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PLUTO
Jul 20, 2011 10:10:33 GMT -6
Post by swamprat on Jul 20, 2011 10:10:33 GMT -6
Tiny New Moon Found Circling Distant PlutoPublished July 20, 2011 | Space.comNASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI) Illustration of the Pluto Satellite System orbits with newly discovered moon P4 highlighted.A tiny new moon has been discovered around Pluto, the fourth and smallest one yet found orbiting the dwarf planet, photos from the Hubble Space Telescope reveal. The moon, which has been temporarily named P4, was spotted in a Hubble survey searching for rings around Pluto. The tiny satellite is estimated to be between 8 and 21 miles (13 to 34 kilometers) wide. For comparison, Pluto's largest moon Charon is 648 miles (1,043 km) across. The dwarf planet's other moons, Nix and Hydra, range between 20 to 70 miles across (32 to 113 km). Pluto's new moon is located between the orbits of Nix and Hydra, which Hubble also discovered in 2005. Charon was discovered in 1978 at the U.S. Naval Observatory and was first resolved using Hubble in 1990 as a separate body from Pluto. The finding is a result of ongoing work to support NASA's New Horizons mission, which is scheduled to fly through the Pluto system in 2015. The mission is designed to provide new insights about worlds at the edge of our solar system. "This is a fantastic discovery," said New Horizons' principal investigator Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo. "Now that we know there's another moon in the Pluto system, we can plan close-up observations of it during our flyby." P4 was first seen in a photo taken with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 on June 28. It was confirmed in subsequent Hubble pictures taken on July 3 and July 18. The moon was not seen in earlier Hubble images because the exposure times were shorter. Read more: www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/07/20/tiny-new-moon-found-circling-distant-pluto/#ixzz1Sf4nsnBm
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PLUTO
Jul 20, 2011 13:04:07 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2011 13:04:07 GMT -6
Cool!
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PLUTO
Jul 20, 2011 15:35:42 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2011 15:35:42 GMT -6
Poor 'no longer a planet Pluto' I think it's rather sad to be 'dethroned' Instead of being a new moon they'll call it just more junk from the Kuiper belt. In my universe..Pluto is still a planet www.universetoday.com/13573/why-pluto-is-no-longer-a-planet/Over the last few decades, powerful new ground and space-based observatories have completely changed previous understanding of the outer Solar System. Instead of being the only planet in its region, like the rest of the Solar System, Pluto and its moons are now known to be just a large example of a collection of objects called the Kuiper Belt. This region extends from the orbit of Neptune out to 55 astronomical units (55 times the distance of the Earth to the Sun). |
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PLUTO
Jul 20, 2011 20:19:09 GMT -6
Post by skywalker on Jul 20, 2011 20:19:09 GMT -6
Does anybody know if there are any other asteroids out there that have things orbiting around them? I wonder how many small "moons" there are orbiting the Earth? There has got to be stuff out there that is more than 20 miles wide.
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PLUTO
Jul 20, 2011 23:15:26 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2011 23:15:26 GMT -6
You'd sure think so huh?
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PLUTO
Jul 20, 2011 23:19:03 GMT -6
Post by lois on Jul 20, 2011 23:19:03 GMT -6
Jo...... Pluto will always be a planet to me also.. What planet has the most moons in our solar system? I could look it up.. I would like to know because of a dream I had once..
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PLUTO
Jul 20, 2011 23:26:07 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2011 23:26:07 GMT -6
Lois: It's either Jupiter or Saturn. The last i checked the planet that had the most moons was Jupiter... but I have no idea anymore... they keep finding new ones around each of those two "gas giants".
