Time-Lapse of Pluto and Charon Produced By New Horizons 44
schwit1 writes: Cool images! Using New Horizons' long range camera, scientists have compiled a movie showing Charon and Pluto orbiting each other during the last week of January 2015. "Pluto and Charon were observed for an entire rotation of each body; a "day" on Pluto and Charon is 6.4 Earth days. The first of the images was taken when New Horizons was about 3 billion miles from Earth, but just 126 million miles (203 million kilometers) from Pluto — about 30% farther than Earth's distance from the Sun. The last frame came 6.5 days later, with New Horizons more than 5 million miles (8 million kilometers) closer." The wobble easily visible in Pluto's motion is due to the gravity of Charon, about one-eighth as massive as Pluto and about the size of Texas. Our view of Pluto and Charon is only going to get better as New Horizons zooms towards its July fly-by.
More than 1 AU (Score:2)
Still pretty far away
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Still pretty far away
Yeah. Let's hope when it gets closer, the pictures will look like what we got from Voyager-[12]. That was 35 years ago [nasa.gov]. Man, we were good at the time.
Re:More than 1 AU (Score:5, Insightful)
what we have from NH is what we had in 2012 from Gemini North, Hawai'i. That's not to say "Oh, how disappointing!", what you've got to consider (and from what I'm reading down this page, not many people are) is that the GN observations will NEVER get any better because OPTICAL PHYSICS and the fact that those observations were made when Pluto was about as close as it's going to get for a good while. NH is getting closer by the day - right now it is closer to Pluto than this planet will EVER get. The images are only going to get BETTER as it approaches - providing the cameras don't fail.
July Fly-by (Score:4, Funny)
It makes sense when you're going to thecoldest planet in the solar system, to arrive in summer.
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Well, that is unless you count, say, Eris, but as it happens, this is sort of late summer on Pluto -- the seasons are not so much caused by axial tilt as by Pluto's eccentric orbit. Midsummer fell at perihelion in 1989, midwinter will be in 2114.
Re:July Fly-by (Score:4, Funny)
As opposed to February, which is in summer. (Note both depend on your hemisphere.)
Re: July Fly-by (Score:1)
February depends on the hemisphere?
Ob (Score:1)
That's no moon!
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That's no moon!
That's no planet!
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You and the IAU can take a hike. I'm looking forward to seeing up close photos of the planet Pluto.
And yes, I have mod points, and am posting anyway.
ambassador to the outer solar system (Score:3)
the IAU should grant Pluto a once-in-the-universe exception to the definition of 'planet'
it's perfect for kids...
why?
because Pluto technically isn't a planet even though historically it is known as one of the planets
why isn't it a planet?
see...it's just a big excuse to talk about astronomy
put an asterisk by it in the textbooks
the IAU could bolster its reputation by doing this as well
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the IAU should grant Pluto a once-in-the-universe exception to the definition of 'planet'
Same as we have a term for the Classical Planets as those that could be seen with the naked eye and known though history, I suspect we'll end up with a term such as Modern Planets or Classical Modern Planets that will include Pluto simply because it was a planet for some time.
Need CSI (Score:4, Funny)
They should have gotten CSI on the job, need that zoom+enhance facility.
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They already did: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wi... [wikimedia.org]
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But don't tell her a year takes like 248 years.
Thank you Mr Norris! (Score:2)
One still notes that Charon isn't actually bigger than Texas, though it could be one of Chuck Norris' turds! Now we will find out for sure.
Thank you NASA. Thank you American taxpayer, this is one of the most inspiring things I've seen for a long time.
I wish NASA a long mission!!
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Chuck Norris is a religious nut, can we please stop these jokes about how tough he is. He has no sense of humor and actively sues people using his memes on joke products.
Re:Thank you NASA (Score:2)
Chuck Norris is a religious nut, can we please stop these jokes about how tough he is. He has no sense of humor and actively sues people using his memes on joke products.
Yep, I see what you mean. He's a bit of a jerk.
"That's no moon..." (Score:2)
Pretty cool, but (Score:1)
And what of the Earth? (Score:2)
It's really amazing to see that visible wobble.
It makes me wonder if there are any available time lapses of the Earth-Moon system from a comparable vantage point? And would they show a much smaller but still faintly perceptible wobble in the Earth?
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You'd see a massive wobble! the center of mass of the Earth - Moon system is at 74% of the Earth's radius
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B... [wikipedia.org]
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Thanks for that.
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no, it's pretty much face-on to the approach. Pluto's polar tilt is something like 120 degrees (give or take a couple) to its orbit. Charon's inclination to the Plutonian equator is 0.0 and they're each tidally locked to the other: Pluto presents the same face to Charon and vice versa. The nearside of one will never see the far side of the other. As they're tidally locked and orbit an external barycentre, their common orbits in the Plutonian frame of reference are almost perfectly circular (off by fractions
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You could tie their closest points together with a rope and that rope will never stretch or slacken.
it would be cool to actually do this
imho, it wouldn't "never stretch or slacken"....
relatively speaking, yes
but if you actually did this, you'd need at least...idk...1000 km of slack...just a guess
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Mass Effect 4 (Score:2)
So, what's Mass Effect 4 going to do when the premise that Charon is actually a "mass relay" is no longer usable for suspension of disbelief? =^-^=
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So, what's Mass Effect 4 going to do when the premise that Charon is actually a "mass relay" is no longer usable for suspension of disbelief? =^-^=
Personally, I'm hoping that we find out that Charon is a mass relay...or at least, made out of cheese.
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It'll be fine once you thaw it out. At least that's what my wife says.