase 10.8°; 5.5°S, 348.3°W
New Horizons will watch with all its instruments as Ganymede's orbit takes it into Jupiter's shadow; eclipse observations are planned for all four of the Galilean satellites. They enable a search for faint auroral emissions where sunlight would otherwise drown them out. Scientists will also be able to deduce some properties of the moons' tenuous atmosphere from the way its temperature drops as the moon's surface suddenly cools.
13:05-2.69Ring imaging (for phase curve) (LORRI)
Range 5,122,003 km; phase 15.2°; ring opening angle 6.6°
14:55-2.62Io approach imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 5,184,145 km; phase 11.7°; 6.5°S, 297.4°W
17:33-2.51Callisto spectroscopy vs. phase (LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 6,715,734 km; phase 17.7°; 4.7°S, 2.4°W
New Horizons' scientists plan to use the shape of water ice features visible in the spectra of Pluto and Charon to map the surface temperatures on those worlds. At Jupiter, they will perform similar observations at Callisto. The Callisto observations will be performed three times at different phase angles (Sun-moon-spacecraft angles). Scientists seek to understand whether properties besides temperature -- such as phase angle -- can affect the shape of the water ice spectral features and confuse their attempts to map temperature.
18:05-2.48Europa terminator topography (LORRI, Alice)
Range 4,179,555 km; phase 19.8°; 7.7°S, 164.4°W
New Horizons will target the terminator -- the boundary between day and night -- in order to use long twilight shadows to emphasize subtle topographic features on the smooth moon.
18:35-2.46Europa composition (anti-Jupiter hemisphere) (LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 4,142,772 km; phase 19.8°; 7.7°S, 166.5°W
This is one of several surveys designed to fill in gaps in the maps of Jupiter's moons that remain after the end of the Galileo mission.
19:10-2.44Io eclipse (MVIC, LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 5,104,652 km; phase 15.0°; 6.3°S, 329.9°W
20:44-2.37Rings: search for embedded ringmoons (LORRI)
Range 4,660,658 km; phase 18.4°; ring opening angle 6.9°
23:10-2.27Rings: search for embedded ringmoons (LORRI)
Range 4,509,579 km; phase 19.6°; ring opening angle 6.9°

February 26

Space-
craft
time
(UTC)

Days to
Jupiter
Closest
Approach
Event
04:05-2.07Stellar occultation by Io (LORRI, Alice)
Range 4,546,235 km; phase 25.34°; 6.6°S, 35.1°W
Just as stellar occultations by Jupiter can be used to probe the planet's atmosphere, so can the extended atmosphere around Io and the other Galilean satellites be probed.
04:30-2.05Rings: search for embedded ringmoons (LORRI)
Range 4,183,154 km; phase 22.5°; ring opening angle 7.2°
07:13-1.94Stellar occultation by Callisto (Alice)
Range 5,894,212 km; phase 26.3°; 4.8°S, 5.8°W
08:09-1.90Ganymede composition (gap fill) (LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 4,988,827 km; phase 28.6°; 5.9°S, 18.5°W
08:40-1.88Io approach imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 4,085,950 km; phase 30.4°; 7.1°S, 68.2°W
09:27-1.84Turn to Earth for communication session with the DSN
New Horizons will spend more than 8 hours pointed at Earth.
17:35-1.50Jupiter: Little Red Spot near terminator (LORRI)
Range 3,457,024 km; phase 31.5°; 7.7°S, 257.2°W
New Horizons must study this newly-formed red spot (more officially known as "Oval BA") when it is near the terminator, or day-night boundary, because Jupiter is much brighter than the Kuiper Belt Objects LORRI is designed to study. LORRI can observe Jupiter at its brightest only when it doesn't fill LORRI's detector; if it fills the field, the detector will be saturated, reducing the usefulness of the images.
18:25-1.47Io high-resolution imaging and composition (MVIC, LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 3,065,158 km; phase 36.2°; 8.6°S, 145.7°W
18:55-1.45Europa composition (trailing hemisphere) (LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 3,287,286 km; phase 21.4°; 8.0°S, 267.2°W
19:35-1.42Jupiter storm evolution experiment (LEISA)
Range 3,353,109 km; phase 33.2°; 7.8°S, 328.0°W
This is the first of four observations designed to study a complex structure in Jupiter's clouds: the turbulent wake region behind the Great Red Spot. To scientists' surprise, early New Horizons images have shown that the formerly turbulent region is now clear and smooth! The clear sky should result in LEISA being able to penetrate to a greater depth in Jupiter's atmosphere than had initially been expected.
20:52-1.37Io high-resolution imaging with Pele on limb (MVIC, LORRI, Alice)
Range 2,880,909 km; phase 36.2°; 8.9°S, 166.8°W
23:05-1.28Ring imaging (for phase curve) (LORRI)
Range 3,177,940 km; phase 36.5°; ring opening angle 7.9°

