New Horizons at Pluto

jhunter1163 said:
[anerdote* on]

I once posted a question about this mission on an astronomy forum; imagine my surprise when I got a very nice, detailed reply from Dr. Alan Stern, the principal investigator, himself. I was amazed that he would take the time to answer a random question from some random yahoo.

[anerdote off]

* - "Anerdote" = a nerd anecdote
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Don't be a tease, what was the question?



Corsair 115 said:
From yesterday: A ‘Heart’ from Pluto as Flyby Begins.
From today: Pluto and Charon: New Horizons' Dynamic Duo.
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Who cares the image is vaguely heart shaped, I want to know what geological processes make those straight lines that create that huge rectangular shape?

Geology is so interesting and here they are telling us what pictures they see in the clouds and stars. :rolleyes:
 
I did a little engineering support for the refurbished RTG which is powering P-NH to the ninth planet* and beyond. Wow, time flies when you're a small spacecraft starting out on a big honkin' rocket. It's great to finally see the awesome science and beautiful images. Exciting stuff.


* Yes, I said planet. Old school!
 
Gawdzilla Sama said:
In this case it would be where people where sent to chill out.
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Well, it is cold on Pluto...


Skeptic Ginger said:
Who cares the image is vaguely heart shaped, I want to know what geological processes make those straight lines that create that huge rectangular shape?

Geology is so interesting and here they are telling us what pictures they see in the clouds and stars. :rolleyes:
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I think they may need to get a little closer and take better, higher resolution pictures as well as other measurements, then get all that data back, before they can do meaningful speculation on geological processes...
 
Corsair 115 said:
I think they may need to get a little closer and take better, higher resolution pictures as well as other measurements, then get all that data back, before they can do meaningful speculation on geological processes...
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This is part of it. No sense overstepping the data. The other thing is, these projects rely on funding that is at least in part based on public perception--and the public just doesn't get excited by basic research. Give them a pretty picture, though, and you're golden. The hexagon on Saturn's south pole did as much good for science by being interesting to look at as it did by presenting new questions for us to explore.

Beelzebuddy said:
So, 5 gigabytes. Why can't they just freakin' say that? We know what a gigabyte is. Why always with the comparisons to other things we don't have numbers for?
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Because the public would then expect to see it as fast as they can download 5 gigabytes back home. Comparing it against other space missions provides a useful insight to the temporal aspect of the data collection.
 
Skeptic Ginger said:
Don't be a tease, what was the question?
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IIRC, it was something about what level of visual resolution the probe would be able to obtain. I was expecting a reply from a knowledgeable amateur; certainly not one from the principal investigator. Although, to be fair, it was a couple of years ago and I expect he probably had somewhat less on his plate then than he does now.
 
I'm excited for this, but I do feel like some mystique has been taken away in the past decade. When I was a kid, Pluto was the oddball of the solar system, a planet all by lonesome past Neptune. Now, not only is it not a planet, but it is no longer alone. Its one of several dwarf planets on the edge of the solar system.
 
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Not clear enough, not really. There are a lot of ways for random noise to generate apparent patterns--see canals on Mars, for example.

Still, it certainly presents interesting areas to examine!
 
Rum said:
The miles involved are in the billions - 3 or 4? It is amazing what clever peeps can do these days!
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The New Horizons spacecraft will travel more than 3 billion miles (5 billion kilometers) on its journey to Pluto, its largest moon, Charon, and the Kuiper Belt beyond. This web site uses the Maine Solar System Model to help us to understand the distances and time involved on this journey.
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The New Horizons Mission
pages.umpi.edu/~nmms/NewHorizons/mission.htm
 
sts60 said:
I did a little engineering support for the refurbished RTG which is powering P-NH to the ninth planet* and beyond. Wow, time flies when you're a small spacecraft starting out on a big honkin' rocket. It's great to finally see the awesome science and beautiful images. Exciting stuff.


* Yes, I said planet. Old school!
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Refurbished? :confused:

You're spending the jack required to send a probe on a multi-billion mile journey to the very edge of the Solar System and you can't spring for a new RTG? I can understand being frugal as much as the next guy, but seriously? Wonder what other used parts went into it's construction?
 
Mike! said:
Refurbished? :confused:

You're spending the jack required to send a probe on a multi-billion mile journey to the very edge of the Solar System and you can't spring for a new RTG? I can understand being frugal as much as the next guy, but seriously? Wonder what other used parts went into it's construction?
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A) The RTG is quite sufficient for NH's needs and NASA had it, would you prefer that they just let it burn out on a shelf? RTGs have a limited shelflife, the isotopes don't stop decaying just because they aren't being used.

B) IIRC there are issues with getting the material to build new RTGs due to the shutdown of the reactor in the US that makes them.
 
NASA recycles a lot of stuff. On one NASA site I work in there are a few areas where they store the non-dangerous stuff (metal components, decommissioned tanks, and the like), and occasionally you'll see folks go in and get stuff they need. No sense letting it go to waste.
 
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