RIGHT THIS MINUTE, NASA’s @NewHorizons2015 spacecraft is firing its engines out in the Kuiper Belt to home in on our next flyby target!! That target is an ancient world called Ultima Thule. This engine burn is the farthest ever made by any spacecraft. ULTIMA, HERE WE COME! pic.twitter.com/qAd3nPzgYj

— Alan Stern (@AlanStern) December 2, 2018

BREAKING…Signal has just been received at mission control, New Horizons has successfully started its flyby program of stored commands and the exploration of Ultima Thule 4 billion miles away! THIS IS IT FOLKS, FLYBY HAS BEGUN! Go New Horizons!! #NASA #Science #SPACE#ULTIMAFLYBY pic.twitter.com/48VuCLHz5i

— Alan Stern (@AlanStern) December 25, 2018

PINCH ME! We’re less than 6 days from the flyby of #UltimaThule ! Just half an hour ago it should have entered Encounter Mode, a state preventing anomalies from diverting off the flyby plan. Confirmation of that critical event comes this afternoon—from 4 billion miles away. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/1flkuE1NN2

— Alan Stern (@AlanStern) December 26, 2018

Later today-- just over 100 hours to Ultima! The spacecraft has entered it's battle hardened :"Encounter Mode" and is already returning data about Ultima and its environment.

Enjoy this best wishes video to our team from rock star scientist and science author, David Grinspoon! pic.twitter.com/2P9a5rMZJt

— Alan Stern (@AlanStern) December 27, 2018

URGENT ! Due to Govt shut-down. NASA TV and social media suspended 4 New Horizons Flyby Jan 1st. Follow @alanstern or @newhorizons2015. Bri pic.twitter.com/OztdyzkZVo

— Dr. Brian May (@DrBrianMay) December 26, 2018

The latest milestone for @NASANewHorizons is coming Jan. 1 w/ the #UltimaThule flyby! If the fed gov't remains shutdown then, you can catch coverage on @JHUAPL's Youtube channel (https://t.co/38TaY9SoS6) and website (https://t.co/40n7QiR9HP) pic.twitter.com/J0FRqMPRbz

— Johns Hopkins U. (@JohnsHopkins) December 26, 2018

On #NewYearsEve, @NASANewHorizons will perform the most distant planetary flyby ever as it zooms past an object nicknamed #UltimaThule. Make sure to follow our partner @JHUAPL for updates: https://t.co/MT909RJbMM pic.twitter.com/QJq7OncKhO

— NASA (@NASA) December 26, 2018

TALLY HO ULTIMA THULE!! An ancient relic of solar system formation, 4+ billion miles away, as dark as dirt, & shining only in the faint sunlight of the Kuiper Belt. Here it is, in a New Horizons imaging sequence. SEE IT MOVE, AGAINST THE STARS? TALLY HO! We'll be there on Monday! pic.twitter.com/EExUpK6wLt

— Alan Stern (@AlanStern) December 26, 2018

@NewHorizons2015 Science team assembling! pic.twitter.com/vtSE1WCgnc

— Alan Stern (@AlanStern) December 28, 2018