NASA's spacecraft, New Horizons, which has travelled 5 billion kms in 9 years, is all set to show us Pluto for the first time. The closest distance the craft will get to Pluto is 12,500 kms at 1719h (or 5.19 PM which is incidentally, my roll number at school and hence the thrill, at the strange co-incidence!) tomorrow, 14 Jul.
A few more vital statistics of the New Horizons:-
(a) 19 Jan 2006 Launched on board an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral.
(b) Highest speed reached 58,536 km/hr
(c) Weight 478 kg
(d) Why the interest in Pluto?
(i) In 2006, Pluto was denoted to a minor/dwarf planet because it lacks a clear orbital path
free of other objects, in fact, it crosses Neptune's orbit at times!
(ii) Is one of the largest objects in the Kuiper Belt, a vast area of the outer solar system
where icy objects circle the sun.
(iii) There's no form of life on it as it's cold and dark with temperatures at -223 degrees Celsius.
A lot of the surface is reddish brown as it's covered in complex chemical compounds
called 'Tholins'.
(iv) It's important for understanding our solar system and the information collected will offer
a few more pieces in the puzzle as to how mankind ended up living on the Earth!
(e) Time needed for two-way communication between New Horizons and Earth is 9 hrs.
(f) After flying past Pluto, the New Horizons will go to the Kuiper Belt.
(g) Pluto, incidentally, has 5 moons.
(h) And the planet takes 248 years to go round the Sun once.
The trajectory of the New Horizons, after lift off, with respect to the occasions it crossed the orbits of the planets enroute:-
(a) Mars 07 Mar '06.
(b) Jupiter 28 Feb '07.
(c) Saturn 08 Jun '08.
(d) Uranus 18 Jul '11.
(e) Neptune 25 Aug '14.
Tailpiece.
What a long and lonely journey, huh?
A few more vital statistics of the New Horizons:-
(a) 19 Jan 2006 Launched on board an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral.
(b) Highest speed reached 58,536 km/hr
(c) Weight 478 kg
(d) Why the interest in Pluto?
(i) In 2006, Pluto was denoted to a minor/dwarf planet because it lacks a clear orbital path
free of other objects, in fact, it crosses Neptune's orbit at times!
(ii) Is one of the largest objects in the Kuiper Belt, a vast area of the outer solar system
where icy objects circle the sun.
(iii) There's no form of life on it as it's cold and dark with temperatures at -223 degrees Celsius.
A lot of the surface is reddish brown as it's covered in complex chemical compounds
called 'Tholins'.
(iv) It's important for understanding our solar system and the information collected will offer
a few more pieces in the puzzle as to how mankind ended up living on the Earth!
(e) Time needed for two-way communication between New Horizons and Earth is 9 hrs.
(f) After flying past Pluto, the New Horizons will go to the Kuiper Belt.
(g) Pluto, incidentally, has 5 moons.
(h) And the planet takes 248 years to go round the Sun once.
The trajectory of the New Horizons, after lift off, with respect to the occasions it crossed the orbits of the planets enroute:-
(a) Mars 07 Mar '06.
(b) Jupiter 28 Feb '07.
(c) Saturn 08 Jun '08.
(d) Uranus 18 Jul '11.
(e) Neptune 25 Aug '14.
Tailpiece.
What a long and lonely journey, huh?
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