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New Horizons

New Horizons67 posts

New Horizons is an interplanetary space probe that was launched in January 2006 on a NASA mission to study Pluto, its moons and the Kuiper Belt, performing flybys of Jupiter and its moons. The probe was built by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI).

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8 Oct, 2015

Water and ice found

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Pluto haloNASA says that Pluto has traces of water and ice on its surface. Red-colored frozen surface water is confirmed by combining spectral infrared and visible light data taken by two of New Horizons’ image sensors. The agency also releases a picture of Pluto’s blue sky, which is caused by tiny, sunlight-scattering particles in the atmosphere. Those particles probably begin as molecular nitrogen (which Pluto is constantly emitting) and other trace gases.

1 Oct, 2015

Charon detailed images

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NASA releases detailed photos and a flyover animation of Charon, taken by New Horizons when it made its close flyby of Pluto on July 14. Scientists say they expected to find a long-dead world pocked with craters, but instead the surface plays host to mountains, a red north pole and a host of other geological features including a canyon more than 1,000 miles wide that stretches across the moon’s Pluto-facing side, and perhaps along the far-side of the world. That canyon is probably four times longer than the Grand Canyon is on Earth, and twice as deep in some places.

We thought the probability of seeing such interesting features on this satellite of a world at the far edge of our solar system was low, but [we] couldn’t be more delighted with what we see.

25 Sep, 2015

Pluto hi-resolution images

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Pluto New Horizons Rippling Terain imageNASA releases high resolution New Horizons images of Pluto’s surface that show rippling terrain that stretches many hundreds of km. Team member:

It looks more like tree bark or dragon scales than geology. This’ll really take time to figure out; maybe it’s some combination of internal tectonic forces and ice sublimation driven by Pluto’s faint sunlight.

The ripples are part of a 70MB image (link) that combines images from the probe’s Ralph/Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera, that combines blue, red and near infrared (NIR) images.

28 Aug, 2015

Next flyby target selected

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NASA determines the next likely target destination for a flyby by New Horizons, a small object in the Kuiper Belt called 2014MU69. It orbits almost a billion miles away from Pluto. A full proposal about the mission will be evaluated by NASA experts before the go ahead is officially given. NASA Science Mission Directorate Chief Grunsfeld:

Even as the New Horizon’s spacecraft speeds away from Pluto out into the Kuiper Belt, and the data from the exciting encounter with this new world is being streamed back to Earth, we are looking outward to the next destination for this intrepid explorer. While discussions whether to approve this extended mission will take place in the larger context of the planetary science portfolio, we expect it to be much less expensive than the prime mission while still providing new and exciting science.

28 Jul, 2015

NASA anticipates greater discoveries

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Speaking before the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, Stern says scientific information gleaned from the New Horizons mission to Pluto is “revolutionizing” what they know about the icy dwarf planet, predicting that even greater discoveries lay ahead.

With only 5% of data on the ground, we all feel we need to fasten our seat belts for the next 95%.

It will take 16 months for all the collected data from New Horizons to be transmitted to Earth. Scientists say the mission demonstrates this need for further planetary exploration.

Now is the time to accelerate, not curtail, the pace and scope of our nation’s solar system exploration program.

24 Jul, 2015

Heart shape sharper image

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NASA releases a sharper image of Pluto showing that the left half of the Tombaugh Regio heart region is different than the right. The left half is more filled in. Scientists believe some process, possibly wind, is blowing material from the left half to the right half.

Our interpretation is that material in the right lobe — the source for that material — is coming from the western [or left] lobe.

Glaciers

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NASA releases a photo which suggests that glaciers are flowing on Pluto’s surface in the region of Sputnik Planum. Scientists believe the ice is made of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and methane.

To see evidence of recent geological activity is simply a dream come true. The appearance of this terrain, the utter lack of impact craters on Sputnik Planum, tells us that this is really a young unit.

Eclipses the sun

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Backlit by the sun, Pluto’s atmosphere rings its silhouette like a luminous halo in this image taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft around midnight EDT on July 15. This global portrait of the atmosphere was captured when the spacecraft was about 1.25 million miles (2 million kilometers) from Pluto and shows structures as small as 12 miles across. The image, delivered to Earth on July 23, is displayed with north at the top of the frame.NASA releases a photo of Pluto eclipsing the sun showing a haze in Pluto’s atmosphere which extends at least 160 km (100 miles) above the surface.

