Scientists Exhilarated by Spacecraft's Best Peek at Pluto
After logging 3 billion miles and a journey of 9-and-1/2 years, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will get the closest view of the tiniest planet, downgraded from planetary status in 2006, of our solar system on July 14, 2015. The spacecraft will pass by Pluto, discovered in 1930 and which has a diameter of 1,473 miles, plus or minus 12 miles, at a close range of 7,767 miles at a speed of 31,000 mph. Principal scientist Alan Stern, a planetary scientist at Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, opened a news conference at mission headquarters in Maryland on July 13, 2015, saying that the "Pluto system", the dwarf planet and its moons, including now famous Charon, was "enchanting in its strangeness".
Pluto's Closest Look Excites Scientists
Nearly 13 hours after actual fly-by of Pluto took place, scientists on July 14, 2015 confirmed the receipt of signal from the New Horizons spacecraft. NASA said that the New Horizons flew within 7,700 miles of Pluto at a speed of 31,000 mph.
Pluto's Geological Activities not Yet Over, Scientists Say
Pluto's mission operation headquarters in Laurel, Maryland on July 15, 2015 made public some of the breathtaking pictures of the 4.5 billion-year-old dwarf icy planet that showed a icy mountain range of 11,000 feet high and tens of miles in breadth. The mountains were estimated to be formed only 100 million years ago, and lack of existence of deep impact craters in the mountains illustrated one more important characteristic: the icy planet might not be a dead one, there might be geological activities still continuing. Also enchanting was a zoomed-in view of Pluto's moon Charon showing craters six times as deep as Grand Canyon.
After logging 3 billion miles and a journey of 9-and-1/2 years, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will get the closest view of the tiniest planet, downgraded from planetary status in 2006, of our solar system on July 14, 2015. The spacecraft will pass by Pluto, discovered in 1930 and which has a diameter of 1,473 miles, plus or minus 12 miles, at a close range of 7,767 miles at a speed of 31,000 mph. Principal scientist Alan Stern, a planetary scientist at Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, opened a news conference at mission headquarters in Maryland on July 13, 2015, saying that the "Pluto system", the dwarf planet and its moons, including now famous Charon, was "enchanting in its strangeness".
Pluto's Closest Look Excites Scientists
Nearly 13 hours after actual fly-by of Pluto took place, scientists on July 14, 2015 confirmed the receipt of signal from the New Horizons spacecraft. NASA said that the New Horizons flew within 7,700 miles of Pluto at a speed of 31,000 mph.
Pluto's Geological Activities not Yet Over, Scientists Say
Pluto's mission operation headquarters in Laurel, Maryland on July 15, 2015 made public some of the breathtaking pictures of the 4.5 billion-year-old dwarf icy planet that showed a icy mountain range of 11,000 feet high and tens of miles in breadth. The mountains were estimated to be formed only 100 million years ago, and lack of existence of deep impact craters in the mountains illustrated one more important characteristic: the icy planet might not be a dead one, there might be geological activities still continuing. Also enchanting was a zoomed-in view of Pluto's moon Charon showing craters six times as deep as Grand Canyon.
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