February 27

Space-
craft
time
(UTC)

Days to
Jupiter
Closest
Approach
Event
00:15-1.23Stellar occultation by Callisto (Alice)
Range 4,977,370 km; phase 41.0°; 4.8°S, 6.2°W
01:05-1.19Io high-resolution imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 2,691,322 km; phase 35.7°; 9.1°S, 203.0°W
02:00-1.15Europa UV spectroscopy (Alice)
Range 3,205,652 km; phase 27.7°; 7.7°S, 291.3°W
02:30-1.13Europa terminator topography (LORRI, Alice)
Range 3,202,823 km; phase 28.0°; 7.6°S, 292.1°W
03:10-1.11Jupiter Little Red Spot near terminator (LORRI)
Range 2,989,932 km; phase 40.7°; 8.0°S, 232.4°W
04:00-1.07Elara imaging (phase coverage) (LORRI)
Range 15,213,783 km; phase 10.4°
Elara is a prograde irregular satellite of Jupiter that is 78 kilometers in diameter. At this range, its disk is almost exactly the same size as one LORRI pixel. LORRI's images may not show much detail on Elara, but the measurements will provide valuable information on the tiny moon's phase curve.
04:50-1.04Callisto spectroscopy vs. phase (LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 4,763,003 km; phase 46.1°; 4.8°S, 5.4°W
05:25-1.01Io high-resolution imaging and composition (MVIC, LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 2,645,200 km; phase 36.4°; 8.9°S, 238.2°W
05:58-0.99Jupiter storm evolution experiment (LEISA)
Range 2,869,575 km; phase 44.0°; 8.1°S, 328.9°W
06:50-0.95Stellar occultation by Europa (Alice)
Range 3,149,865 km; phase 33.8°; 7.4°S, 305.2°W
07:15-0.94Europa terminator topography (LORRI, Alice)
Range 3,143,746 km; phase 34.5°; 7.4°S, 306.6°W
07:50-0.91Europa UV spectroscopy (Alice)
Range 3,137,589 km; phase 35.3°; 7.3°S, 307.9°W
09:00-0.86Himalia imaging (phase coverage) (LORRI)
Range 14,868,883 km; phase 11.1°
Himalia is a prograde irregular satellite of Jupiter that is 184 kilometers in diameter. At this range, its disk is slightly more than two LORRI pixels across. The Himalia studies will be similar to those of Elara, mentioned above.
09:15-0.85Io high-resolution imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 2,679,220 km; phase 39.4°; 8.4°S, 267.2°W
09:45-0.83Ganymede highest-resolution imaging (LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 3,492,717 km; phase 62.5°; 6.4°S, 38.3°W
At this range, LORRI will achieve about 17 kilometers per pixel, and Ganymede's disk will be a little more than 300 pixels across.
10:24-0.80Europa eclipse (MVIC, LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 3,106,432 km; phase 39.3°; 7.2°S, 314.4°W
13:46-0.66Io eclipse (MVIC, LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 2,748,703 km; phase 46.7°; 7.6°S, 300.3°W
16:05-0.57Jupiter storm evolution experiment (LEISA, LORRI)
Range 2,504,536 km; phase 58.4°; 8.1°S, 326.0°W
17:40-0.50Turn to Earth for communication session with the DSN
New Horizons will spend more than 7 hours pointed at Earth.