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PLUTO
Jul 21, 2011 0:02:33 GMT -6
Post by lois on Jul 21, 2011 0:02:33 GMT -6
My dream I was on another planet with two beings I did not look at as it was terrified to in the dream.. It was night but sort of light out. I looked up and must of seen .. the way I told it before I believe was nine moons.. lol
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PLUTO
Jul 21, 2011 10:02:58 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2011 10:02:58 GMT -6
I had a 'vision' once when we were experimenting on the other forum. I was standing on a planet and it was really dark. I saw Saturn rising over the horizon like a moon rises..and it was the most amazing thing I've seen in a long time. It was so vivid. It flashed through my mind that I was standing on Titan (Saturn's largest moon). Too bad the effects of those things fade so fast..I'd love instant replays
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PLUTO
Jul 23, 2011 10:36:23 GMT -6
Post by swamprat on Jul 23, 2011 10:36:23 GMT -6
What Should We Name Pluto's New Moon?Published July 23, 2011 Space.com"It's called P4 for the time being," said Trent Perrotto, public affairs officer at NASA headquarters. "It'll get a name, but it's not up to NASA to decide on it." As usual with newly discovered astronomical objects, he explained, P4's name will be subject to a tough selection process overseen by an organization called the International Astronomical Union. In an unofficial Facebook poll of SPACE.com readers, the top choice is "Mickey." Unfortunately for them, though, this won't satisfy the IAU's official naming conventions. According to the IAU guidelines, "Objects crossing or approaching the orbit of Neptune … notably [Pluto and its moons], are given mythological names associated with the underworld." Pluto was the god of the underworld in Roman mythology. Charon, Pluto's largest moon, is named after the ferryman who carried the souls of the newly deceased across the River Styx, which divided the world of the living from that of the dead. Nix, Pluto's second moon, was the Greek goddess of darkness and night, and Charon's mother. Hydra, the third, was a many-headed serpent that guarded a back entrance to the underworld located deep below the surface of a lake. In choosing a name along these hellish lines for P4, the IAU nomenclature committee will try to honor the wishes of its discoverer: planetary astronomer Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute in California. What's his choice? "This is a topic under discussion," Showalter told Life's Little Mysteries. "We have a lot of colorful names to choose from because all the moon names come from, essentially, the minions of Hades [the Greeks' name for Pluto]. One name that seems to come up most is Cerberus, the dog who guards the gates to hell." Three-headed Cerberus is Hydra's sibling. "Cerberus: How could you go wrong with a name like that?" Showalter said. "But, unfortunately, Cerberus is already the name of an asteroid. The IAU balks at the idea of using asteroid names, although it's not necessarily out of the question. Even then, Kerberos, [the spelling that] is closer to the original Greek, would be OK even if Cerberus is not. I don't want to say that's the name we've chosen. There are a lot of interesting names being discussed." Showalter has been perusing the Internet today (July 20), looking for ideas. He and his discovery team will submit their top choices to the IAU soon, and he thinks they'll choose a name within two months. Perhaps Cerberus/Kerberos will soon be guarding the Kuiper Belt. Read more: www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/07/23/what-should-name-plutos-new-moon/#ixzz1SwagR3yE
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PLUTO
Jul 23, 2011 22:31:49 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2011 22:31:49 GMT -6
Well Micky gets the cute vote but I'm thinking it was named for Pluto the god of the underworld he was also known as Hades which was also the name given to the underworld. He abducted Persephone to be his wife..and since Pluto 'abducted' this rock into orbit maybe Persephone would be a good name for it:) I vote for a dignified name for the little rock
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PLUTO
Jul 12, 2012 12:29:44 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Jul 12, 2012 12:29:44 GMT -6
www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2012/07/image-of-the-day-new-5th-moon-of-pluto-discovered-like-nested-russian-dolls-1.htmlJuly 12, 2012 New 5th Moon of Pluto Discovered --"Like Nested Russian Dolls"A team of astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has discovered a fifth moon orbiting the icy dwarf planet Pluto. Pluto’s new-found moon, visible as a speck of light in Hubble images, is estimated to be irregular in shape and between 10 and 25 kilometres across. It is in a 95 000 kilometre-diameter circular orbit around Pluto that is assumed to lie in the same plane as Pluto’s other known moons. “The moons form a series of neatly nested orbits, a bit like Russian dolls,” said Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, USA, leader of the scientific team that discovered the new moon. The Pluto team is intrigued that such a small planet can have such a complex collection of satellites. The new discovery provides additional clues for unraveling how the Pluto system formed and evolved. The favoured theory is that all the moons are relics of a collision between Pluto and another large Kuiper belt object billions of years ago. Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, was discovered in 1978. Hubble observations in 2006 uncovered two additional small moons, Nix and Hydra. In 2011 another moon, known as P4, was found in Hubble data. Provisionally designated S/2012 (134340) 1, or P5, the latest moon was detected in nine separate sets of images taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 on 26, 27 and 29 June, and 7 and 9 July 2012.*New Horizons, a NASA space probe, is currently en route to Pluto, with a high-speed flyby scheduled for 2015. It will return the first ever detailed images of the Pluto system, which is so small and distant that even Hubble can barely see the largest features on its surface. CONTINUE READING: www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2012/07/image-of-the-day-new-5th-moon-of-pluto-discovered-like-nested-russian-dolls-1.html