This is one of our first images of Pluto’s atmosphere. [It] stunned the encounter team. For 25 years, we’ve known that Pluto has an atmosphere. But it’s been known by numbers. This is our first picture. This is the first time we’ve really seen it. This was the image that almost brought tears to the eyes of the atmospheric scientists on our team.

Pluto and Charon’s natural color

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 Pluto and its largest moon Charon are seen in their natural color in this spectacular image by composite of images from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft taken during its July 14, 2015 flyby. In this image, the north poles of both Pluto and Charon NASA releases this photo which shows Pluto’s reddish color and Charon’s gray tone. Scientists think Pluto’s red color is the result of particles created in its atmosphere, through methane’s interaction with UV light. The particles stick together, growing heavier, and eventually rain down on the surface. Observations show that Charon does not have much of an atmosphere.

For now, all that we can say is, it’s a much more rarefied atmosphere [than Pluto’s]. It may be that there’s a thin nitrogen layer in the atmosphere, or methane, or some other constituent. But it must be very tenuous compared to Pluto — again, emphasizing just how different these two objects are despite their close association in space.

21 Jul, 2015

Discovers second mountain range

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A newly discovered mountain range lies near the southwestern margin of Pluto’s heart-shaped Tombaugh Regio (Tombaugh Region), situated between bright, icy plains and dark, heavily-cratered terrain. This image was acquired by New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on July 14, 2015, from a distance of 48,000 miles (77,000 kilometers) and sent back to Earth on July 20. Feature as small as a half-mile (1 kilometer) across are visible. These frozen peaks are estimated to be one-half mile to one mile (1-1.5 kilometers) high, about the same height as the United States’ Appalachian Mountains. The Norgay Montes (Norgay Mountains) discovered by New Horizons on July 15 more closely approximate the height of the taller Rocky Mountains. NASA releases a photo showing another mountain range on the lower left edge of Pluto’s heart-shaped region. The peaks are about 1 to 1.5 km (0.5 to 1 mile) high, about the size of the Appalachians. The new range is just west of the region within Pluto’s heart called Sputnik Planum (Sputnik Plain) and some 110 km (68 miles) northwest of Norgay Montes. This newest image further illustrates the remarkably well-defined topography along the western edge of Tombaugh Regio.

There is a pronounced difference in texture between the younger, frozen plains to the east and the dark, heavily-cratered terrain to the west. There’s a complex interaction going on between the bright and the dark materials that we’re still trying to understand.

Nix and Hydra

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Pluto's moon Nix (left), shown here in enhanced color as imaged by the New Horizons Ralph instrument, has a reddish spot that has attracted the interest of mission scientists. The data were obtained on the morning of July 14, 2015, and received on the ground on July 18. At the time the observations were taken New Horizons was about 102,000 miles (165,000 km) from Nix. The image shows features as small as approximately 2 miles (3 kilometers) across on Nix, which is estimated to be 26 miles (42 kilometers) long and 22 miles (36 kilometers) wide. Pluto's small, irregularly shaped moon Hydra (right) is revealed in this black and white image taken from New Horizons' LORRI instrument on July 14, 2015 from a distance of about 143,000 miles (231,000 kilometers). Features as small as 0.7 miles (1.2 kilometers) are visible on Hydra, which measures 34 miles (55 kilometers) in length.NASA releases photos of Pluto’s moons Nix and Hydra. Nix is about 42 km (26 miles) long and 36 km (22 miles) wide. Nix’s surface is a light gray with an area that is light red which scientists think might be a crater. Hydra is about 55 km (34 miles) long and 40 km (25 miles) wide and has at least two large craters.

Before last week, Hydra was just a faint point of light, so it’s a surreal experience to see it become an actual place, as we see its shape and spot recognizable features on its surface for the first time.

17 Jul, 2015

Frozen plains

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Frozen Plains in the Heart of Pluto’s ‘Heart’ (annotated)NASA releases a close-up photo of an area in the center-left of the heart feature of a young craterless plain which they name Sputnik Planum. It has a broken surface of irregularly-shaped segments, roughly 20 km (12 miles) across, bordered by what appear to be shallow troughs, some of which have darker material within them, while others are traced by clumps of hills that appear to rise above the surrounding terrain. Elsewhere, the surface appears to be etched by fields of small pits that may have formed by sublimation.

