New Data From New Horizons' Closest Approach
(You Guys, Wow)
For the days and weeks leading up to New Horizons' closest approach of Pluto, the theme for the science returns was the unfamiliar -- with each new data point, the science team realized that Pluto isn't what they thought it was. It wasn't like predictions made from ground-based observations, it wasn't like Neptune's moon . . .
New Horizons Phones Home
One by one, to escalating waves of fist-pumping and relief, the chain of indicators that New Horizons was healthy and successful in its exploration reverberated through the Mission Operations Center at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland on Tuesday evening, and on out to audiences on campus and around the world.
. . .Transport in Pluto's Atmosphere, Step By Step
If you've been following my coverage on Twitter, you know a lot of information has trickled out from the science team members over the course of the day. Some of it has been speculation, some of it simple conclusions that were inferred from the early returns. We've still only been hit with a few drops of what will be a deluge of data . . .
The Whale and the Heart
Closest Approach for New Horizons
3 billion miles away, 4 and a half hours if you happen to travel at the speed of light, New Horizons' closest approach to the dwarf planet Pluto came and went in silence. The spacecraft, which must rotate its entire self to point at Earth and transmit to us, was busy carrying out the hundreds of individual maneuvers carefully . . .
The Search for Rings in the Pluto System
There are "almost certainly" rings surrounding the Pluto system, says Henry Throop, who works on the ring science and hazard avoidance teams for New Horizons. The question is whether they will be bright enough that New Horizons can observe them.
Any ring system is generally formed when a planet's small moons are . . .
Pluto Has A Northern Polar Cap
And Other Early Findings By New Horizons
The data New Horizons will collect over the next few days, Alan Stern told reporters Monday morning, is "a gift for the ages to all mankind." He described the early returns as "mouthwatering," and gave a peak at what New Horizons can already tell us about the Pluto-Charon system, having only just passed the one million . . .
On The Brink: Alan Stern Awaits Pluto
The Mission's Principal Investigator On What Pluto and New Horizons Can Tell Us
It's been a busy few weeks for Alan Stern, Principal Investigator of the New Horizons mission and the man who has advocated for, developed, and overseen the operation of a Pluto mission for the better part of three decades. Having spent a good portion of his life incubating New Horizons, and the last ten years flying it to its . . .
Cover image credit: http://jleslie48.com/0206pr/saturn5allclean2.jpg
