johncocker Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 (edited) Did a search and surprised there isn't a thread for the New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper belt. should be very very interesting...9 ½ years in space! I wish we humans could be doing more of this kind of thing rather then fighting. We are an awesome species. pity we can't get our **** together and become an awesome species.. Definitely worth downloading the Eyes on Pluto software to see simulation of how New Horizons scan Pluto and its moons. Fasinating stuff. http://eyes.jpl.nasa.gov/eyes-on-pluto.html Edited July 14, 2015 by johncocker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiffRaff Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 It's "try and get your head round that!" time.... Talking to an astronomer on Breakfast this morning, he was asked "what next?" for the craft passing Pluto sometime today. Apparently travelling at 14 kilometers a second - which is mind-boggling enough - it will head off towards the Sagittarius constellation. Bill Turnbull then asked the obvious next question, to which the answer was that it will take "billions of years to get there...." "Billions of years"! It's enough to send you mad, just thinking about it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eater Sundae Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 It's "try and get your head round that!" time.... Talking to an astronomer on Breakfast this morning, he was asked "what next?" for the craft passing Pluto sometime today. Apparently travelling at 14 kilometers a second - which is mind-boggling enough - it will head off towards the Sagittarius constellation. Bill Turnbull then asked the obvious next question, to which the answer was that it will take "billions of years to get there...." "Billions of years"! It's enough to send you mad, just thinking about it... It's easy enough. it's not rocket science, you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WasThatWise Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 (edited) So what's the point of sending it on? Wouldn't it be better orbiting round Pluto to give more info or does it not have the capability. Edited July 14, 2015 by WasThatWise Spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DnAuK Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 It's easy enough. it's not rocket science, you know. Bad...Bad...Bad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phanerothyme Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 So what's the point of sending it on? Wouldn't it be better orbiting round Pluto to give more info or does it not have the capability. I doubt it has even a fraction of the the fuel required to perform an orbit insertion, given that it's probably been accelerating for much of the journey. Pluto has no atmosphere, so aerobraking isn't an option either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DnAuK Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I doubt it has even a fraction of the the fuel required to perform an orbit insertion, given that it's probably been accelerating for much of the journey. Pluto has no atmosphere, so aerobraking isn't an option either. It's an ion drive isn't it? Doesn't work like a conventional rocket. Just keeps accellerating. As far as I'm aware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiffRaff Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 The expert on TV this morning confirmed that the (now) propulsion was created by a slingshot effect, using gravity from bodies it had passed. Apparently we can expect Pluto photo's at about midnight : it's so far away, it'll take 5-ish hours to receive. He also added that all the electronic gizmo's on board were now 10 years "out of date" but are still operational... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InigoMontoya Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I doubt it has even a fraction of the the fuel required to perform an orbit insertion, given that it's probably been accelerating for much of the journey. Pluto has no atmosphere, so aerobraking isn't an option either. Yes it has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anarchon Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Latest high resolution view of Pluto has been made available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33524589 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now