# Hello Pluto



## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

Later today the New Horizons probe will begin to take its initial images of Pluto in order to calibrate it's trajectory. After a 10 year, 3 billion mile flight to the far reaches of our solar system the long yearned for moment is almost upon us. When I was a boy the highest quality photos available of Pluto were little more than smudges and not much has changed these last five decades. Until this July when we are in for a treat courtesy of nasa. This plucky little craft is travelling so quickly (14 km per second!) and will not be able to brake so the array of on board equipment will be expected to collect a vast amount of data during a few minutes of closest approach. Exciting times.

:icon_cheers:


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## SG_67 (Mar 22, 2014)

Perhaps it will become a planet again?


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

Heh. There's more chance AAAC will agree on navy trousers than the IAU agreeing a clear and binding definition which bestows planetary status. :tongue2:


SG_67 said:


> Perhaps it will become a planet again?


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## Hitch (Apr 25, 2012)




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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

^Mocking the divine beauty of the Creator's work once more? :icon_pale:


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

By Wednesday we will possess the highest definition images of Pluto that have ever been seen by Man, even the teaser photos as closest approach bears down upon us are almost too exciting to countenance!

This last unexplored outpost of our very own corner of God's splendid Creation is revealed to us, finally.

Uncle Shaver is as giddy as a Spring lamb. :happy:

Pluto and Charon:


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## Tiger (Apr 11, 2010)

There is a certain beauty, awe, and majesty to this - thank you, Uncle Shaver!


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

Less than 3/4 of an hour to closest approach. Observe this fascinatingly unique feature - the surface is emblazoned with a heart.


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

God bless NASA.

Live streaming here: https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

Shaver said:


> God bless NASA.
> 
> Live streaming here: https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/


I grew up with NASA memorabilia and hero worship. My father covered much of the space program (the good old days, the 1960s and 1970s) for newspapers, so we had tons and tons of stuff: posters, mugs, etc. Boy do I wish I still had even a fraction of it.

Anyway, growing up for me NASA was practically a religion, although really what we were worshiping was the idea of progress. Science. Man overcoming obstacles.


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

New images coming in....

Uh, oh.


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

tocqueville said:


> I grew up with NASA memorabilia and hero worship. My father covered much of the space program (the good old days, the 1960s and 1970s) for newspapers, so we had tons and tons of stuff: posters, mugs, etc. Boy do I wish I still had even a fraction of it.
> 
> Anyway, growing up for me NASA was practically a religion, although really what we were worshiping was the idea of progress. Science. Man overcoming obstacles.


I still own my battered 1960's Moon map (which I pored over endlessly tracking the landing sites of the Apollo missions) a marvellous PG Tips 'Race into Space' album and a contemporaneous magazine entitled 'Moonslaught'. Much of my other trivia from the time has gone the way of all things, unfortunately.










I do not recall if I have ever mentioned this, but, on fulfillment of the childhood dream finally realised - a trip to Cape Canaveral - as I stood transfixed, awestruck, beneath the mighty Saturn V thrusters my eyes brimmed. Doubtless the thronging tourists were thinking "who's that silly old (overdressed) English ponce and why is he crying?"



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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

I would have cried as well. 
I hope I can somehow convey to my children how special that was. And how sad that it is not to be repeated in our lifetime.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

^ The Tom Hanks produced mini-series 'From the Earth to the Moon' in combination with the NASA documentary 'For All Mankind' are enormously vivid (and exhilarating) instructional pieces for those who were not there, who do not remember. And splendidly nostalgic for those of us who were fortunate enough to experience it as it happened. I was not yet 4 years old when Armstrong breathed those immortal words, smattered with beeps, from the tinny speaker of our miniature black & white telly yet I shall never forget for as long as I live: "Tranquility base here, the Eagle has landed".


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

Shaver said:


> ^ The Tom Hanks produced mini-series 'From the Earth to the Moon' in combination with the NASA documentary 'For All Mankind' are enormously vivid (and exhilarating) instructional pieces for those who were not there, who do not remember. And splendidly nostalgic for those of us who were fortunate enough to experience it as it happened. I was not yet 4 years old when Armstrong breathed those immortal words, smattered with beeps, from the tinny speaker of our miniature black & white telly yet I shall never forget for as long as I live: "Tranquility base here, the Eagle has landed".


I have those. My kids were unimpressed, but I loved every second. I'm hoping they'll come around once the are old enough to understand that it was real and not Star Wars.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Gurdon (Feb 7, 2005)

It is all very exciting to me. As a Sputnik-era grade schooler, and ever since, our increasingly detailed and expansive knowledge of the physical universe has engendered a feeling of well-being that goes with finding out more and more about almost everything. Astronauts, satellites, powerful telescopes -- all add to the wonderment.

Whether it is thinking about plate tectonics, reading about astrobiology, or looking at Hubble deep sky images of galexies billions of light years away that date from the beginnings of the univeres (as presently understood), the knowledge makes me feel good. 

