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Space NASA Science

A Journey Into the Solar System's Outer Reaches, Seeking New Worlds To Explore (nytimes.com) 88

Posted by msmash from the going-places dept.
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will visit a tiny and mysterious object in the Kuiper belt on Tuesday, seeking clues to the formation of our cosmic neighborhood. From a report: In June 1983, newspaper headlines declared that NASA's Pioneer 10 spacecraft had left the solar system, crossing beyond the orbit of Neptune. It was the common view of the time: All of the solar system's big, interesting things -- the sun and the nine planets -- were behind Pioneer 10. Thirty-five years later, the Kuiper belt -- the region Pioneer 10 was just entering -- and the spaces beyond are perhaps the most fascinating parts of the solar system. In their vast, icy reaches are clues about how the sun and planets, including ours, coalesced out of gas and dust 4.5 billion years ago. Even farther out might be bodies the size of Mars or Earth, or even a larger one some astronomers call Planet Nine, and technological advances could usher in a new age of planetary discovery.

On Tuesday, New Horizons, the NASA spacecraft that snapped spectacular photographs of Pluto in 2015, will provide humanity with a close-up of one of these mysterious, distant and tiny icy worlds. Its target of exploration is believed to be just 12 to 22 miles wide, known as 2014 MU69 -- its designation in the International Astronomical Union's catalog of worlds -- or Ultima Thule, the nickname bestowed upon it by the New Horizons team. This will be the farthest object ever visited by a spacecraft. New Horizons will speed past Ultima Thule at 31,500 miles per hour and pass within 2,200 miles of the surface. What the probe finds could reveal much about the earliest days of the solar system and what else lies in the Kuiper belt.
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A Journey Into the Solar System's Outer Reaches, Seeking New Worlds To Explore More

A Journey Into the Solar System's Outer Reaches, Seeking New Worlds To Explore

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  • Something not mentioned (Score:5, Interesting)

    by quonset ( 4839537 ) on Sunday December 30, 2018 @12:43PM (#57879632)

    Because the con artist shut down the government, or at least part of it, only essential personnel at NASA will be on duty [nasawatch.com] when the flyby happens.

    "During the Shutdown Furlough, you will be in a nonpay, nonduty status. During this time, you will not be permitted to serve NASA as an unpaid volunteer. You must remain away from your worksite, and may not work at home, in another location, or participate in events hosted by non-NASA entities in your official capacity like speeches or speakers bureau engagements, unless and until recalled."

    This also affects another NASA flyby [buzzfeednews.com] the same day:

    The shutdown also means NASA has had to turn to another contractor lab, the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona in Tucson, to document when another space agency probe, OSIRIS-REx, goes into orbit around the asteroid Bennu, another milestone scheduled for New Year's Eve. NASA TV will similarly cover those announcements, according to Bridenstine.

    Someone I know from another site has a niece whose husband works at NASA and is a big supporter of the con artist. He's taking a little bit of pleasure knowing the guy won't be around for the momentous occasion and won't get to see it until afterwards. Nor is he getting paid and won't get a pay raise next year.

    • Re: Something not mentioned (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Nothing for them to do but sit around in politically correct tee shirts anyway.

    • All we need is a border wall, the same as so many other countries. It's not that hard to do. Compared to what we spend on wars, it's a pittance.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by barakn ( 641218 )

        You're confused about the meaning of the word "need."

      • Why doesn't your Pedophile In Chief make Mexico pay for it ? Isn't that what he campained on ?

        I'll tell you why: Because Trump is full of shit, like everyone who ever lived even just one second on planet Earth anytime within the past 50 years already knows, or should know.

  • In 1983 we did know about the Oort Cloud - We just hadn’t directly observed objects out there yet. I don’t recall anyone with any scientific knowledge making this “left the solar system” claim back then.

    Actually, just found a NY Times archive article. The headline made that statement, but the article itself just says Pioneer 10 is past “the known planets”. Even then, headline writers went for the “clickbait”.

    • This. The boundary of the solar system is open to definition, but the generally accepted one is the heliopause -- the boundary at which the sun's effect on space mingles with and is weaker than that of interstellar space.

      • No, it isn't the generally accepted definition. The heliopause is merely the edge of the heliosphere and nothing more. The "sun's effect on space" includes its gravitational influence, which extends well beyond the heliopause.

        • Fair enough. Using gravity to define the solar system would include the Oort Cloud, which is further out than the heliopause.

