onwards and upwards - good morning, pluto!
TRANSCRIPT
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
Get In Touch
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