onwards and upwards - good morning, pluto!

Onwards and UpwardsNicholas Kellett's personal blog about space exploration, scuba diving, and travel

http://blog.nicholaskellett.com

Good Morning, Plutohttp://blog.nicholaskellett.com/2015/07/14/good-morning-pluto

Something Incredible

“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” – Carl Sagan

Pluto is 5,000,000,000 km away from EarthWe have never before visited or even had

good images of itOn July 14, 2015 we reached Pluto

Search for Planet X

Percival Lowell was an American businessman and amateur astronomer who achieved fame describing the (sadly mythical) Canals of Mars

He searched for “Planet X” beyond NeptuneHe died in 1915 without having found itIn 1930 Clyde Tombaugh, working at Lowell’s

observatory, spotted Pluto in photographs

New Horizons Mission

After multiple projects cancelled due to NASA budget cuts, this was last possible effort before Pluto atmosphere froze over

Launched by NASA/John Hopkins AP LaboratoryFastest launch everGravity-assisted journey still took over 9 years to

speed past PlutoIn order to be light and cheap, carried minimum

instruments and not enough fuel to stopNow heading into Kuiper Belt on way out of Solar

System

Is Pluto a Planet?

In August 2006, after New Horizons launched, IAU general assembly voted to “demote” Pluto from “major planet” to “dwarf planet”

Major controversy over this definition remains to this day

Lead investigator of New Horizons mission Alan Stern disputes the definition

Pluto might actually be a binary planet sharing orbit with its biggest moon, Charon

Planetary Society Involvement

The Planetary Society helped lobby for the missions and managed to assist with securing congressional funding

Launched a grassroots letter-writing campaign

Members names were included in a CD carried on New HorizonsDiscoverer Clyde Tombaugh’s ashes also on board

Good Morning, Pluto

Read the whole post on my blog, Onwards and Upwards, to find out and add your thoughts!

http://blog.nicholaskellett.com/2015/07/14/good-morning-pluto

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