pluto? can that really be?

checked out the recent stuff about pluto,is anyone like me thinking that pluto is going to shock?

i,m going for nasa saying we have no idea about that as usual,closer they get then the more that what they see probably shouldn,t be there.

originally posted by: sparky31
checked out the recent stuff about pluto,is anyone like me thinking that pluto is going to shock?

I have not heard about any recent 'stuff' about Pluto.


Would you care to elaborate?

Yeah -- I'm sure they will find a lot of new information about Pluto that they never knew or imagined before.

But that's what's so exciting about science and discovery. Scientist and researchers love finding things raises questions about what they thought was true in nature. That's probably what gets them excited to go to work everyday -- i.e., the possibility of learning something brand new.

They have some ideas about Pluto based on the minimal evidence they have. They think the dark patches are hydrocarbon tars and the brighter splotches are frozen Carbon Monoxide. They also think the atmosphere freezes out of the sky and "snows" back to the surface at the beginning of Pluto's 125-year winter (a season that Pluto is about to enter), only to sublimate again to form the atmosphere during its 125-year summer season.

Other wild speculation is that Pluto could have flowing liquid -- but that liquid could be rivers of liquid neon. One new mystery is that its moon Charon seems to have a large dark patch hear its north pole.

We humans really don't know what we'll find, but it will probably surprise us (which is often completely normal when we learn about something which we had no or limited knowledge of before).

a reply to: DupontDeux www.nasa.gov...

the fact it seems to have dark and light patches all over it and at min its a totally mystery ,its going to defy all explanation if u ask me.

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

Your deep enjoyment of this issue is contagious and I thank you for that . You have rekindled a old interest for me in space and it's exploration .

originally posted by: sparky31
checked out the recent stuff about pluto,is anyone like me thinking that pluto is going to shock?

i,m going for nasa saying we have no idea about that as usual,closer they get then the more that what they see probably shouldn,t be there.

This is about as good as it will for some time, circa 22nd June.

a reply to: smurfy

There are new images coming in almost every day: pluto.jhuapl.edu...

Yes, the dark and bright patches on Pluto are one of the most interesting things about it which we will learn about in the coming weeks and months.

I hope that the LORRI images will keep coming in during the close flyby, despite all other data being delayed.

originally posted by: wildespace
a reply to: smurfy

There are new images coming in almost every day: pluto.jhuapl.edu...

The latest images (from today, June 29) show the dark splotches on both Pluto and Charon pretty well.

Here is an enlarged and cropped version of one of the images:


Full image:
New Horizons LORRI Image