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PLUTO
Jul 12, 2012 14:33:17 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2012 14:33:17 GMT -6
dang they found my space ship
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PLUTO
Feb 11, 2013 11:37:39 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Feb 11, 2013 11:37:39 GMT -6
www.plutorocks.com/ Help Us Name the Moons of Pluto![/color] Images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2011 and 2012 revealed two previously unknown moons of Pluto. So far, we have been calling them "P4" and "P5", but the time has come to give them permanent names. If it were up to you, what would you choose? By tradition, the names of Pluto's moons come from Greek and Roman mythology, and are related to the ancient tales about Hades and the Underworld. Please pick your favorites on the ballot below. Alternatively, if you have a great idea for a name that we have overlooked, let us know by filling out the write-in form. www.plutorocks.com/write-in If you can make a good case for it, we will add it to the list. See the blog page for the latest info. Ground Rules: www.plutorocks.com/ground-rules Feel free to come back, but please do not vote more than once per day, just so everybody gets a fair chance to make their opinion known. We will take your votes and suggestions into consideration when we propose the names for P4 and P5 to the international astronomical community. Voting ends at noon EST on Monday, February 25th, 2013. Mark Showalter, for the P4/P5 Discovery Team Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, SETI Institute Learn more about the names, and then select your favorites on the ballot below. www.plutorocks.com/
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PLUTO
Feb 26, 2013 11:39:38 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Feb 26, 2013 11:39:38 GMT -6
www.space.com/19943-pluto-moons-name-poll-vulcan.html?cid=dlvr.it 'Vulcan' and 'Cerberus' Win Pluto Moon Naming Poll[/color] by Miriam Kramer, SPACE.com Staff Writer Date: 25 February 2013 The votes are in, and it looks like 'Vulcan' could be the new name for one of Pluto's smallest moons. After weeks of online ballot casting by people around the world, the poll asking the public to name two of Pluto's moons — currently called P4 and P5 — ended today (Feb. 25). As of 12 p.m. (1700 GMT), the polls closed with a total of 450,324 total votes cast since Feb. 11 with 'Vulcan,' a Pluto moon name proposed by Star Trek's William Shatner, is the clear winner. "174,062 votes and Vulcan came out on top of the voting for the naming of Pluto's moons. Thank you to all who voted! MBB," wrote Shatner via Twitter. Cerberus came in a clear second with nearly 100,000 votes. Vulcan was a late addition to the Pluto moon name contenders, and pulled into the lead after Shatner, building on his Capt. James T. Kirk persona, plugged the name on Twitter. Vulcan, the home planet of Kirk's alien-human hybrid first officer Spock, is not just a fictional world in the Star Trek universe. It is also the name of the god of fire in Roman mythology, and officials at SETI added the sci-fi favorite to the ballot for that reason. "Vulcan is the Roman god of lava and smoke, and the nephew of Pluto. (Any connection to the Star Trek TV series is purely coincidental, although we can be sure that Gene Roddenberry read the classics.)," wrote SETI scientist Mark Showalter in a blog officially adding the name to the list on Feb. 12. "Thanks to William Shatner for the suggestion!" These votes don't necessarily mean that P4 and P5 will end up being called Vulcan and Cerberus, however. SETI is going to recommend the winning names to the International Astronomical Union — the organization responsible for naming the moons. The IAU will take the results into consideration, but ultimately they have final say over what the tiny moons are called. CONTINUE READING: www.space.com/19943-pluto-moons-name-poll-vulcan.html?cid=dlvr.it
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PLUTO
Feb 26, 2013 12:12:48 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Feb 26, 2013 12:12:48 GMT -6
TheRealNimoy I hear my Vulcan people have a new home. True ? LLAP
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PLUTO
Jan 6, 2015 21:45:27 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Jan 6, 2015 21:45:27 GMT -6
time.com/3645704/pluto-new-horizons-spacecraft/ Hello Pluto! NASA’s Visit to the Mystery World Begins by Alan Stern Jan. 5, 2015 I want to go to there: Pluto and three of its moons, photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope NASA/Getty Images A remarkable spacecraft approaches the solar system's ninth planet (and yes, it's a planet)It’s not exactly top secret, but it is too little known: this month, a small, robot spacecraft—built, launched and guided by a team of over 2,500 Americans—will begin the exploration of far-away Pluto and its five known moons. Lasting from January through July, this epic journey is very much the Everest of planetary exploration. I’ve had the privilege of leading this NASA project, known as New Horizons, since its inception 14 years ago in 2001. Admittedly, that makes me something of a cheerleader for the mission—but it’s going to be an icon of 21st century human achievement that well deserves cheering. The last time a spacecraft reached a new planet was during NASA’s exploration of Neptune by Voyager 2 back in 1989. When that happened, the Berlin Wall was still standing, Richard Marx and Milli Vanilli were topping the charts, and the Internet was almost unknown. (And by the way, I did just say Pluto is a planet. It turns out that many planetary scientists, including me, think so. Thanks to New Horizons, you can soon judge for yourself.)
