Pluto Demoted
... Having said all that I must admit that I was disappointed at their decision. I am quite schizophrenic in fact as my scientific mind knows that their decision is probably right, and that we should recognise divisions of greater and lesser objects in the skies. As our knowledge increases, it is entire ...
... Having said all that I must admit that I was disappointed at their decision. I am quite schizophrenic in fact as my scientific mind knows that their decision is probably right, and that we should recognise divisions of greater and lesser objects in the skies. As our knowledge increases, it is entire ...
Overview Presentation on Pluto and Occultations
... (1) A "planet"1 is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit. (2) A "dwarf planet" is a cel ...
... (1) A "planet"1 is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit. (2) A "dwarf planet" is a cel ...
New Horizons
New Horizons is an interplanetary space probe that was launched as a part of NASA's New Frontiers program. Engineered by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), with a team led by S. Alan Stern, the spacecraft was launched to study the Pluto system and, in its secondary mission, the Kuiper belt, performing a flyby of Pluto and one or more other Kuiper belt objects (KBOs).On January 19, 2006, New Horizons was launched from Cape Canaveral directly into an Earth-and-solar escape trajectory with a speed of about 16.26 kilometers per second (58,536 km/h; 36,373 mph). After a brief encounter with asteroid 132524 APL, New Horizons proceeded to Jupiter, making its closest approach on February 28, 2007, at a distance of 2.3 million kilometers (1.4 million miles). The Jupiter flyby provided a gravity assist that increased New Horizons ' speed by 4 km/s (14,000 km/h; 9,000 mph). The encounter was also used as a general test of New Horizons ' scientific capabilities, returning data about the planet's atmosphere, moons, and magnetosphere.Most of the post-Jupiter voyage was spent in hibernation mode to preserve on-board systems, except for brief annual checkouts. On December 6, 2014, New Horizons was brought back online for the Pluto encounter, and instrument check-out began. On January 15, 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft began its approach phase to Pluto.On July 14, 2015 11:49 UTC (07:49 EDT), it flew 12,500 km (7,800 mi) above the surface of Pluto, making it the first spacecraft to explore the dwarf planet.Having completed its flyby of Pluto, New Horizons will be maneuvered for a flyby of Kuiper belt object 2014 MU69. New Horizons is expected to encounter 2014 MU69 on January 1, 2019, when it is 43.4 AU from the Sun.