Something incredible is five billion kilometers away from Earth!
After more than nine years of travel, the inspirational New Horizons spacecraft darted past Pluto, coming closer than we have ever been to the planet and its moons.
Fertilization: Sperm and the egg—collectively called the gametes—fuse togethe...
Onwards and Upwards - Good Morning, Pluto!
1. Onwards and Upwards
Nicholas Kellett's personal blog about space exploration, scuba diving, and travel
http://blog.nicholaskellett.com
Good Morning, Pluto
http://blog.nicholaskellett.com/2015/07/14/good-morning-pluto
2. Something Incredible
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be
known.” – Carl Sagan
Pluto is 5,000,000,000 km away from Earth
We have never before visited or even had good
images of it
On July 14, 2015 we reached Pluto
3. 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 Neptune
He died in 1915 without having found it
In 1930 Clyde Tombaugh, working at Lowell’s
observatory, spotted Pluto in photographs
4. 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 Laboratory
Fastest launch ever
Gravity-assisted journey still took over 9 years to speed
past Pluto
In order to be light and cheap, carried minimum
instruments and not enough fuel to stop
Now heading into Kuiper Belt on way out of Solar System
5. 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
6. 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 Horizons
Discoverer Clyde Tombaugh’s
ashes also on board
7. 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
8. Get In Touch
I’d love to connect with you on
Twitter: @NickKellett
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholaskellett
Onwards and Upwards is my main blog at
http://blog.nicholaskellett.com
Subscribe to my blog:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/nicholaskellett/xFoR
I also have a Tumblr blog at
http://nickkellett.tumblr.com