Pluto

I know i can google this but figured id get more interesting answers here, but does anyone know what kind of wavelength they are sending the data back on?

By the way, thanks for posting the image Chad!

My first thought was that it seems to be a lot smoother than the moon as far as craters go. I just imagined it being more "pockier" lol.

Nice photo though. Can't wait for the rest even though we have to (damnit!).

a reply to: MrBergstrom

Just came from the house where NASA TV was running a simulation. 5 minutes ago the simulation (live) said it was only 20k miles away @ +30 minutes closest approach.

Agartha, yep will defo be up for it Where you at, you gotta stay up for it! haha

eriktheawful, that does put it into context just how incredible it is that it can get to us all the way from 3 billion miles away! The engineering is incredible!

Terminal1, yes it is brilliant isn't it that app?!

a reply to: MrBergstrom

I so like it I like visuals...

a reply to: MrBergstrom

Each 1024x1024 picture that the camera takes is compressed (or zipped as most will understand it) so it is the smallest possible size when it comes to transmission.

The first 1024 bits (or 1Kb /Kilobit) with arrive at Earth 4 1/2 hours after it is transmitted, because each picture is around 2.5Mb (Megabits) they take around 40 minutes for the full image (2,500,000b / 1024b = 40.6 minutes)....so 5 hours 10 minutes (give or take) per picture.....well, no, if they send them continuous I guess that would be 4 1/2 + 40 + 40 + 40 etc.

a reply to: woogleuk

That's right.

And in order to send one pic, the antenna has to point to us, which means the probe can't orientate itself to take other images and data, and if you make it sit there and do that, it will fly by Pluto with only a hand full of images. Better to let it do it's job and then send us the images later when it's done.

Sort of like a cook in a kitchen: you don't stand over their shoulder getting them to feed you while they are trying to cook the food: you let them prepare your meal, then they serve it to you.

originally posted by: MrBergstrom
Agartha, yep will defo be up for it

Where you at, you gotta stay up for it! haha

I'm also in the UK and that's way too late for a morning person like me! lol
I could stay up stargazing (if not freezing cold) but this is on a laptop, it can wait till the morning..... I leave it to you to tell us all tomorrow!

originally posted by: smurfy
I'll tell you what...Pluto's a planet! Look how round it is, in that picture anyway.

Of course it's a planet. A dwarf planet, like Ceres. Roundness has nothing to do with whether something is a planet though. There are asteroids which are round. Comets in some cases are round, etc.

originally posted by: eriktheawful

originally posted by: MrBergstrom
Woogleuk - still blows my mind! The 40 mins what is that for again?

Many of us are used to how fast our internet connection sends or receives data. New Horizons can not send data in huge amounts all at once, or fast, due to how far away it is and it's bandwidth in transmission.

1 Kbps (1 kilobit per second), is very slow compared to say someone with DSL internet connections that has an upload speed of 350 Kbps or even 2 Mbps (2 Megabits per second).

And there is more, on the fly by there will be a series of pictures taken over the two hours of the fly by. At that time the antenna is turned away from Earth, so there will be no contact with Earth all that time..no transmissions.
Then if they succeed in getting the pictures spot on, all that stuff needs to be transmitted once the craft is turned around again, that will take a considerable time. However getting the pictures is the biggy, although the OP's picture is pretty perfect, there was time to get that back, there won't be any time to check and adjust at the fly by, although the OP's picture is a good sign thus far.

BTW ppl: The Planetary Society is having a nice little Pluto party streamed at 5pm Pacific Time/8pm Eastern Time today the 14th here: livestream.com...


And NASA is streaming stuff all day and through tomorrow here: www.ustream.tv...

Also worth noting, New Horizon's won't be the only NASA mission observing Pluto this year. Kepler (K2), SOFIA and Hubble also will.

originally posted by: JadeStar

originally posted by: smurfy
I'll tell you what...Pluto's a planet! Look how round it is, in that picture anyway.

Of course it's a planet. A dwarf planet, like Ceres. Roundness has nothing to do with whether something is a planet though. There are asteroids which are round. Comets in some cases are round, etc.

Roundness has to do with it in a considerable part, even in the new 2006 definition,

is in orbit around the Sun,

has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium (a nearly round shape), and

has "cleared the neighbourhood" around its orbit.

So no I wasn't being trivial, and in fact from this picture, Pluto is remarkably round, (apart from what looks possibly like a huge crater) given that it is thought to have a very weak gravity field.

originally posted by: smurfy

originally posted by: JadeStar

originally posted by: smurfy
I'll tell you what...Pluto's a planet! Look how round it is, in that picture anyway.

Of course it's a planet. A dwarf planet, like Ceres. Roundness has nothing to do with whether something is a planet though. There are asteroids which are round. Comets in some cases are round, etc.

Roundness has to do with it in a considerable part, even in the new 2006 definition,

is in orbit around the Sun,

has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium (a nearly round shape), and

has "cleared the neighbourhood" around its orbit.

So no I wasn't being trivial, and in fact from this picture, Pluto is remarkably round, (apart from what looks possibly like a huge crater) given that it is thought to have a very weak gravity field.

Ok you're correct. I guess I should have said, "roundness isn't the only thing". It is important to note however, that while hydrostatic equilibrium is important in the 2006 definition, the one thing that is more important (which you pointed out) is having cleared the neighborhood around it's orbit. Pluto is a TNO, (Tran-Neptunian Object) and TNOs by definition haven't cleared their orbits.

There could be other things out there beyond Pluto which are round and have cleared their orbital neighborhood (i'd be willing to bet there's at least one) but until we're sure of that they won't be called planets.

a reply to: JadeStar

Party time!

originally posted by: Chadwickus
a reply to: JadeStar

Party time!

Yes! this week/month is going to be wonderful!

originally posted by: smurfy
I'll tell you what...Pluto's a planet! Look how round it is, in that picture anyway.

.

Yeah, but another issue is Pluto's orbit, which is tilted at a large angle relative to the ecliptic, and even dips inside the orbit of Neptune for a little while.

This should make it to the front page.

No way these breath taking pictures shouldn't be enjoyed by everyone.

Interesting fact........Pluto can come closer to Uranus in the present epoch than it ever can to Neptune, due to its 2:3 orbital resonance with the latter.

I felt like a little kid on Christmas eve as I read the news and waited for some images and information to be beamed back. The planet just looks so darn lovely and I shall be calling it that, a planet!

I found this picture.....