Goldilocks Universe - 8 Pluto A 2015
Spaceship New Horizons sped from Earth at a record pace of 36,000 miles per hour. Up to now, top speed for leaving our planet was 25,000 miles per hour.
Missions to Jupiter usually take 5 or more years. Currently the Spaceship Juno (Goldilocks 5) will orbit Jupiter on July 4, 2016, after a 5 year trek. Spaceship New Horizons reached Jupiter in a year.
Once past Jupiter, the Human caretakers on Earth lulled New Horizons into a peaceful sleep to hibernate for about 8 years.
Once past Jupiter, the Human caretakers on Earth lulled New Horizons into a peaceful sleep to hibernate for about 8 years.
In December 2014, New Horizons was awakened to prepare for an amazing adventure.
It was July 14 2015 zooming at 31,000 miles per hour New Horizons flew pass Pluto at a distance of 7,700 miles. Days before and after that fateful day, the Spaceship unleashed its talisman of unholy magic starting with “LORRI & Ralph”.
LORRI (Long Range Reconnaissance Imager): A high-resolution optical telescope and camera that will continuously monitor Pluto for 200 days.
Ralph: A combination optical/infrared instrument that will provide color maps of the surfaces Pluto and Charon, plus compositional and thermal information on the surfaces.
Working together LORRI and Ralph mimic the human eye (depth perception) and allow Scientists to see and measure Ice Mountain ranges and discover flowing exotic ice sheets similar to glaciers on earth.
Mountains: Hillary Montes named after Sir Edmund Hillary (not Hillary Clinton) and Norgay Montes named after Tenzing Norgay. They were to first to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
LORRI (Long Range Reconnaissance Imager): A high-resolution optical telescope and camera that will continuously monitor Pluto for 200 days.
Ralph: A combination optical/infrared instrument that will provide color maps of the surfaces Pluto and Charon, plus compositional and thermal information on the surfaces.
Working together LORRI and Ralph mimic the human eye (depth perception) and allow Scientists to see and measure Ice Mountain ranges and discover flowing exotic ice sheets similar to glaciers on earth.
Mountains: Hillary Montes named after Sir Edmund Hillary (not Hillary Clinton) and Norgay Montes named after Tenzing Norgay. They were to first to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Hillary Montes is about 1 mile high and resembles the Appalachian Mountains and Norgay Montes is more like the Rocky Mountains, about 2 miles at the tallest peak.
Northwest of the mountains lies a Texas-sized plain informally named Sputnik Planum. The center of the plain is rich in nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane ices. The outer edges are marked by polygonal shaped plains and nitrogen ice (-390 degrees) flowing into the terrain similar to Glaciers on Earth. The surprise here is that this activity might be more current than other regions of Pluto, indicating an active planet.
There is more: Pluto has an atmosphere.
Stay Tune for “Goldilocks Universe 9”
There is more: Pluto has an atmosphere.
Stay Tune for “Goldilocks Universe 9”