CONTINUE READING: time.com/3645704/pluto-new-horizons-spacecraft/
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PLUTO
Jan 11, 2015 13:43:08 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Jan 11, 2015 13:43:08 GMT -6
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/11335524/NASA-probe-to-arrive-at-Pluto-carrying-ashes-of-Clyde-Tombaugh.html
NASA probe to arrive at Pluto carrying ashes of Clyde Tombaugh When Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930 he could never have imagined that the icy world would one day be his final resting place. NASA’s New Horizons probe will arrive at the dwarf-planet carrying the astrophysicist’s ashes An artist's impression of the New Horizons probe approaching Pluto Photo: Nasa/Rex By Sarah Knapton, Science Editor 10 Jan 2015 When Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930 he could never have imagined that the icy world would one day be his final resting place. But this week NASA’s New Horizons probe will arrive at the dwarf-planet carrying the astrophysicist’s ashes. The mission is hoping to answer fundamental questions about the 9th rock from the Sun and will send back the first close-up pictures of our elusive neighbour. It could even help explain the origin of life on Earth. Tombaugh died on January 17 1997, nine years and two days before New Horizon’s launch, but one of his final requests was for his ashes to be sent into space. A small container carrying his remains is affixed to the insider of the upper deck of the probe bearing the inscription: “Interned herein are remains of American Clyde W. Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto and the solar system's 'third zone'” Since Tombaugh discovered Pluto it has been of the most contentious bodies in the solar system with astronomers divided as to whether it is a planet, a dwarf-planet, an escaped moon of Neptune or even a comet. It is fitting that when New Horizon first set off in January 2006, carrying Tombaugh’s ashes, Pluto was still considered a planet. But just a few months later it was downgraded to a dwarf-planet or ‘plutoid’ and is now known unceremoniously as ‘asteroid number 134340’ However scientists say the £460 million mission is ‘incredibly important’. New Horizons will be close enough to begin observing Pluto and its giant moon Charon by January 15 and then begin a slow fly-past in the summer, sampling the solar wind, magnetic field, dust and atmospheric conditions. CONTINUE READING: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/11335524/NASA-probe-to-arrive-at-Pluto-carrying-ashes-of-Clyde-Tombaugh.html
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PLUTO
Feb 20, 2015 15:06:24 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Feb 20, 2015 15:06:24 GMT -6
www.universetoday.com/115016/a-recipe-for-returning-pluto-to-full-planethood/A Recipe for Returning Pluto to Full Planethoodby Tim Reyes February 19, 2015 The eight planets of the Solar System and the dwarf planet Pluto. For many astronomers and planetary scientists Pluto’s status remains an open question. Redefining what is a planet could return Pluto to the fold but also open the door for many more. Insets from upper left, clockwise: Clyde Tombaugh, Mike Brown, Alan Stern, Gerard Kuiper – prominent scientists and discoverers that have led to the present definition of planet.(Credit: NASA, Judy Schmidt, Björn Jónsson) A storm is brewing, a battle of words and a war of the worlds. The Earth is not at risk. It is mostly a civil dispute, but it has the potential to influence the path of careers. In 2014, a Harvard led debate was undertaken on the question: Is Pluto a planet. The impact of the definition of planet and everything else is far reaching – to the ends of the Universe. It could mean a count of trillions of planets in our galaxy alone or it means leaving the planet Pluto out of the count – designation, just a dwarf planet. This is a question of how to classify non-stellar objects. What is a planet, asteroid, comet, planetoid or dwarf planet? Does our Solar System have 8 planets or some other number? Even the count of planets in our Milky Way galaxy is at stake. Not to dwell on the Harvard debate, let it be known that if given their way, the debates outcome would reset the Solar System to nine planets. For over eight years, the solar system has had eight planets. During the period 1807 to 1845, our Solar System had eleven planets. Neptune was discovered in 1846 and astronomers began to discover many more asteroids. They were eliminated from the club. This is very similar to what is now happening to Pluto-like objects – Plutoids. So from 1846 to 1930, there were 8 planets – the ones as defined today. In 1930, a Kansas farm boy, Clyde Tombaugh, hired by Lowell Observatory discovered Pluto and for 76 years there were 9 planets. In the year 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) took up a debate using a “democratic process” to accept a new definition of planet, define a new type – dwarf planet and then set everything else as “Small Bodies.” If your head is spinning with planets, you are not alone. Two NASA missions were launched immediately before and after the IAU announcement took affect. The Dawn mission suddenly was to be launched to an asteroid and a dwarf planet and the New Horizons had rather embarked on a nine year journey to a planet belittled to a dwarf planet – Pluto. Principal Investigator, Dr. Alan Stern was upset. Furthermore, from the discoveries of the Kuiper mission and other discoveries, we now know that there are hundreds of billions of planets in our Milky Way galaxy; possibly trillions. The present definition excludes hundreds of billions of bodies from planethood status. CONTINUE READING: www.universetoday.com/115016/a-recipe-for-returning-pluto-to-full-planethood/
