7/16/15 9:55 AM

But still incredibly cool another engineering / scientific triumph:


http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/passing-pluto-new-horizons-flyby?mbid=nl_071615_Daily&CNDID=36338302&mbid=nl_071615_Daily&CNDID=36338302&spMailingID=7909713&spUserID=MTAyNDExMDU3NzY5S0&spJobID=722068206&spReportId=NzIyMDY4MjA2S0

7/16/15 1:53 PM

I am amazed by what we did not find/ Craters! There aren't any. The weather and geology of the tiny DP must be way more profound than we expected and it has to have some heat from the interior to drive it. It's orbit is so far out that even the elliptical shape of the path can't account for the heating and cooling effects needed to erase all the craters. It also gives us some idea how empty the solar system really is that far from the Sun.

I am glad we finally have some idea what Pluto is all about, it has been an astronomy enigma for a long time. I hope they start releasing technical data and papers soon. I want to learn more.

Science is so friggen COOL!!!

7/16/15 2:30 PM

quote:

---

I hope they start releasing technical data and papers soon. I want to learn more.

---

7/16/15 4:49 PM

So doers it get a reprieve? Is it a planet again. :)

7/16/15 6:56 PM

Nope for good reasons.

Orbit crosses the orbit of Neptune

Not on the equatorial plain with the other planets

Not formed as part of the original planets (note dense rocky planets are closer to the Sun, Gas Giants farther out) Pluto does not fit as a planet formed with the others.

It is technically part of binary dwarf planet system because Charon is really to massive to be a true moon and the center of their orbits is outside the objects (they wobble together instead of having a true moon orbit)

IF it came closer to the Sun it would be a BIG comet.

I did not stay in a Holiday Inn last night.
Instead...
I paid attention in two years of Planetary and Stellar Astronomy, it finally came in useful. :)

7/16/15 7:07 PM

Note Smiley... ;)

7/17/15 4:18 AM

Note: I could not resist sharing my knowledge.

Of course I saw the smiley but it opened the door for me to ramble about it. No one around me gives a shit about cool stuff like this but me. Ughhh living the bible belt....

7/17/15 9:19 AM

"No one around me gives a shit about cool stuff like this but me."

I have the Crab Nevula as my log on screen. And Stellarium on all my PCs. ;)

Last edited by Sparky on 7/17/15 9:18 PM; edited 1 time in total

7/17/15 8:40 PM

I use various apps, Goskywatch is great.

And I have daughter with a farm out in the country more than I am. That gets me great viewing when the weather is nice.

7/17/15 8:49 PM

quote:

---

No one around me gives a shit about cool stuff like this but me. Ughhh living the bible belt....

---

7/18/15 6:10 AM

I'm tired of chasing meteor showers and coming up dry. Re-orbit Pluto!

7/18/15 8:31 AM

At the beginning of August we'll be visiting Cherry Springs State Park in NW PA, an official dark sky park, as part of our tour of Route 6. Unfortunately it will be almost full moon, but I hope even my aging eyes will be able to see more than the usual suspects - Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Sirius - that seem to be the limit in suburban Philly.

7/18/15 9:37 PM

Full moon is July 31, so skies will be better each night. The Perseid meteor shower peaks around August 11, but they're spread over several weeks, so watch for "shooting stars."

7/19/15 6:29 AM

I may go out to my daughter's place later in the month. The weather here is always suspect in the summer. The hot summer days make the seeing iffy and that is only made worse by the afternoon T-storms.

I like the fall for the things we can spot in the northern hemisphere and cooler weather.

7/19/15 8:36 AM

Re: usual suspects

I'm always awed by the Milky Way. A couple of months ago, I was at the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Moonless night. Around 3am starting a hike.

The naked eye view of the Milky Way as that band of light and dark stretching across the sky above me is always a memory I want to treasure

7/19/15 8:40 AM

Sandiway, did't you have a pretty nice set up in the yard? Vixen or the likes.

I have an 8 inch dob but would love to have a astrophotography set up in a small observatory. My pop has a friend with one and he takes fantastic pics right here in SC but he has to really process them to get them worthy of display.

I can easily see the MW at my daughter's place. I get lost looking up when I am out there. Good thing I have some pretty good apps and can spot the planets to get me aligned.

7/19/15 10:34 AM

We are in Rockaway Beach on the Oregon Shore since Friday. Last night in particular, the sky was very clear. And no real ground light source of even a small city ambient light wise. It is like every star, 1000 times more than normally are there to take in.

Both here and in TN where we decided on living both 20 miles or more outside the city.
hey sky views are always good. And I just go out and see the same thing over and over and always enjoy it like a deep breath of fresh air every time.

These past few night, watching the sunset over the ocean is memorizing as well.

Will post a pic or two when I get back home to 23mbps, 1.2 here and uploading to host a pic a non starter... ;)

7/19/15 11:43 AM

Tucson is not dark enough to see the Milky Way properly with the naked eye. Perhaps I'm spoiled for a city since I can see lots of constellations usually.

The North Rim is something else. It's pretty dark there. And the elevation is up there. And the sky is so full of stars, it's just a real treat.

I have an Astrophysics refractor. I have to get it out again. Haven't used it for a few years. I want to have a camera mounted on the back that can send live images to my HDTV. It has to be pretty sensitive. I'd like something full-frame. I'm not into all that processing that makes it look nothing like what you can see with a telescope.

7/19/15 4:11 PM

Posted Sunset pic in new thread, so as not to cram big pic in this thread...