New Horizons

Maximus Alexander

_Tombstone_ wrote: »

Testing the Space-Bound Submarines That Will Explore Alien Oceans

I'm actually genuinely beginning to wonder if we'll be looking back one day, having discovered that Jupiter and Saturn's moons, along with the likes of Pluto and Ceres are littered with aquatic life, and wondering how we ever thought it was unique to Earth.

shedweller

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

We just have to go back to Neptune and Uranus with modern probes. And an orbiter and maybe a lander for the moons.

or at least a small sub probe detached after the final slingshot and sent ahead so we can see what's change when the main probe arrives.

Please please please.

If every working person put a euro/dollar/whatever into it....

_Tombstone_

New Horizons Discovers Flowing Ices on Pluto


New Horizons Reveals Pluto’s Atmospheric Pressure Has Sharply Decreased

shedweller

"Nitrogen ice flow"

Incredible.

mg1982

And heres me thinking pluto was a dead planet. How wrong i was.

ps200306

Curly Judge wrote: »

Just before 9 am on Newstalk Breakfast, Leo Enright said that the New Horizons team are about to announce a "really important" discovery at 7 pm our time this evening.
Leo thinks that it might be to confirm a liquid core on Pluto.
A Nobel Prize for ps200306?:)

Oh I couldn't accept it in all modesty ... I'll just take the million quid and the holiday in Sweden :pac: :pac: :pac:

Capt'n Midnight

shedweller wrote: »

"Nitrogen ice flow"

Incredible.

If you think that's cool there's Nitrogen Volcanoes on Triton

Rubecula

Pluto is really a giant ball of Alka Seltza lol

JupiterKid

The complexity of the surface of Pluto is stunning. Definite evidence of geological/tectonic activity. Charon also looks to possess a tectonic surface too - a huge chasm cuts across its icy surface.

This goes to show that the icy bodies of the outer solar system are among the most fascinating objects and insist on being individuals.

Curly Judge

Anyone heard anything on what new targets have been selected for next encounter?
My two favourites would be Haumea and Salacia, but I admit not having a clue if their orbital positions are suitable or not?
Surely, after the Pluto success, NASA won't dare to deny them the funds to keep the team together until at least 2026, when the probe's fuel is due to run its course?

Edit: this site,http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Participate/learn/What-We-Know.php?link=The-Kuiper-Belt

would seem to rule out Haumea, Eris and MakeMake at least

namloc1980

Curly Judge wrote: »

Anyone heard anything on what new targets have been selected for next encounter?
My two favourites would be Haumea and Salacia, but I admit not having a clue if their orbital positions are suitable or not?
Surely, after the Pluto success, NASA won't dare to deny them the funds to keep the team together until at least 2026, when the probe's fuel is due to run its course?

Edit: this site,http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Participate/learn/What-We-Know.php?link=The-Kuiper-Belt

would seem to rule out Haumea, Eris and MakeMake at least

There is a small KBO candidate that New Horizons could be targeted to flyby in 2019 subject to funding.

Hmmzis

There are two potential targets within the available delta-V of New Horizons. One requires very little fuel to get to, the other would leave less than 20m/sec of delta-v after the course correction burn. The later would be probably more interesting since it's assumed to be bigger.
Initialy there was a third suspect but on further observations it was ruled out because the delta-V required was a good bit above what NH has left. If I'm not mistaken the total remaining delta-V is 130m/s and the third candidate requires 180+m/s.

Curly Judge

http://appel.nasa.gov/2015/07/24/new-horizons-makes-history-and-possibly-rewrites-it/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

A good synopsis of the probes successes and their implications.

Hotblack Desiato

My daughter was asking me last night how New Horizons is powered, she thought it was hilarious when I told her it was by plutonium...

NASA App for Android is great by the way

Curly Judge

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

My daughter was asking me last night how New Horizons is powered, she thought it was hilarious when I told her it was by plutonium...

NASA App for Android is great by the way

Plutonium is a very misunderstood, and much maligned, element!

Hotblack Desiato

Yeah but it is interesting the mission uses the element named for the planet it's going to!

Maximus Alexander

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Yeah but it is interesting the mission uses the element named for the planet it's going to!

What makes it even better is that plutonium was named for the planet!

Capt'n Midnight

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

What makes it even better is that plutonium was named for the planet!

Named for planets ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptunium

Neptunium is a hard, silvery, ductile, radioactive actinide metal. In the periodic table, it is located to the right of the actinide uranium, to the left of the actinide plutonium and below the lanthanide promethium

Maximus Alexander

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Named for planets ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptunium

Yes, uranium, neptunium and plutonium were named for the planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto respectively.

Ace Attorney

New Images of pluto and sharon from horizon, the sharpest resolution pictures yet.

























http://i60.tinypic.com/zn7wgh.jpg

_Tombstone_

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwRvWMRUhKE

_Tombstone_

Pluto has an atmosphere that shouldn't be there.

http://www.wired.com/2015/08/something-deep-inside-pluto-replenishing-atmosphere/?mbid=nl_81915

Hmmzis

Just read it on twitter that PT1 has been selected as the new target for New Horizons. Just an estimated 45km in diameter but would be the farthest out object from Earth that has ever been visited by a human made spacecraft.

namloc1980

Hmmzis wrote: »

Just read it on twitter that PT1 has been selected as the new target for New Horizons. Just an estimated 45km in diameter but would be the farthest out object from Earth that has ever been visited by a human made spacecraft.

Expected flyby date is 1st January 2019.

josip

namloc1980 wrote: »

Expected flyby date is 1st January 2019.

I think I'll put myself in hibernate mode until Christmas 2018

shedweller

josip wrote: »

I think I'll put myself in hibernate mode until Christmas 2018

My kids wish they could do the same for every christmas! (Me too but just for the time off and an excuse to have drinky poos before 6 in the evening!)
Any ideas about how close the flyby will be? I've searched around but didnt find much. Probably too soon for us plebs to know anyway!

josip

shedweller wrote: »

My kids wish they could do the same for every christmas! (Me too but just for the time off and an excuse to have drinky poos before 6 in the evening!)
Any ideas about how close the flyby will be? I've searched around but didnt find much. Probably too soon for us plebs to know anyway!

Probably a bit closer than the 12,500km from Pluto, but they won't want to risk crashing into it.
They might tell us after they've successfully completed the course corrections in Oct/Nov. They'll still have plenty of hydrazine to make minor course adjustments later in the trip.

namloc1980

New image from New Horizons of chaos type terrain. Reminds me of Europa style chaos.

PLUTO



EUROPA

Mountainsandh

The black is like a tidal mark.

josip

It's the sea, and that's a glacier calving on the right