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PLUTO
Apr 15, 2015 12:40:22 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Apr 15, 2015 12:40:22 GMT -6
app.plutosafari.com/poll.html Starry Night EDU @starrynightedu #Pluto needs you! Pluto is back for a #ClassificationRematch! IAU vs The #Planet of Public Opinion! Your vote counts! PLEASE VOTEPLUTO NEEDS YOUR HELPIs Pluto A Planet?The YES Side Pluto is a planet. The International Astronomical Union's planet criteria is too restrictive and Pluto should regain its planet status. read more › app.plutosafari.com/poll-yes.html
The NO Side Pluto is not a planet. Due to its small size, unusual orbital characteristics, and the recent discovery of similarly sized objects beyond Neptune. read more › app.plutosafari.com/poll-no.html
We will submit your votes to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) CLICK TO VOTE: app.plutosafari.com/poll.html
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PLUTO
Apr 16, 2015 12:45:54 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Apr 16, 2015 12:45:54 GMT -6
Starry Night EDU @starrynightedu RT @plutokiller: This Pluto musical almost makes me feel sad for Pluto. But. Nahhhhhh. bit.ly/1Hxn5AC Found and Lost: The Story of Pluto (A comedy musical)
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PLUTO
Apr 29, 2015 11:50:34 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Apr 29, 2015 11:50:34 GMT -6
app.plutosafari.com/poll.html YOUR VOTE COUNTS THE DEBATE
Is Pluto A Planet? The YES SidePluto is a planet. The International Astronomical Union's planet criteria is too restrictive and Pluto should regain its planet status. YES – Pluto Is a PlanetA number of astronomers think that the IAU’s planet criteria are far too restrictive and that Pluto should regain its planet status. They point out, for example, that the IAU definition is very solar-system centric. Over 1,800 bodies equal larger (most are larger) in size to the Earth have already been discovered orbiting other stars. These exoplanets are currently excluded from official planet status by the first IAU criterion because they don’t orbit our Sun. The Trojan asteroids are located in Jupiter’s orbital neighborhood. Critics of the IAU planet definition, however, have pointed out that it is the third criterion that is the most problematic. They state that the condition requiring a planet to have cleared its general neighborhood is not only a property of the planet candidate, but that it is very much a function of the location of the particular body in question. They cite that if the Earth, currently a planet, were to be placed in Pluto’s orbit then the Earth would lose its planetary status since it also does not have enough gravitational attraction to clear the local neighborhood. Earth would instead become a dwarf planet in this new location. Another criticism is that not all existing solar system planets have necessarily cleared their local neighborhood. Jupiter, a planet that has over 300 times the mass of the Earth, possesses two concentrations of asteroids in its orbital neighborhood that are collectively known as the Trojan asteroids. Clearly Jupiter is a planet, the biggest in our solar system, but it has definitely not “cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.” Astronomers critical of the IAU instead suggest that a better definition is that a planet is simply a gravitationally rounded object that orbits around a star. It is not necessary for this orbiting body to have gravitationally swept out the debris in its orbit. By this definition, Pluto is a planet. Alan Stern, the principal investigator for the New Horizons mission, agrees with this simpler definition of a planet, and thinks that Pluto should regain its planet status. The NO SidePluto is not a planet. Due to its small size, unusual orbital characteristics, and the recent discovery of similarly sized objects beyond Neptune. NO – Pluto Is Not a PlanetFive bodies in the solar system are currently accorded dwarf planet status. Earth and the Moon are shown for comparison purposes. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) stated that a planet in our solar system must: orbit the Sun. have sufficient mass that its gravity pulls the body into a spherical shape. have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit. Pluto fits the first two criteria, however, fails the last condition about having cleared the neighborhood around its orbit. Pluto does not have sufficient gravitational attraction to sweep out the debris in its orbit around the Sun. The failure of this third condition resulted in Pluto being stripped of its planet status by the IAU. According to the IAU, a dwarf planet such as Pluto is defined as a celestial body of large mass that does not meet all of the three IAU conditions for planet status. Pluto has a highly elliptical and inclined orbit. Pluto has long been known to have some anomalous orbital characteristics