The New Horizons spacecraft has successfully demonstrated a novel interstellar navigation method. The mission, in collaboration with an international team of astronomers, observed the positions of Proxima Centauri and Wolf 359.
These stars, located 4.2 and 7.86 light-years away, respectively, were observed from New Horizons, leading to a shift in their apparent positions, known as stellar parallax. The experiment determined the spacecraft's position with an accuracy of about 4.1 million miles.
This demonstration highlights the practical application of stellar parallax and its potential for future interstellar navigation. New Horizons, having already explored Pluto and Charon, continues its extended mission to study the heliosphere and eventually enter interstellar space.