February 28

Space-
craft
time
(UTC)

Days to
Jupiter
Closest
Approach
Event
01:00-0.20Europa terminator topography (LORRI, Alice)
Range 2,968,624 km; phase 68.9°; 6.1°S, 345.6°W
01:13-0.19Europa highest-resolution imaging (LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 2,967,838 km; phase 69.5°; 6.1°S, 346.1°W
At this range, LORRI will achieve about 15 kilometers per pixel, and Europa's disk will be about 210 pixels across.
01:40-0.17Jupiter highest-resolution IR portrait (LEISA)
Range 2,324,745 km; phase 75.1°; 7.4°S, 293.8°W
03:10-0.11Callisto spectroscopy vs. phase (highest-resolution) (LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 4,171,294 km; phase 75.0°; 4.0°S, 356.2°W
At this range, LORRI will achieve about 21 kilometers per pixel, and Callisto's disk will be about 230 pixels across.
03:21-0.10Europa closest approach
Range 2,963,994 km; phase 75.0°; 5.9°S, 350.4°W
03:50-0.08Io high-resolution imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 2,692,601 km; phase 83.2°; 6.1°S, 21.6°W
04:30-0.05Io high-resolution imaging, composition (MVIC, LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 2,675,561 km; phase 85.3°; 6.0°S, 25.8°W
05:20-0.02Stellar occultation by Io (Alice)
Range 2,657,383 km; phase 87.4°; 6.0°S, 30.0°W
05:450.00Jupiter closest approach
Range 2,304,535 km; phase 83.0°; 6.9°S, 79.1°W
06:430.04Ganymede closest approach
Range 3,015,456 km; phase 102.2°; 5.3 °S, 42.2 °W
07:060.06Callisto closest approach
Range 4,154,909 km; phase 80.9°; 3.7 °S, 354.0°W
09:450.17Jupiter rings: best portrait (LORRI)
Range 2,323,595 km; phase 90.6°; ring opening angle 6.3°
10:100.19Io torus UV spectroscopy (Alice)
Range 2,325,901 km; phase 91.1°; ring opening angle 6.2°
This observation focuses on the torus of charged particles surrounding Io's orbit.
11:000.22Io high-resolution imaging with Prometheus on limb (MVIC, LORRI, Alice)
Range 2,489,864 km; phase 102.3°; 5.7°S, 63.9°W
11:480.25"Kodak moment": Europa emerging from Jupiter occultation (LORRI)
Range 3,014,186 km; phase 95.2°; 4.9°S, 5.6°W
12:250.28Jupiter storm evolution experiment (LEISA, LORRI)
Range 2,352,676 km; phase 95.2°; 5.8°S, 303.5°W
13:050.31Io in Jupitershine (MVIC, LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 2,426,086 km; phase 106.6°; 5.5°S, 76.6°W
Reflected light from Jupiter will illuminate the night side of Io.
13:400.33Europa terminator topography (LORRI, Alice)
Range 3,036,012 km; phase 99.3°; 4.7°S, 8.8°W
15:150.40Io high-resolution imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 2,364,560 km; phase 110.2°; 5.4°S, 90.0°W
15:520.42Turn to Earth for communication session with the DSN
New Horizons will spend more than 8 hours pointed at Earth.
21:580.68Io closest approach
Range 2,237,848 km; phase 117.3°; 4.5 °S, 142.0°W

March 1

Space-
craft
time
(UTC)