that seemed to set it apart from other planets. Pluto, for example, has an extremely large orbital inclination to the ecliptic of 17.16°. This parameter alone seems to indicate that Pluto is somehow different. The planet with the next highest orbital inclination is Mercury with a value of 7.01°; Earth has an orbital inclination of 0.00°. Pluto’s orbit is also more eccentric than that of any other planet in the solar system. It has an eccentricity of 0.25; this highly elliptical orbit carries it on a path in which Pluto’s distance from the Sun varies between 4.4 and 7.4 × 109 km (2.7–4.6 × 109 miles). Pluto is actually closer to the Sun than Neptune for 20 years of its 248-year orbit as a result of this extreme eccentricity; the last time this occurred was between 1979 and 1999. Mercury has the next highest orbital eccentricity at 0.21; Earth has an orbital eccentricity of 0.02. These unusual orbital characteristics did not generate much controversy as long as Pluto seemed to be in a class by itself. The discovery of several other Pluto-sized objects and the IAU’s new definition of what constitutes a planet have cast a new light on Pluto and its orbital characteristics. Mike Brown, one of the discoverers of Eris, agrees with the IAU’s new planet definition, and does not believe that Pluto is a planet. YOUR VOTE COUNTS---CLICK TO VOTE: app.plutosafari.com/poll.htmlMORE INFO ABOUT PLUTO SAFARI: app.plutosafari.com/articles/guide/info.html
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PLUTO
May 3, 2015 13:25:59 GMT -6
Post by auntym on May 3, 2015 13:25:59 GMT -6
simulationcurriculum.squarespace.com/articles/2015/4/25/how-amateur-astronomers-helped-the-new-horizons-team-unlock-the-secrets-of-pluto-from-their-backyards-and-driveways?utm_content=bufferd72fd&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer How Amateur Astronomers Helped the New Horizons Team Unlock the Secrets of Pluto - From Their Backyards and DrivewaysApril 27, 2015 by Maureen Salmi Sunrise in Cliff's backyard in Waikoloa Village, Hawaii. Tony, Chris, Eliot and Cliff wrapping up. Being an amateur astronomer on the Big Island of Hawaii has a lot of advantages. In addition to clear, dark skies, and incredible seeing, we are surrounded by the world's premier observatories, and the people who use them. In May, 2011, New Horizons team-member Leslie Young of the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI) in Boulder, Colorado, was one of those people. Our astronomy club meetings are held at the W. M. Keck Observatory headquarters, and Leslie stopped in to tell us about the progress of the New Horizons Mission, and to let us know how we could help with an upcoming occultation event involving Pluto, and its moons Charon and Hydra. In June, 2011, a bright star was going to be occulted by Pluto and its moon, Charon. The same star would blink out twice as Charon, and then Pluto, passed between the Earth and the star. Several days later a second occultation event would take place involving the occultation of two stars, one by Pluto and one by its moon, Hydra. Information gathered from recording these events with accurate time-markings would help to better understand Pluto and its moons, before the passage of New Horizons near Pluto in July, 2015. They hoped to gather data about the accurate size, temperature and atmosphere of Pluto and information about its satellites. They might even get new information about the orbits of the moons. [Readers may be interested in reading Emily Lakdawalla's blog, science writer and Senior Editor at The Planetary Society, for further information on what occultations can tell us about an object]. Local amateur astronomers spent long, rewarding nights from June 23 to June 29 involved in this study. Some of those nights were spent practicing and rehearsing for the actual events. Chris Erickson, whose LX200GPS-16 was used for all of the events, suggested that all involved need to be familiar with "the use of the special cameras, computers, filters, adapters, cables, GPS timers, coolers and software.” Those who weren't operating telescopes came to provide support as needed, and to learn techniques for future occultation events. Telescopes with apertures of at least 11 inches were used, including Cliff Livermore's 24" Starmaster with a Zambuto mirror - one of the largest amateur telescopes on the island; New Horizon team members supplied the cameras (”Dorothea” and "Henri"). Eliot Young from SWRI and Larry Wasserman from Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, worked with the amateurs in backyards and driveways. Everyone was provided with the necessary information and finder-charts. Finding Pluto in the star-rich field of Sagittarius was the first challenge. Clouds came and went throughout the night, and equipment proved frustrating at times. At one point a timer stopped working and Chris, an electrical engineer, ran into his garage and soldered some wires and returned with a perfectly functioning timer. CONTINUE READING: simulationcurriculum.squarespace.com/articles/2015/4/25/how-amateur-astronomers-helped-the-new-horizons-team-unlock-the-secrets-of-pluto-from-their-backyards-and-driveways?utm_content=bufferd72fd&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
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PLUTO
May 20, 2015 13:24:06 GMT -6
Post by auntym on May 20, 2015 13:24:06 GMT -6