Thanks for bringing it up,
Gurdon


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## gaseousclay (Nov 8, 2009)

will the New Horizons probe continue on an outward trajectory from our solar system? If so, i'm curious what other discoveries it will make


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

gaseousclay said:


> will the New Horizons probe continue on an outward trajectory from our solar system? If so, i'm curious what other discoveries it will make


As the probe continues on its trajectory it is no longer possible to make significant flight corrections, the fuel being depleted. However it is expected that KBO (Kuiper Belt Objects) will become available to survey within the 'cone' which represents the scope of the possible flight path. The KBO form a band of debris ringed around the far edges of our solar system comprised of remnant material from the original coalescence. The examination of such pristine substances will doubtless contribute to our understanding of planetary formation in ways we cannot begin to imagine just yet.

Interestingly enough both Voyager probes remain active and continue to provide illuminating new data. Not the least of which enabled NASA to convert recordings taken just last year (courtesy of Voyager 1, launched in 1977) of the heliopause plasma waves into audio signals: the first sounds recovered directly from interstellar space. I would go so far as to describe the Voyager mission as possibly the single greatest achievement of the Human race to date (after Opera, of course).

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## SG_67 (Mar 22, 2014)

Shaver said:


> I would go so far as to describe the Voyager mission as possibly the single greatest achievement of the Human race to date (after Opera, of course).
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That is until it comes back seeking the Creator!


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

Only if we were to launch a Voyager 6 - there are currently no plans to do so, you will be relieved to be informed.


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## Odradek (Sep 1, 2011)

tocqueville said:


> I have those. My kids were unimpressed, but I loved every second. I'm hoping they'll come around once the are old enough to understand that it was real and not Star Wars.


I assume you've already seen this site... https://www.firstmenonthemoon.com
but if not, it's very rewarding.



Shaver said:


> I would go so far as to describe the Voyager mission as possibly the single greatest achievement of the Human race to date (after Opera, of course).


Possibly so. 
If only there were more of them ready for launch.


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

^ The Grand Tour was an event in itself, marvellous as it was with all its unexpected glories (who imagined that Miranda would have been such a dazzling highlight?) yet the single missions are the thing now. Most important, to my mind, is an encounter with Europa and one equipped to penetrate the icy mantle and capable of traversing the oceans below. I am not a betting man, however, I would wager my right testicle that extremophiles thrive there - and not just microscopic life but something far more complex.

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## 32rollandrock (May 1, 2008)

I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but wouldn't you really rather have a stadium?

https://theweek.com/speedreads/566752/whole-trip-pluto-cost-less-than-1-nfl-stadium

Pluto, after all, will always be there. Rich team owners, however, are notoriously fickle and prone to moving teams if they don't get even richer at public expense. Then again, New Horizons has proven much more accurate than most NFL quarterbacks when it comes to hitting targets.


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

@32rollandrock quit spectating and get back in the game.


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

New Horizons ("it's an amazing piece of American workmanship this little spacecraft that's doing so well" - Alan Stern, NASA) continues its journey, currently hurtling toward the heliopause, ETA 2040, and the theorised hydrogen wall which may account for the Lyman-alpha line detected by its sensors. 

In the meantime, however, we have an imminent encounter with Ultima Thule, a Kuiper Belt object which could be a pristine remnant from our solar system's accretion 4.6 billion years ago. 

In the early hours of January 1st 2019 New Horizons, 6.5 billion km from Earth, travelling at 79,200 kph, reaching a closest approach of 3,500 km, will (it is hoped) collect data from a 29 km wide object! 

Launched in 2006, still going strong, and wildly exceeding all expectation - merry Xmas you plucky probe!


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## Pentheos (Jun 30, 2008)

Amazing science, that little probe. It'll be closer to Ultima Thula than I will be to sobriety for the next 48 hours.


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## Gurdon (Feb 7, 2005)

Shaver said:


> By Wednesday we will possess the highest definition images of Pluto that have ever been seen by Man, even the teaser photos as closest approach bears down upon us are almost too exciting to countenance!
> 
> This last unexplored outpost of our very own corner of God's splendid Creation is revealed to us, finally.
> 
> ...


While not sharing your views as to how it all came to be, I share your excitement about knowing how it is.


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

Pentheos said:


> Amazing science, that little probe. It'll be closer to Ultima Thula than I will be to sobriety for the next 48 hours.


Towards the centre of our galaxy exists the Sagittarius B2 cloud - 150 light years in diameter and containing a significant quantity (10 to the 27th power litres) of alcohol.


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## Shaver (May 2, 2012)

Gurdon said:


> While not sharing your views as to how it all came to be, I share your excitement about knowing how it is.


It seems likely that the Planck epoch will continue to remain obscured from our view and so the anthropomorphic representation of panentheism that I find most appealing is, as any current theory, a matter of faith.

Isaiah 46:10 NKJV


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## FLMike (Sep 17, 2008)

Shaver said:


> @32rollandrock quit spectating and get back in the game.


Haven't heard that name in a while, but it makes me wonder if he kept the promise he made here on the Interchange, that he would wear nothing but Donald Trump pajamas for the rest of his life if Trump was elected President. It's best not to make promises you can't keep.


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## 127.72 MHz (Feb 16, 2007)

FLMike said:


> Haven't heard that name in a while, but it makes me wonder if he kept the promise he made here on the Interchange, that he would wear nothing but Donald Trump pajamas for the rest of his life if Trump was elected President. It's best not to make promises you can't keep.


A pair of Donald Trump pajamas for sale in Portland, Oregon would be sure to start a riot. The cupcakes would need years of Freudian therapy to sort it all out.


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