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New Horizons, Only 100 days from Pluto.

Laurie61

By Laurie61
in The Astro Lounge

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Piero

Piero

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Okay.. the last two high-resolution mosaic images I found of Pluto are breathtaking, to me !  :rolleyes:  :rolleyes:  :rolleyes:  :rolleyes:

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

Source 1: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Multimedia/Science-Photos/image.php?page=1&gallery_id=2&image_id=275

Source 2: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Multimedia/Science-Photos/image.php?page=1&gallery_id=2&image_id=276

Spherical-Mosaic-9-10-15.jpg

Surface-Features-9-10-15.jpg

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Northern Soul man

Northern Soul man

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Okay.. the last two high-resolution mosaic images I found of Pluto are breathtaking, to me !  :rolleyes:  :rolleyes:  :rolleyes:  :rolleyes:

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

Source 1: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Multimedia/Science-Photos/image.php?page=1&gallery_id=2&image_id=275

Source 2: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Multimedia/Science-Photos/image.php?page=1&gallery_id=2&image_id=276

Spherical-Mosaic-9-10-15.jpg

Surface-Features-9-10-15.jpg

Piero, Thanks very much for posting these wonderful images - just astounding - Thanks.

I would love to know, from the powers that actually "downgraded" Pluto to dwarf status what they would make of these images - I think when the decision was made, the views we had then of Pluto were from Hubble - just a featureless disk with bright and dark areas - as far as I can remember anyway.  I think the decision was made on the "mechanics" and orbital elements/size - just think what they would be thinking now - I know that seeing these images aren't going to change anything - but the topography/geology of  this "dwarf" entity - let alone the geological processes that are going on here, are just astounding - just not sure that you can now mention Pluto and Dwarf in the same sentence.

Thanks very much Piero for bringing these wonderful images to our attention.

Paul.

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Piero

Piero

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Piero, Thanks very much for posting these wonderful images - just astounding - Thanks.

I would love to know, from the powers that actually "downgraded" Pluto to dwarf status what they would make of these images - I think when the decision was made, the views we had then of Pluto were from Hubble - just a featureless disk with bright and dark areas - as far as I can remember anyway.  I think the decision was made on the "mechanics" and orbital elements/size - just think what they would be thinking now - I know that seeing these images aren't going to change anything - but the topography/geology of  this "dwarf" entity - let alone the geological processes that are going on here, are just astounding - just not sure that you can now mention Pluto and Dwarf in the same sentence.

Thanks very much Piero for bringing these wonderful images to our attention.

Paul.

As gorgeous as these images are the decision to down grade Pluto had nothing to do with appearance thus these amazing landscapes i doubt have had any impact on those that made the decision.

Thanks Paul for your nice comment :)  I simply copied a link though, the BIG thank is to the people who for days and nights have been working on these research projects and showing us these results! 

I have been fascinated by Pluto, as many others in this thread, since I was a child. Possibly it was due to the mystery of this tiny iced land so distant from us that we could not even imagine how it was despite of the progress of our technology.. who knows..  :rolleyes:

The images that New Horizons has been delivering to us are just amazing, from the first 'bigger dot' to these recent high-resolution shots.  :rolleyes:

Said this, I agree with Symesie04.. one thing is beauty/art, another is science. Science requires clear definitions and rigour. Although I believe there is something of artistic in science too, it is important not to mix the two things arbitrarily. 

This does not mean that Pluto is ugly just because declassed to a TNO or dwarf planet. I still find it gorgeous and I believe many others think the same.  :rolleyes:

Piero

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Laurie61

Laurie61

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Just 15 minutes after its closest approach to Pluto on July 14, 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft looked back toward the sun and captured this near-sunset view of the rugged, icy mountains and flat ice plains extending to Pluto’s horizon.

post-30467-0-44163900-1442522740_thumb.p

The smooth expanse of the informally named Sputnik Planum (right) is flanked to the west (left) by rugged mountains up to 11,000 feet (3,500 meters) high, including the informally named Norgay Montes in the foreground and Hillary Montes on the skyline. The backlighting highlights more than a dozen layers of haze in Pluto's tenuous but distended atmosphere. The image was taken from a distance of 11,000 miles (18,000 kilometers) to Pluto; the scene is 230 miles (380 kilometers) across. 

Zoom.

post-30467-0-22131900-1442522894_thumb.p

In this small section of the larger crescent image of Pluto, taken by NASA's New Horizons just 15 minutes after the spacecraft's closest approach on July 14, 2015, the setting sun illuminates a fog or near-surface haze, which is cut by the parallel shadows of many local hills and small mountains. The image was taken from a distance of 11,000 miles (18,000 kilometers), and the width of the image is 115 miles (185 kilometers). 

post-30467-0-78149300-1442523083_thumb.p

http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/News-Article.php?page=20150917

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DRT

DRT

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Wow. Just wow!

I'm 50 years old and have been interested in this stuff for four decades. I never imagined we would see such a close-up image of something so far away.

As I have said previously, this is what humanity should be spending its money on.

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DRT

DRT

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I find the second image, which can be found here to be absolutely awe-inspiring. (I think the re-post has softened the image slightly).

Ian

Thanks for the link, Ian. I followed the link and then clicked on the picture and it downloads an even higher resolution version of the image that is quite stunning.

Wouldn't it have been wonderful if New Horizons had been able to leave a lander behind so that we could explore those mountains!

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symesie04

symesie04

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These images really are incredible. But you know as gorgeous as the vast plains and 11,000ft mountains are to look i think the most striking detail is the atmosphere. Who would of thought a tiny frozen world at the edge of the solar system would hold onto a atmosphere? Staggering.

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Stub Mandrel

Stub Mandrel

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One day they will be able to put quadcopters or even gas/hot air balloons with isotopic recharging stations on some of these moons with less tenuous atmospheres. Perhaps small 'airships' would be the most practical.

Imagine the video from one floating past the volcanoes of Io or between Pluto's peaks.

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Piero

Piero

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Here is another nice video uploaded just yesterday! :)

Video: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/common/content/videos/dataMovies/FLYOVER_SPUTNIK_PLANUM_ETC_20150916.mp4

"This animation, made with images from New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), begins with a low-altitude look at the informally named Norgay Montes, flies northward over the boundary between informally named Sputnik Planum and Cthulhu Regio, turns, and drifts slowly east. During the animation, the altitude of the observer rises until it is about 10 times higher to show about 80% of the hemisphere New Horizons flew closest to on July 14, 2015."

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Stuart Robbins

Source: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Multimedia/Science-Photos/image.php?page=1&gallery_id=2&image_id=309

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