www.space.com/29439-pluto-spacecraft-message-to-aliens.html?adbid=600737756386496512&adbpl=tw&adbpr=15431856&cmpid=514648_20150519_46055916&short_code=30scj NASA Pluto Probe May Carry Crowdsourced Message to Aliensby Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer May 19, 2015 Artist's illustration of NASA's New Horizons in the Pluto system. The probe is scheduled to fly by Pluto on July 14, 2015. Credit: NASA/JHU APL/SwRI/Steve Gribben A NASA Pluto probe may end up with one final mission after its work exploring the outer solar system is done — carrying a message to advanced alien civilizations. NASA is considering allowing a team of researchers, teachers, artists and engineers to upload an interstellar message to the agency's New Horizons spacecraft, which will perform the first-ever flyby of Pluto on July 14. This project, known as the One Earth Message, is being led by Jon Lomberg, who was design director for the "golden records" that were placed aboard NASA's twin Voyager spacecraft before their 1977 launch to teach any aliens that might encounter the probes about humanity and its home planet. [5 Facts About NASA's Voyager Spacecraft] The goals of the One Earth Message are similar, but the new project would be a more global and collaborative effort, asking people around the world to contribute images, sounds and ideas for this farflung "message in a bottle." "This is really a chance to try to think about ourselves from the long perspective," Lomberg told Space.com. "We'll never know if this extraterrestrial audience that we're designing it for will receive it. But we do know that the people of Earth who participate, who play a role in it — it can literally change their lives." CONTINUE READING; www.space.com/29439-pluto-spacecraft-message-to-aliens.html?adbid=600737756386496512&adbpl=tw&adbpr=15431856&
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PLUTO
May 31, 2015 19:40:23 GMT -6
Post by auntym on May 31, 2015 19:40:23 GMT -6
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PLUTO
Jun 5, 2015 12:10:41 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Jun 5, 2015 12:10:41 GMT -6
PLUTO'S MOON Numerical Simulation of Nix's RotationNASA.gov Video Published on Jun 3, 2015 This is a numerical simulation of the orientation of Nix as seen from the center of the Pluto system. It has been sped up so that one orbit of Nix around Pluto takes 2 seconds instead of 25 days. Large wobbles are visible, and occasionally the pole flips over. This tumbling behavior meets the formal definition of chaos; the orientation of Nix is fundamentally unpredictable. Credit: STScI and Mark Showalter, SETI Institute NASA/STScI/Showalter MORE INFO: arstechnica.com/science/2015/06/chaotic-orbital-interactions-keep-flipping-plutos-moons/
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Post by patsbox7 on Jun 5, 2015 17:08:55 GMT -6
They should rename Nix, Eris, which is the Greek goddess of chaos.
For the fourth and fifth which haven't been named I would vote Daedalus and Icarus. In Greek mythology Daedalus created wings for his son Icarus.
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PLUTO
Jun 6, 2015 14:53:47 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Jun 6, 2015 14:53:47 GMT -6
www.space.com/29575-pluto-myths-nasa-new-horizons-mission.html 7 Wild Myths About Plutoby Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer / www.space.com/contact_author.php?a=VFdsclpTQlhZV3hzS20xM1lXeHNLakU9 June 05, 2015 Artist's concept of the surface of Pluto. Credit: ESO/L. Calcada Faraway Pluto is difficult to study from Earth, so the dwarf planet has remained largely mysterious to scientists and laypeople alike since its discovery in 1930. But Pluto is about to get its first close-up. On July 14, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will zoom just 7,800 miles (12,500 kilometers) from the dwarf planet, capturing supersharp images of its frigid surface. With this highly anticipated unveiling less than six weeks away, now is an opportune time to revisit some of the most common myths and misconceptions about Pluto. Here's a brief rundown. [NASA's New Horizons Pluto Mission in Pictures] Myth 1: Pluto was named for the Disney character.A close look at the chronology dashes this myth. The famous Disney dog debuted in 1930, but he was initially named Rover; a cartoon featuring "Pluto the Pup" didn't air until 1931, a year after the celestial object was discovered and named. "People were repeatedly saying, 'Ah, she named it after Pluto the dog.' It has now been satisfactorily proven that the dog was named after the planet, rather than the other way round. So, one is vindicated," Venetia Phair (née Burney), who suggested the moniker "Pluto" for the newfound ninth planet as a schoolgirl in 1930, told the BBC in 2006. (New Horizons launched in January of that year.) Myth 2: Pluto is tiny.Some people think Pluto is small, like a run-of-the-mill asteroid. But the dwarf planet is a robust 1,466 miles (2,360 km) in diameter — about two-thirds as wide as Earth's moon, and three-quarters as wide as Jupiter's ocean-harboring moon Europa. In fact, Pluto's largest moon, Charon, is itself 750 miles (1,207 km) across. (The dwarf planet's four other known satellites are tiny.) Further, Pluto is considerably bigger than pretty much every other object in the Kuiper Belt, the ring of icy