Next Stop: Pluto

[casmith07]

Tomorrow we should have the first high-res, detailed images of Pluto. 9-1/2 years and 3 billion miles later, the New Horizons spacecraft is on approach!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...1e5-bd33-395c05608059_story.html?tid=pm_pop_b

 

[trickblue]

It's been done...

 

[Tabascocat]

Going to be re-classified as a planet?

Or has it happened already and I am behind

 

[YosemiteSam]

This is the official site: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/

 

[MonsterD]

Going to be re-classified as a planet?

Or has it happened already and I am behind

For the people saying that you make it a planet again, what happens with Eris?

 

[YosemiteSam]

For the people saying that you make it a planet again, what happens with Eris?

When they re-defined the term planet, they left tons of information up for interpretation. Which was a completely asinine thing for the scientific community to do.

The classification of a planet should be any celestial body that orbits a star that also isn't a star (ie, like a binary system where two stars orbit each other) that has enough mass for its gravity to compress it into a sphere.

Therefore, Eris and Ceres for that matter would also be a planets.

Mike Brown (the guy who is basically responsible for the demotion) said something to the nature of "we don't need 70 planets" as to why he started the discussion. ***? He doesn't dictate the state of nature. Nature does. If we had 70 planets, then deal with it.

 

[YosemiteSam]

It's been done...

Pluto on Pluto.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Pluto on Pluto.

Thats the best thing I have seen in years. And ive seen some pretty cool things

 

[rynochop]

Looks more like Spongebob to me

 

[Teren_Kanan]

I don't see it.. at all.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I don't see it.. at all.

Teren_Kanan, eyes closed.

 

[Shunpike]

I hope I can see Saturn thru a powerful telescope one day.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I hope I can see Saturn thru a powerful telescope one day.

I moved. I know live about 45 minutes from the Observatory. I'm still on the board of the Astronomical Society, I just don't get to the Observatory as much as I used too.

 

[casmith07]

I hope I can see Saturn thru a powerful telescope one day.

When I was living in South Carolina I was leaving a restaurant downtown (that I am ashamed to say I only went to once...such a good spot).

There were some university guys outside with telescopes. I got some really detailed looks at the moon, and one was focused on Jupiter. You could see Jupiter's moons...it was a bright dot with a little darker dot (the big red spot) and then little tiny light flecks in "orbit" around it. Fascinating stuff.

 

[YosemiteSam]

You know Shunpike, I still have my own Telescopes. I could always set one up on the weekend and you're more than welcome to view through one of those if I can't get to the Observatory for you to look through those. If you want to look through the 25" Obsession scope, it would probably require coming out on a Wednesday which is our public night. The problem is, with the long hours I work and the Observatory being so far away from my work and my house, that I probably wouldn't be around if you came on Wednesday night.

 

[Shunpike]

Sam

No worries dude. Busting your chops that's all. I am planning on visiting an observatory nearby anyways. All is good.

 

[YosemiteSam]

We've got contact!

 

[YosemiteSam]

https://lh3.***BROKEN***/-qwcK_fb3Zd0/VaVry_gupsI/AAAAAAACbZY/dFk1f6lazRk/s346/15%2B-%2B1