Days to
Jupiter
Closest
Approach
Event
00:250.78Io high-resolution nightside with Pele on limb (MVIC, LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 2,259,865 km; phase 117.9°; 4.1°S, 161.0°W
Nightside imaging of Io may reveal the thermal signatures of active volcanoes. The viewing angle may also backlight plumes on the sunlit limb.
02:000.85Ring imaging (for phase curve) (LORRI)
Range 2,723,899 km; phase 117.3°; ring opening angle 3.2°
02:250.86Io high-phase imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 2,312,971 km; phase 118.1°; 3.7°S, 177.7°W
03:300.91Europa terminator topography (LORRI, Alice)
Range 3,280,474 km; phase 127.6°; 2.9°S, 39.5°W
04:200.94Io high-phase imaging (MVIC, LORRI, Alice)
Range 2,401,865 km; phase 118.2°; 3.3°S, 194.4°W
04:500.96Europa UV spectroscopy (Alice)
Range 3,302,812 km; phase 129.7°; 2.8°S, 42.8°W
05:300.99Europa terminator topography (LORRI, Alice)
Range 3,311,568 km; phase 130.5°; 2.7°S, 44.1°W
05:501.01Callisto long UV integration (Alice)
Range 4,625,626 km; phase 111.8°; 1.7°S, 343.4°W
07:301.07Io high-phase imaging (MVIC, LORRI, Alice)
Range 2,619,420 km; phase 118.8°; 2.6°S, 221.2°W
07:581.09Io torus UV spectroscopy (Alice)
08:251.11Io eclipse (MVIC, LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 2,680,940 km; phase 119.1°; 2.4°S, 227.2°W
10:281.20Turn to Earth for communication session with the DSN
New Horizons will spend more than 8 hours pointed at Earth.
18:001.51Io high-phase imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 3,659,435 km; phase 128.5°; 0.8°S, 301.1°W
18:151.52Ring imaging: main ring vertical structure, including ripples (LORRI)
Range 3,463,466 km; phase 134.5°; ring opening angle 0.8°
As New Horizons crosses Jupiter's ring plane, it will view the rings edge-on and search for vertical structures.
20:001.60Himalia imaging (phase coverage) (LORRI)
Range 10,799,461 km; phase 21.1°
20:301.62Elara imaging (phase coverage) (LORRI)
Range 7,964,750 km; phase 38.9°
21:001.64Ring imaging: main ring vertical structure (LORRI)
Range 3,624,083 km; phase 136.9°; ring opening angle 0.5°
22:001.68Io in Jupitershine (MVIC, LORRI, Alice)
Range 4,012,380 km; phase 133.9°; 0.4°S, 327.5°W
22:201.69Ring imaging: main ring vertical structure (LORRI)
Range 3,692,447 km; phase 137.9°; ring opening angle 0.4°

March 2

Space-
craft
time
(UTC)

Days to
Jupiter
Closest
Approach
Event
06:002.01Io high-phase imaging with Tvashtar on limb (MVIC, LORRI, Alice)
Range 4,509,936 km; phase 145.5°; 0.3°N, 25.4°W
06:202.03Ring imaging: main ring vertical structure (LORRI)
Range 4,146,541 km; phase 143.1°; ring opening angle 0.4°
07:552.09Europa UV spectroscopy (Alice)
Range 3,727,013 km; phase 150.3°; 0.1°N, 136.5°W
08:202.11Io high-phase imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 4,569,698 km; phase 148.0°; 0.5°N, 41.9°W
09:102.14Europa UV spectroscopy (Alice)
Range 3,764,331 km; phase 150.3°; 0.2°N, 141.9°W
10:242.20"Kodak moment": Io Europa conjunction (MVIC, LORRI)
Range 4,599,917 km; phase 149.9°; 0.7°N, 56.9°W
The two moons will appear as a pair of closely aligned crescents.
11:182.23Io high-phase imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 4,608,589 km; phase 150.8°; 0.8°N, 64.7°W
14:002.35Io high-phase imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 4,618,682 km; phase 152.4°; 1.0°N, 86.5°W
14:202.36Europa UV spectroscopy (Alice)
Range 3,971,845 km; phase 149.6°; 0.6°N, 164.7°W
15:222.40Turn to Earth for communication session with the DSN
New Horizons will spend more than 8 hours pointed at Earth.
23:502.76Io high-phase imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 4,794,388 km; phase 152.2°; 1.7°N, 169.6°W

March 3

Space-
craft
time
(UTC)