This terrain is not easy to explain. The discovery of vast, craterless, very young plains on Pluto exceeds all pre-flyby expectations.

Flyover animation

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NASA releases a flyover animation over part of Tombaugh Regio, the heart-shaped area of Pluto, and the Norgay Montes mountains, which are named for Tenzing Norgay, the sherpa who accompanied Edmund Hillary on the first successful ascent of Mt. Everest. The animation is created from images taken by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on the New Horizons probe during the Pluto flyby on July 14, 2015. Using photographs taken from just 77,000 kilometers (48,000 miles) away from the surface, the resolution  is good enough that features as small as a kilometers across (0.5 miles) are visible.

Animated Flyover of Pluto’s Icy Mountain and Plains

16 Jul, 2015

Charon mountain

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Pluto's moon Charon showing a tall mountain inside a deep depressionNASA shares a close-up photo of Pluto’s moon Charon showing a large mountain in a deep depression that is puzzling scientists.

The most intriguing feature is a large mountain sitting in a moat. This is a feature that has geologists stunned and stumped. It looks like someone just dropped a giant boulder on Charon.

15 Jul, 2015

Different ices

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The New Horizons team release a composite photo showing different methane ice accumulations over Pluto’s surface. The photo is compiled using RALPH’s 256 infrared wavelengths overlaying a LORRI basemap.

All I’m showing is the diversity of terrains. The ices do have distinct properties, different melting points.

Discovers ice mountains

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Ice Mountains of PlutoScientists share the first high-resolution images of Pluto’s surface taken by New Horizons, showing ice mountains 11,000 ft high. Pluto’s thin coating of methane, carbon monoxide and nitrogen ice on Pluto’s surface was not strong enough to form mountains — the scientist believe they are probably composed of Pluto’s water-ice bedrock

Mission scientists say the image show a terrain that had been resurfaced by some geological process – such as volcanism – within the last 100 million years.

We have not found a single impact crater on this image. This means it must be a very young surface.

This active geology needs some source of heat. Previously, such activity has only been seen on icy moons, where it can be explained by “tidal heating” caused by gravitational interactions with a large host planet.

You do not need tidal heating to power geological activity on icy worlds. That’s a really important discovery we just made this morning.

14 Jul, 2015

Color photos

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Color image of Pluto and CharonNASA releases color images of Pluto and Charon. The heart shape on Pluto is different colors indicating different geologic, tectonic, or morphological origins. The big red spot near Charon’s north polar region are most likely nitrogen particles from Pluto. The sun burns off the particles on the areas facing the sun, but not the polar region which faces away from the sun for decades.

Some regions are relatively ancient, and other places are very young and currently undergoing geologic evolution.

Closest approach

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After flying three billion miles from Earth, at 7:49 a.m. EDT, New Horizons makes its closest approach to Pluto at 7,700 miles from the surface. It flies past at 31,000 mph. The team receives confirmation from the spacecraft around 9:00 p.m. EDT that the flyby is a success.

Hey, people of the world! Are you paying attention? We have reached Pluto. We are exploring the hinterlands of the solar system. Rejoice!

13 Jul, 2015

Heart shape closeup

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Pluto's Heart-shaped featureNew Horizons takes a photo of Pluto from 768,000 km (476,000 miles) away showing a close-up view of the heart-shaped feature. The heart measures about 1,600 km (1,000 miles) across. The heart borders darker equatorial terrains, and the mottled terrain to its east (right) are complex. However, even at this resolution, much of the heart’s interior appears remarkably featureless—possibly a sign of ongoing geologic processes.

Wow! My prediction was that we would find something wonderful, and we did. This is proof that good things really do come in small packages.

Pluto’s size measured

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NASA’s New Horizon mission scientists determine Pluto’s size to be 2,370 kilometers (1,473 miles) in diameter making it the largest known body beyond Neptune.

The size of Pluto has been debated since its discovery in 1930. We are excited to finally lay this question to rest.

They also determine Charon’s size to be 1208 km (751 miles) in diameter, Hydra is about at 45 km (30 miles) and Nix is about 35 km (20 miles).