New Horizons at Pluto

Events like this make me wonder what would happen if we detected a similar, foreign object coming close to our solar system, something that didn't look like a rock or comet. I wonder if we could capture it without damage? What a revelation that would provide if it looked "designed" in the same way that our spacecraft would undoubtedly look to another lifeform.
 
CynicalSkeptic said:
It would need an awful lot of fuel to slow down. And of course if you need all that fuel to slow down, you need more even more fuel to carry that fuel around.
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How much longer would the trip have been if they'd tried for an orbit. (Crazy patterns* allowed, but at least one realistic scenario, please.)




*Swing by, loop waaaay out, get pulled back, swing by loop waaay in, oscillate until orbit is stable?
 
Sherman Bay said:
Events like this make me wonder what would happen if we detected a similar, foreign object coming close to our solar system, something that didn't look like a rock or comet. I wonder if we could capture it without damage? What a revelation that would provide if it looked "designed" in the same way that our spacecraft would undoubtedly look to another lifeform.
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I've wondered this myself... what would we do if we spotted something coming in, maybe a kilometer across, and spectroscopically determined that it was metallic. Not many natural metallic objects way out there... we'd have to consider the possibility that it was artificial. Biggest news of the millennium, right there.
 
turingtest said:
YW. It took me two tries to make it all the way to Pluto- the first time, I stopped somewhere between Jupiter and Saturn. And the legend at the end said a lot, too- "Might as well stop now. We'll need to scroll through 6,771 more maps like this before we see anything else." Pfft- we went a mere 39.5AU...
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Really puts V'ger's cloud into perspective.
 
jhunter1163 said:
I've wondered this myself... what would we do if we spotted something coming in, maybe a kilometer across, and spectroscopically determined that it was metallic. Not many natural metallic objects way out there... we'd have to consider the possibility that it was artificial. Biggest news of the millennium, right there.
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What if it's pure neutronium?
 

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jhunter1163 said:
I've wondered this myself... what would we do if we spotted something coming in, maybe a kilometer across, and spectroscopically determined that it was metallic. Not many natural metallic objects way out there... we'd have to consider the possibility that it was artificial. Biggest news of the millennium, right there.
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A simple chemical analysis would suffice (well, for a given value of "simple"). We know, roughly, what to expect from rocks, even metals-heavy ones like some asteroids. Generally, we can expect a lack of purity--natural systems don't refine certain ores. If we see that the thing is fairly pure gold, iron, aluminum, or the like, it's a good indication that we should look for other clues. And we could use the light bouncing off it to make that determination. It wouldn't be proof, but it'd be a good indication.
 
Dinwar said:
A simple chemical analysis would suffice (well, for a given value of "simple"). We know, roughly, what to expect from rocks, even metals-heavy ones like some asteroids. Generally, we can expect a lack of purity--natural systems don't refine certain ores. If we see that the thing is fairly pure gold, iron, aluminum, or the like, it's a good indication that we should look for other clues. And we could use the light bouncing off it to make that determination. It wouldn't be proof, but it'd be a good indication.
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One of my favorites is J002E3. Thought to be an asteroid at first, spectral analysis indicated titanium oxide, the white paint used on the Saturn V rockets. It turned out to be the S-IVB from Apollo 12.
 
Foster Zygote said:
One of my favorites is J002E3. Thought to be an asteroid at first, spectral analysis indicated titanium oxide, the white paint used on the Saturn V rockets. It turned out to be the S-IVB from Apollo 12.
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Nice:

J002E3WP

eta: Cool animated gif:

J002e3f_orbit.gif


L1 is a Lagrange point?
 
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turingtest said:
YW. It took me two tries to make it all the way to Pluto- the first time, I stopped somewhere between Jupiter and Saturn. And the legend at the end said a lot, too- "Might as well stop now. We'll need to scroll through 6,771 more maps like this before we see anything else." Pfft- we went a mere 39.5AU...
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There wouldn't be a chance in hell I would get through that if not for the auto-scroll. ;)

As soon as I saw the size of the sun in the first frame, I knew it was a long journey......:)
 
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