New Horizons

GreatDefector

shedweller wrote: »

It is amazing what we can do.

With technology that's already 10 years old! Imagine something launched now

Exciting times

shedweller

Charon is passing behind pluto!

Captain Chaos

Isn't all this happening 4.5 hours ago? I thought the flypast was happening now and we won't know until the probe phones home again and then the 4.5 hour delay.

shedweller

According to eyes on the solar syaste, the occultation wasn't imaged. Weird. But the full suite of instruments have started the main event now. Just wow!

Peregrine

Curly Judge wrote: »

Do you know when that was taken?

Edit: Colourised LORRI image from July 11.

shedweller

Practically on plutos moons orbital plane now.

shedweller

Captain Chaos wrote: »

Isn't all this happening 4.5 hours ago? I thought the flypast was happening now and we won't know until the probe phones home again and then the 4.5 hour delay.

It is happening now. The nasa simulation is allowing for the time delay. So it could all be gone pete tong up there but the simulation is rocking along regardless.

Curly Judge

The final countdown here:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/main/index.html

namloc1980

There be craters!

The Hill Billy

Well, that was a thrilling morning! How amazing to be able to follow New Horizons in near real-time thanks to the NASA feeds.

shedweller

REX has just switched on. This is going to observe plutos atmosphere as it passes behind pluto, relative to us. There is a large dish somewhere here that is transmitting to new horizons and it will receive the transmission and send back info on how it was distorted by pluto, thereby telling us more about what makes up pluto and its atmosphere.

namloc1980

namloc1980 wrote: »

There be craters!

For comparison here was our previous best image of this part of Pluto from Hubble:

the_monkey

So the pilot of NEw Horizons , he must be pretty bored out there, how long will it take him to fly back to Earth ?

Maximus Alexander

the_monkey wrote: »

So the pilot of NEw Horizons , he must be pretty bored out there, how long will it take him to fly back to Earth ?

Would need to go the whole way across the universe and hope that it's finite and curves back.

Mountainsandh

Thanks for the pics I'm on the go and on a dongle, and can't stream, so all shortcuts/pics appreciated ! Thought I'd have to wait till tonight for pictures, but the above is stunning !

shedweller

REX is pointing at earth now.

Maximus Alexander

Mountainsandh wrote: »

Thanks for the pics I'm on the go and on a dongle, and can't stream, so all shortcuts/pics appreciated ! Thought I'd have to wait till tonight for pictures, but the above is stunning !

Still got a long wait until the really good stuff comes in. But it's amazing to see a new planet come in to view for the first time, something that hasn't happened before in my lifetime.

Captain Chaos

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

. But it's amazing to see a new planet come in to view for the first time, something that hasn't happened before in my lifetime.

Ceres??, yes it has no moon/s but it's classed the same as Pluto.

Maximus Alexander

Captain Chaos wrote: »

Ceres??, yes it has no moon/s but it's classed the same as Pluto.

I know, but it will never be the same as Pluto. Ceres is a big asteroid, Pluto is a planet dammit!

shedweller

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

I know, but it will never be the same as Pluto. Ceres is a big asteroid, Pluto is a planet dammit!

Ah jaysis dont start this!!!
(It is though!)

the_monkey

I'll never forget seeing the 1st pics of Neptune in 1989, my Dad had a subscription to Sky&Telescope magazine and when I saw those pictures in colour - just amazing , I was hooked ..

edit - forgot to mention, this is the closest thing for me since then !

shedweller

Pluto looks as though it will eclipse mars' orbit from new horizons perspective. This is the kind of imagery i see when i read an alastair reynolds novel!

PopePalpatine

I'm just wondering - how was Pluto's rotational period calculated way before New Horizons got there?

shedweller

the_monkey wrote: »

I'll never forget seeing the 1st pics of Neptune in 1989, my Dad had a subscription to Sky&Telescope magazine and when I saw those pictures in colour - just amazing , I was hooked ..

edit - forgot to mention, this is the closest thing for me since then !

My similar moment was Giotto passing by Halleys Comet. Stayed up late with my dad to watch Patrick Moore cover it. Good times!

Captain Chaos

PopePalpatine wrote: »

I'm just wondering - how was Pluto's rotational period calculated way before New Horizons got there?

Hubble, it can pick out very rough features and wait till it turns up again.

josip

Just to pass the time while we're waiting for pics.
If Pluto had no atmosphere, then could New Horizon have theoretically sling shotted around Pluto to head back towards earth?
If so, how close would it have needed to go to the Pluto's surface?

Peregrine

PopePalpatine wrote: »

I'm just wondering - how was Pluto's rotational period calculated way before New Horizons got there?

We did have pictures of it from the Hubble. While it was nowhere as good as the ones from NH, it was enough to pin point one specific feature and wait for one rotation.

Huntergonzo

Can't wait to see some good close ups of Pluto, hopefully everything went well but I understand it will take over a year to receive all the data.

Time for everyone's favourite dwarf planet to shine :-)

SarahBM

Thanks for the updates everyone. Stuck at work so I can't follow the goings on.
Pics so far look beautiful. I think Pluto may be my favorite planet ;-)

namloc1980

Huntergonzo wrote: »

Can't wait to see some good close ups of Pluto, hopefully everything went well but I understand it will take over a year to receive all the data.

Time for everyone's favourite dwarf planet to shine :-)

Data rate is only 1kb/s from Pluto. Dialup Internet back in the day was 56kb/s. Takes a while to transmit at those rates.