          Perhaps the "end" of the solar system depends on your field. My background is in space science (plasmas and EM fields) so I suppose my bias is showing.

          Thanks for the improvement.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by meglon ( 1001833 )
      The NY Times article wasn't clickbait, it was simply stating the fact that Pioneer had passed the known planets. Given than in 1983 Pluto was closer to the sun than Neptune was, the statement is correct.

  • Any news on what objects New Horizons can explore after "Thule"? The Hubble telescope spent a good many hours searching out targets explicitly for New Horizons, which is what found Thule. I wonder if any Earth scopes can help in the hunt for new targets.

    • FTFY. Note in particular that it's km/s not m/s. You drive your car around https://audacity.onl/ [audacity.onl] https://findmyiphone.onl/ [findmyiphone.onl] https://origin.onl/ [origin.onl]

    • Re:Next target? (Score:4, Informative)

      by MichaelSmith ( 789609 ) on Sunday December 30, 2018 @04:06PM (#57880852) Homepage Journal

      Found this:

      The flyby of 2014 MU69 is just part of New Horizons’ extended mission that runs through 2021. The spacecraft will perform more distant observations of dozens of other Kuiper Belt objects and also heliophysical studies.

      Stern is optimistic that this extended mission will not be the last for New Horizons. The lack of features in the lightcurve of MU69, he said, means that the spacecraft won’t need to maneuver as much to optimize the flyby trajectory. “It doesn’t matter where in the rotation phase we show up,” he said. “We’re going to see about the same amount of terrain.

      That frees up fuel reserves on the spacecraft, he said, that could be used to target another Kuiper Belt object flyby in a second extended mission that would run out to 2024 or beyond. “We are currently searching for new close flyby targets, and we have some very promising techniques” for doing so, he said. With the fuel reserves not needed for the MU69 flyby, “we have a fighting chance of having a second KBO flyby.”

      There are also opportunities, he said, for additional remote observations of Kuiper Belt and other objects, distant observations of the giant planets, and heliospheric and even astrophysics studies using the spacecraft. “I think New Horizons has a bright future, continuing to do planetary science and other applications,” he said. “There’s fuel and power onboard the spacecraft to operate it for another 20 years. That’s not going to be a concern even for a third or fourth extended mission.” [1]

      https://www.quora.com/Could-Ne... [quora.com]

      The upshot seems to be there is no next target right now but they are looking for one and the vehicle is in good shape.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Tablizer ( 95088 )

        NH actually had 2 choices after Pluto. One was probably slightly bigger, but would had taken more fuel to reach. I'm pretty sure #2 is out of range by now. Let's hope they find another object within reach.

  • Fascinating? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Re: "...the spaces beyond are perhaps the most fascinating parts of the solar system."

    This may be true from the perspective of, 'where we haven't visited yet'. However I'd challenge the notion that the Kuiper Belt or Oort Cloud are intrinsically more interesting than the 9 planets (yes, I said 9 planets). The 9 planets are extremely diverse.

    The outer bodies are likely to have a certain amount of sameness to them, if the theories of solar system formation and dynamics hold up. Of course we won't know for

    • If you think Pluto is interesting, then you think the Kuiper Belt is more interesting -- because it contains thousands of Plutoids. And if you think Pluto is a planet, then out of the thousands of planets in the solar system it's odd that you'd say that a measly 8 of them are more interesting than all the thousands of others. It's almost like you want to identify the interesting 8 in a different way and maybe demote the rest to dwarf planets, but I know you'd never do such a thing.

  • or even a larger one some confused astronomers call Planet nine

    FTFTFS

    Pluto is a planet, has been for a very long time and will remain so, despite an unfortunate mutual bewilderment that afflicted attendees at an IAU meeting.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dissy ( 172727 )

      Pluto is a planet, has been for a very long time and will remain so

      Not long enough.

      Pluto was never predicted to exist. Ever. Pluto was discovered by observation, and was discovered in 1930.

      When it was observed in 1930 it was the 8th furthest planet from the Sun, where Neptune was the 9th furthest away.
      Pluto did not reach the far side of its orbit until 1979 when Neptune became the 8th planet by distance and Pluto became the 9th.

      "Planet Nine" (proper noun) was predicted based on orbital effects before that time, in 1906.
      "Planet Nine" (again, a proper noun) has never been o

  • That is a really great thing

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