Days to
Jupiter
Closest
Approach
Event
00:202.78Ring imaging (for phase curve) (LORRI)
Range 5,238,868 km; phase 151.4°; ring opening angle 1.6°
01:402.83Europa UV spectroscopy (Alice)
Range 4,735,210 km; phase 147.9°; 1.3°N, 213.7°W
04:002.93Io high-phase imaging (MVIC, LORRI, Alice)
Range 5,072,327 km; phase 150.8°; 1.9°N, 204.5°W
06:303.03Jupiter Lyman alpha/H3+ airglow map (LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 5,632,395 km; phase 153.5°; 1.8°N, 128.2°W
07:303.07Jupiter Lyman alpha/H3+ airglow map (LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 5,695,831 km; phase 153.8°; 1.9°N, 164.2°W
08:153.11Io high-phase imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 5,540,776 km; phase 150.3°; 2.0°N, 243.1°W
08:403.12Jupiter Lyman alpha/H3+ airglow map (LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 5,759,385 km; phase 154.1°; 1.9°N, 200.2°W
09:303.16Jupiter Lyman alpha/H3+ airglow map (LEISA, LORRI, Alice)
Range 5,823,051 km; phase 154.4°; 2.0°N, 236.1°W
10:153.19Io high-phase imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 5,782,012 km; phase 150.6°; 2.1°N, 259.9°W
12:253.28Io high-phase imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 6,030,005 km; phase 151.2°; 2.1°N, 276.4°W
12:503.30Europa UV spectroscopy (Alice)
Range 5,856,305 km; phase 149.0°; 1.8°N, 260.1°W
15:003.39Elara imaging (phase coverage) (LORRI)
Range 6,218,247 km; phase 60.1°
15:523.42Turn to Earth for communication session with the DSN
New Horizons will spend more than 8 hours pointed at Earth.

March 4

Space-
craft
time
(UTC)

Days to
Jupiter
Closest
Approach
Event
00:203.78Io high-phase imaging (LORRI, Alice)
Range 7,188,401 km; phase 158.8°; 2.4°N, 10.4°W
02:403.87Ring imaging (for phase curve) (LORRI)
Range 6,919,218 km; phase 158.6°; ring opening angle 2.6°
03:503.92"Kodak moment": Ganymede crossing crescent Jupiter (LORRI)
Range 5,933,345 km; phase 159.2°; 3.0°N, 180.4°W
04:083.93"Kodak moment": Jupiter crescent with Callisto emerging (LORRI)
Range 8,888,995 km; phase 159.1°; 1.9°N, 359.3°W
11:304.24Europa UV spectroscopy (Alice)
Range 8,126,755 km; phase 158.7°; 2.2°N, 345.4°W
12:004.26Himalia imaging (phase coverage) (LORRI)
Range 7,117,491 km; phase 40.7°
12:504.30Ganymede eclipse (LORRI, Alice)
Range 6,566,130 km; phase 158.1°; 3.2°N, 200.4°W
17:154.48Stellar occultation by Ganymede (LORRI, Alice)
Range 6,924,334 km; phase 157.7°; 3.3°N, 210.2°W

March 5

Space-craft
time
(UTC)

Days to
Jupiter
Closest
Approach
Event
01:594.85Turn to Earth for communication session with the DSN
New Horizons will spend more than 8 hours pointed at Earth.
11:005.22Elara imaging (phase coverage) (LORRI)
Range 5,828,699 km; phase 90.7°
At its closest to Elara, New Horizons will achieve a resolution of about 29 kilometers per pixel. Elara will be not quite 3 pixels across.
March 6
00:005.76Himalia imaging (phase coverage) (LORRI)
Range 5,789,537 km; phase 61.0°
March 7
00:006.76Himalia imaging (phase coverage) (LORRI)
Range 5,455,777 km; phase 78.5°
At its closest to Himalia, New Horizons will achieve a resolution of about 27 kilometers per pixel. Himalia's disk will be not quite 7 pixels across.
15:007.39Himalia imaging (phase coverage) (LORRI)
Range 5,524,005 km; phase 89.9°

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