New Horizons - History happening now.

[OriginalWheelman]

We are 5 days away from the New Horizons probe reaching Pluto. It is not a planet anymore, but it had an entire class named after it, Plutoids. The definition of a planet used to simply be any spherical body in orbit of a star. However, as we explored our system, we realized there are many such objects in our solar system, including some in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. So clearing it's orbit of debris became a requirement, and bumped Pluto out. Nonetheless, we are almost there.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aky9FFj4ybE[/youtube]

Who else is excited? Preliminary photos have already been amazing.



http://sen.com/news/new-horizons-spies- ... yby-begins

https://www.facebook.com/NASA?fref=nf

[BusyBadger]

Thanks for the reminder! I had forgotten all about this.

I have been keeping my eyes on something a lot farther away for a long time but it's pretty rare to see anything super-exciting given the big empty out there. Still, you never know!

[Dattebayo]

You know it.

Monday night on into Tuesday morning next week I won't get anything done. The approach pictures are gonna be spectacular...

[Rogue One]

[darylzero]

^ the download speed is 1kilobit per second! It's going to take a week to get a high res image!! lol

It will be cool though

[OriginalWheelman]

It's amazing how we can still communicate coherently with something that far away.

Also, NASA loves Uranus

[OriginalWheelman]

http://www.nasa.gov/feature/new-image-o ... ve-geology



Annotated Image



Annotated Image For Conspiracy Theorists

[Rogue One]

Also, NASA loves Uranus

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Thanks for the reminder! I had forgotten all about this.

I have been keeping my eyes on something a lot farther away for a long time but it's pretty rare to see anything super-exciting given the big empty out there. Still, you never know!

Voyager 2 is traveling at over 75,000 mph? DAYUM!

[OriginalWheelman]

Thanks for the reminder! I had forgotten all about this.

I have been keeping my eyes on something a lot farther away for a long time but it's pretty rare to see anything super-exciting given the big empty out there. Still, you never know!

Voyager 2 is traveling at over 75,000 mph? DAYUM!

That's why they have to specify 'land speed record' and 'atmospheric flight speed record' cause space is where the speed is. At that speed, if it was going the right way, it could be to Proxima Centari in 14 years.

[OriginalWheelman]

Side note, that would give them 241 to refit it and get ti back to us.

[Rogue One]

PLUTO: The Last Encounter ....


http://www.enterprisemission.com/plutoflyby.htm

By Richard C. Hoagland
© 2015 The Enterprise Mission

The Last Encounter ... of the last "classical" planet of the solar system ... is now unfolding--

The imminent New Horizons fly-by, after almost a decade of rising anticipation, of the last "pre-space age" solar system discovery ... the planet Pluto.

The historic Pluto Encounter -- culminating with a spectacular Closest Approach, in the pre-dawn hours of July 14th -- also marks a set of poignant milestones for me, personally.

First and foremost:

Precisely fifty years before the Pluto New Horizons fly-by, to the night ... July 14, 1965 ... I was covering my first unmanned NASA mission -- the first fly-by of the fabled planet Mars ... by humankind's first robotic planetary emissary -- Mariner 4.

As part of that unprecedented real-time radio coverage (that I co-produced and co-hosted, with d!ck Bertel, on WTIC Radio, in Hartford, CT.) of that amazing Encounter Evening in 1965, we wove together five hours of LIVE "into-the-night radio," in the still-echoing tradition of Long John Nebel -- mixing together a variety of invited and serendipitous guests, across the evening and around the country, enthusiastically engaging in on-air discussions of "the implications of humanities acquisition of the first close-up images of Mars" ... the possibilities for current life on the Red Planet, if not the scientific and engineering prospects for bringing Earth life there ... and even a (inevitable) inclusion of "the reality of UFOs" ....

All set against the backdrop of our own "1965 Martian Invasion" updates, throughout the night, from Mariner 4 Control--

The WTIC Mars program was titled:

"Night of the Encounter."

Now, exactly fifty years later, we intend to "do it all again" -- this time, centering on the LAST major Planetary Encounter of NASA ....

As we collectively experience -- via the World Wide Web -- the unique New Horizons fly-by of the intensely controversial planet, Pluto--

And explore the Unknown Stories behind ... not only the discovery of Pluto itself, in 1930 ... but the "hidden history and potential hidden mission" of NASA's New Horizons fly-by -- LIVE -- in a 21st Century, global, all-night, on-line, radio and imaging extravaganza--

"Pluto: The LAST Encounter" ....

Carried EXCLUSIVELY on the Dark Matter ("Art Bell's" ...) Digital Network.

