Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

New Horizons zooming in...


DRT

Recommended Posts

On 30/08/2018 at 18:53, Ags said:

To be fair, ESA also does amazing missions. Mars Express, Venus Express, Giotto, Hipparchos, Gaia, Trace Gas Orbiter, Huygens...

what all the world's space agencies could do if they join together in long term goals. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's easy to underestimate the philosophical significance of this event.

Whilst the two Voyager probes has reached the heliopause, this is the encounter of human agency with a a dark object that had been orbiting the sun since the dawn of the solar system, at the farthest reaches of our ability as a species to visit an alien world.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, Stu said:

green or nominal,

I always get the feeling that they don't have a formal system for these checks at launch or other milestones. I reckon they make it up on the spot. I'm waiting for someone to say 'F.A.B.' or 'Spectrum is Green'.

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I always get the feeling that they don't have a formal system for these checks at launch or other milestones. I reckon they make it up on the spot. I'm waiting for someone to say 'F.A.B.' or 'Spectrum is Green'.

It did seem a little random when listening to it all, even to the point of having to ask whether anyone had not reported in yet. They should really have a list!

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 29/08/2018 at 08:25, Alan White said:

Interesting release, I find these pixel heavy images hard to read and have an element of doubt over highly processed images 'showing' what the operator is expecting.
Sorry to be a doubter, but I will get more excited once its closer and more obvious.
Impressive that anything has been resolved though, holds promise.

I am now more excited, said I would be back in August.
Once the images are up then I will be enthused even more.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Stu said:

BBC News - New Horizons: Nasa probe survives flyby of Ultima Thule
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46729898

Enlightning information Stu. This incredible journey isn't over yet. Prime objective hopefully accomplished, so let's hope there is some great imagery to come from the encounter.     

               Who knows what may be revealed as NH. Travels on through that  immense void. Is this one also destined for interstellar space like the Voyagers ?.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, barkis said:

Enlightning information Stu. This incredible journey isn't over yet. Prime objective hopefully accomplished, so let's hope there is some great imagery to come from the encounter.     

               Who knows what may be revealed as NH. Travels on through that  immense void. Is this one also destined for interstellar space like the Voyagers ?.

Hi Ron ?,

Happy New Year to you and Patricia ?

The plan is to do another flyby in a few years' time if a suitable kbo can be found.

Alan Stern's book about the Mission is fascinating.  I found knowing more about all the behind-the-scenes challenge made the achievement even more amazing.

Helen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Helen said:

Hi Ron ?,

Happy New Year to you and Patricia ?

The plan is to do another flyby in a few years' time if a suitable kbo can be found.

Alan Stern's book about the Mission is fascinating.  I found knowing more about all the behind-the-scenes challenge made the achievement even more amazing.

Helen

Hello to  you too Helen, and very best Wishes to you and Mike. Did he get to the Galapagos Isles.? I was hoping see some of the pictures he got from the visit at Lucksall last Autumn, but unfortunately I was unable to make that SP.  I did enjoy the Video greeting from you all though, a very nice surprise.  I got one Cataract Op. done, the mext one is scheduled  in March this year. Even one eye repair has made a huge difference. 

The. New Horizons mission is a big success, and we have to give a huge  Well Done to the Scientific and Engineering people who conceived and executed this exciting  journey to the Kuiper Belt. Looking forward to the results now speeding back to those who will make them available to us all.. Much Science fiction is becoming reality for sure ?.

Ron.

 

 

 

Edited by barkis
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, Phil Fargaze said:

As far as I am certain there is a press briefing by some of the NH team regarding latest science results at 7pm UK time today. Hopefully they might have some new images to show. 

I heard an interview on Radio 4 with a chap who was a little embarrassed as he was unable to say anything much at all! Clearly they are keeping it under wraps for a grand reveal.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

35 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

So it's a 'contact binary' ?

My question would be 'if the two individual bits had enough gravity to become round, why hasn't the combined object become round?

 

Utima Thule.jpg

Ultima thule 2.jpg

Looks an oddly familiar shape :icon_scratch:

 

41wpBoQexXL.jpg

  • Like 1
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

My question would be 'if the two individual bits had enough gravity to become round, why hasn't the combined object become round?

Presumably each lump had been sufficiently compressed by it's own gravity to develop enough compressive/shear strength to resist further gravitational deformation prior to the collision.

When the lumps met the extra gravity might have been enough to hold them together but not enough to squash them into a sphere bearing in mind that gravity is a very, very, very weak force.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What an amazing object! We are most likely seeing formation in progress, in time it may coalesce with more fragments until it gets to a large enough mass to pull it into a more spherical shape. Alan Stern did comment that he would be interested to see if there are any smaller chunks of material in orbit about the object as the resolution of images improve. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, lenscap said:

Presumably each lump had been sufficiently compressed by it's own gravity to develop enough compressive/shear strength to resist further gravitational deformation prior to the collision.

When the lumps met the extra gravity might have been enough to hold them together but not enough to squash them into a sphere bearing in mind that gravity is a very, very, very weak force.

Yep, that's the question - why did the small lumps have enough gravity to deform themselves into a rigid enough shape to withstand a greater force?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Yep, that's the question - why did the small lumps have enough gravity to deform themselves into a rigid enough shape to withstand a greater force?

Since the electric forces that hold atoms & molecules apart are many orders of magnitude stronger than gravity, say doubling the gravity is unlikely to make much difference to the shape or density  of the combined lump. Now if one piece was massively bigger than th other, different story.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

So it's a 'contact binary' ?

My question would be 'if the two individual bits had enough gravity to become round, why hasn't the combined object become round?

 

Utima Thule.jpg

Ultima thule 2.jpg

The two lobes are not round. They are just rough potato shapes. The  object needs dozens of times the radius (millions of times the volume) to be spherical due to gravity.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, Ags said:

The two lobes are not round. They are just rough potato shapes. The  object needs dozens of times the radius (millions of times the volume) to be spherical due to gravity.

I think the same question still holds.... why haven't they fused into one rough potato shape ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.