[DISCUSSION THREAD] [Updates] Space probe reaches Pluto!

[Mythe_Seraph]

Hasn't Cassini been there for over 10 years? It's so crazy to me that the time table for these different views is so insanely vast yet 10 years is like a blink of an eye. Fuck I hate space. Fucks my shit up.

[Necronus]

Hasn't Cassini been there for over 10 years? It's so crazy to me that the time table for these different views is so insanely vast yet 10 years is like a blink of an eye. Fuck I hate space. Fucks my shit up.

Yup. I'll try to condense the Wiki timetable

1997: Launch
1998: Venus
1999: Moon, Earth, Venus
2000: Asteroid 2685 Masursky, Jupiter
2001: Interplanetary Travel
2002: Interplanetary Travel
2003: Interplanetary Travel
SATURN SYSTEM
2004: Phoebe, Saturn's Rings, Titan(x2)
2005: Titan(x6), Enceladus(x3), Polydeuces, Tethys, Hyperion, Dione, Rhea
2006: Titan(x13), Methone
2007: Titan(x17), Iapetus
2008: Titan(x10), Enceladus(x4), Pallene(x2), Methone, Janus
2009: Titan(x15), Enceladus(x2)
2010: Titan(x5), Enceladus(x4), Calypso, Rhea, Helene, Dione, Kiviuq, Albiorix
2011: Titan(x4), Enceladus(x3), Rhea, Telesto, Pallene, Dione
2012: Titan(x7), Enceladus(x3), Telesto, Methone
2013: Titan(x8), Rhea
2014: Titan(x10)
2015: Titan(x4), Dione
UPCOMING
2015: Titan, Enceladus(x2), Dione, Epimetheus, Prometheus, Aegaeon
2016: Titan(x9), Pandora
2017: Daphnis, Pan, Atlas .... and finally, it shall be sent into Saturn's Atmosphere on Sept 17.

[Necronus]

Also, all this talk of space makes me wanna play this game again. A board game with a board so cool, it's hung on my wall .... also because its hard to find nerdy enough people who can tolerate rocket science on a game night.

Spoiler: show

Spoiler: show

[Necronus]

Wow ... that is all ...

[Outlaw]

I know right? I haven't updated this thread in a while cause I've been sick and have had some tests. But I won't talk about that here. Those are the first uncompressed images from New Horzions and there will be many more to come. I posted some more at the bottom of my original post.

[TsingTao]

And we will be getting amazing stuff like that for a year. Awesome!

[Meresgi]

Shit is awesome, makes me proud to work for NASA

Now if we could just...you know...get some goddamn funding? Please? Gonna have to start hanging out on the street and taking cash from people in their cars.

[Xno Kappa]

Would love to see a Europa mission. That place intrigues the fuck outta me.

[Tyrath]

Would love to see a Europa mission. That place intrigues the fuck outta me.

Did you watch Europa Report recently? lol

[Xno Kappa]

Actually saw it because of my interest lol. Great movie by the way for those who haven't seen it.

[Necronus]

I still got this in my phone alerts, looking forward to seeing how that goes.

Cassini
Oct. 28, 2015 224 Close flyby (altitude = 49 km; 30 mi) of moon Enceladus

[Necronus]

Higher Rez Charon (Enhanced Color):
http://cdn4.sci-news.com/images/enla..._1e-Charon.jpg

Real Color of Both:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/...-1920x1200.jpg

Blue Skies over Pluto:
http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/fi...?itok=IFi1Qk0s

[Tyrath]

Charon looks way cooler than our moon

[Churchill]

Did the place you got that picture from say blue skies or was that your addition.

[Tyrath]

All the articles are talking about it because that's exactly what the blueish haze signifies; a blue sky.

[Churchill]

Not that they are wrong, or right, but the reason I asked is because that is not what it signifies.

If you were directly behind the Earth, and the Sun was opposite your point of view, what color would the halo around the Earth be?

[Necronus]

Not that they are wrong, or right, but the reason I asked is because that is not what it signifies.

If you were directly behind the Earth, and the Sun was opposite your point of view, what color would the halo around the Earth be?

Blue to Blue-White. Inner red ring if the sun is not directly opposite.

[Boyiee]

Pluto's haze layer shows its blue color in this picture taken by the New Horizons Ralph/Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC). The high-altitude haze is thought to be similar in nature to that seen at Saturn’s moon Titan. The source of both hazes likely involves sunlight-initiated chemical reactions of nitrogen and methane, leading to relatively small, soot-like particles (called tholins) that grow as they settle toward the surface. This image was generated by software that combines information from blue, red and near-infrared images to replicate the color a human eye would perceive as closely as possible.

http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/plutos-blue-sky

The haze particles themselves are likely gray or red, but the way they scatter blue light has gotten the attention of the New Horizons science team. “That striking blue tint tells us about the size and composition of the haze particles,” said science team researcher Carly Howett, also of SwRI. “A blue sky often results from scattering of sunlight by very small particles. On Earth, those particles are very tiny nitrogen molecules. On Pluto they appear to be larger — but still relatively small — soot-like particles we call tholins.”

Scientists believe the tholin particles form high in the atmosphere, where ultraviolet sunlight breaks apart and ionizes nitrogen and methane molecules and allows them to react with one another to form more and more complex negatively and positively charged ions. When they recombine, they form very complex macromolecules, a process first found to occur in the upper atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan. The more complex molecules continue to combine and grow until they become small particles; volatile gases condense and coat their surfaces with ice frost before they have time to fall through the atmosphere to the surface, where they add to Pluto’s red coloring.

http://www.nasa.gov/nh/nh-finds-blue...r-ice-on-pluto

There is also a small amount of water ice.

[Necronus]

Cassini did its dive within 30 miles of the Cryovolcanoes on Enceladus last night. Pictures expected in 24-48 hours. On Oct 14, the probe grabbed a picture of the north pole from 4000 miles up. Here's those pics:


http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/fi...?itok=OTX2m_hZ


http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/fi...?itok=CA0-qHCz

[Salodin]

Man, that moon is a sponge for galactic rock trash.