bodies beyond Neptune's orbit. The vast majority of Kuiper Belt objects are the size of comets, just a few kilometers across. Several dozen are at least a few hundred kilometers wide, but only two — Pluto and the dwarf planet Eris — are more than 1,240 miles (2,000 km) across. (Eris and Pluto are about the same size.) Myth 3: It's dark there all the time.Pluto orbits more than 3 billion miles (4.8 billion km) from the sun on average, so many people imagine that it's pitch-dark on the dwarf planet's surface 24 hours a day. But that's not the case, said New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern, of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. "The lighting on Pluto at noon isn't as low as people think; it's like a very grey cloudy day on Earth, or like dusk levels after sunset," Stern told Space.com via email. [Photos of Pluto and Its Moons]
CONTINUE READING: www.space.com/29575-pluto-myths-nasa-new-horizons-mission.html
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PLUTO
Jun 9, 2015 11:26:15 GMT -6
Post by auntym on Jun 9, 2015 11:26:15 GMT -6
www.space.com/29571-why-pluto-is-a-planet-and-eris-is-too.html?cmpid=514648&utm_content=buffer85ff6&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer Why Pluto Is a Planet, and Eris Is Too (Op-Ed)Tim DeBenedictis, Simulation Curriculum June 04, 2015 Tim DeBenedictis is the lead developer of the SkySafari line of iOS and Android apps at Simulation Curriculum, the makers of Starry Night, SkySafari and the free Pluto Safari app. DeBenedictis has been writing astronomy software since high school, and graduated from MIT in 1993 with a degree in earth, atmospheric and planetary science. Passionate about space, DeBenedictis is self-taught in mechanical and electrical engineering, and has launched his own private microsatellite into space. He contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. www.space.com/topics/expert-voices/The International Astronomical Union (IAU) got it wrong. Our solar system has 10 planets. As NASA's New Horizons spacecraft glides its way to the cold outer reaches of our solar system to take the first-ever up-close look at Pluto, the time is right to revise the International Astronomical Union (IAU)'s 2006 definition of a planet, which resulted in Pluto's "demotion" from planet to ambiguous dwarf-planet status. Pluto's placeFor those unfamiliar with the issues that led to that highly controversial decision, here's a quick recap: It started with Pluto itself, discovered on Feb. 18, 1930, by Clyde Tombaugh, a young American astronomer working at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Pluto turned out to be rather unlike the other eight large objects orbiting the sun. Pluto is much smaller than Mercury, and only two-thirds the size of Earth's moon. Its orbit is tilted and eccentric, crossing Neptune's. No other planet acted like this. In 2000, astronomers found other objects orbiting the sun in the deep outer solar system, with qualities very much like Pluto's. They were given names like Sedna , Quaoar, Ixion, Varuna, Makemake and Haumea . Many were close (but not quite equal) to Pluto in size. All of them had tilted, eccentric orbits; quite a few of those orbits crossed Neptune's. The tipping point came in 2005. California Institute of Technology astronomer Mike Brown, along with Chad Trujillo of Gemini Observatory and David Rabinowitz of Yale University, discovered a new massive body in the solar system. This new body, which astronomers latter dubbed Eris, was particularly noteworthy: Not only did it possess a moon, but at the time, it was estimated to be larger than Pluto. Subsequent observations revealed that Eris and Pluto are nearly identical in size, though Pluto is likely a few kilometers larger. Initially, Brown had named the newly discovered body Xena (after the protagonist of the eponymous TV show, with a sneaky Planet X reference). Although the name Xena didn't stick, the IAU later officially — and aptly — christened it Eris after the Greek goddess of chaos and discord. So, it seemed quite clear that if Pluto was our solar system's ninth planet, then Eris should be its 10th. And if Eris and Pluto were planets, why shouldn't Makemake and Haumea be considered planets as well? And what if there were even bigger objects out there to be discovered? Why shouldn't the solar system have 15 planets, or 40? (Can you imagine the mnemonic device that would be required to remember 40 planets in the solar system?!) For all who were in support of granting planet status to these objects, an equally adamant camp insisted that none of these objects, including Pluto, deserved to be called planets, and that our solar system contained only eight objects worthy of planet status. Neptune would be the last and final. CONTINUE READING: www.space.com/29571-why-pluto-is-a-planet-and-eris-is-too.html?cmpid=514648&utm_content=buffer85ff6&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
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PLUTO
Jun 9, 2015 15:55:45 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2015 15:55:45 GMT -6
It may be time to re-evaluate Bodes law. I'm sure Asimov would agree. To add : It wouldn't surprise me a bit if a few more moons are discovered orbiting Pluto also, along with a few trojans locked in at lagrange points.
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