July 14, 2015 -- 2AM to 7AM Pacific.

Vintage Radio ... with PICTURES.



This Pluto Encounter Special is an unplanned "preview" of a parallel "radio adventure" I am about to embark upon ... after our coverage of Pluto ... also courtesy of my friend, Art Bell.

My own continuing radio program on this Network -- to be carried five nights a week -- on DMDN, formally beginning Midnight, July 21, 2015 -- right after Art Bell's debut of his own "Midnight in the Desert."

My show--

"The Other SIDE of Midnight."

Join us ... as a PARTICIPANT in unveiling our REAL solar system heritage -- only on DMDN.

[OriginalWheelman]

I think I'm going to make a pot of coffee for this.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

It sounds like everything went to plan, and now we're just waiting for the data to beam back.
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/

There's a bunch of yahoos on NASA's FB page heckling them for the images already. Some of the other (smarter) people's comments are hilarious.
"it takes 4 hours at the speed of light to transmit commands to New Horizons, how long do you think its going to take for the data to get back, just chill, it will arrive when it arrives"
"Data takes time to beam back 3 billion miles through a solar system, it's not snapchat"
"You'll see a new picture tonight. All of the data is going to take 16 MONTHS to get back to Earth."
"There isn't Internet out there, stuff times time to download, and we won't even be in contact with the craft until tonight, it's in science mode."

I can't wait to see some images that aren't artists rendering.

[OriginalWheelman]

What go you mean there isn't free 4g wifi on Pluto?

Onward to the Kuiper belt!

[darylzero]

We're scientists on the NASA New Horizons team, which is at Pluto. Ask us anything about the mission & Pluto!

[Rogue One]

[OriginalWheelman]

https://twitter.com/NASA/status/621146845738172416

"You ain't seen nothing yet! Tomorrow, @NASANewHorizons #PlutoFlyby images will have even greater detail. Stay tuned!"

[Dattebayo]

Man, it's like sitting by the phone waiting for a phone call from your new GF...

[OriginalWheelman]

I can't wait for the day when space station repair and maintenance technician is a blue collar job.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I can't wait for the day when space station repair and maintenance technician is a blue collar job.

No, you can't, because it will most likely be long after you (and I) are dead

I agree though. I love this s***. People think we spend too much on NASA, but I argue we spend WAY more on pointless other s***.

Where is MOD? I know he's all about this stuff!

[MinisterofDOOM]

Where is MOD? I know he's all about this stuff!

I've been following this thread (and all the other awesome New Horizons stuff all over the internet) but haven't had a second to post until now. It's very excited, not least because people I know who never even think about space exploration are excited about it. It's drawing in a lot of really valuable positive attention. Every stupid new Pluto meme picture is another potential space-geek conversion.

I agree though. I love this s***. People think we spend too much on NASA, but I argue we spend WAY more on pointless other s***.

Everytime I see an article about overspending on space (I read one just this week, actually) I find myself wishing I could just nuke the whole planet and let nature start over again with a species deserving of what it has achieved. Nobody can think more than a few years down the road, and that severe lack of scope makes minor issues seem huge while making real issues completely incomprehensible. Whatever social or nationalistic problems you think you're fighting for are nothing compared to space and the future it could secure for the species. Nobody's going to give a s*** about those things in 30,000 years, but we won't last 300 years if we can't learn to look past our own damn noses. (And, by the way, for anyone thinking 30,000 years is a long time, it's only around 10% of Humanity's total age, so it's still an embarrassingly short extension of our lifespan).

I actually watched a cool Ted talk that mathematically broke down just how ultimately futile most of our "meaningful" efforts at improving humanity are because they're short term and have exactly 0 connection to the future survival of the species. What does it matter if we cure X disease or solve X social problem if nobody's left to benefit?! The future is the goal. Space is the future. It is inevitable, unavoidable, and absolutely necessary. It's not a belief or an opinion, it is fact. Earth alone is neither enough nor good enough and I find it apalling that people have a viewpoint that the planet will outlast us instead of the other way around. We have to be looking so far forward we're not even sure if we'll still be around to properly exploit the knowledge being gained, and we can't allow ourselves to become complacent with even that.

We are a species capable of recognizing both where we came from and what we can be, but we waste our time squabbling over temporary nonsense. It's offensive.

Anyone who thinks we are wasting money on space exploration is welcome to take a hike off my planet. If I were Emperor I'd pay for the ride myself. Opinions are welcome but stupidity is not.

[OriginalWheelman]

On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for every planet drops to zero.

[mcheddadi]

Exciting stuff. one day maybe we'll get to mars and start a colony.