Author Topic: Deep Space and Interplanetary Exploration - The Universe is Timeless (Read 179731 times)

kato · « **Reply #240 on:** 29 July 2015, 11:06:13 »

Cthulhu was pretty early on the approved names list actually. They only had to find an appropriate place for it. It should be noted that none of the name attributions are official yet - they have to be authorized by the IAU. So far, the suggestion is only by the New Horizons team.

Sputnik Planum isn't actually the "heart" - only the left/western lobe of it. The eastern lobe hasn't been named yet. The heart as a whole is Tombaugh Regio (named after the discoverer of Pluto). Tombaugh Regio is bounded to the southwest by the rather large Cthulhu Regio, to the southeast by the smaller Krun Regio (named after a Mandaean underworld lord that isn't that dissimilar to Cthulhu).

BirdofPrey · « **Reply #241 on:** 29 July 2015, 11:48:28 »

It's a shame there wasn't payload space for a larger antenna. Due to the distance New Horizons is from Earth, the downlink bandwidth is only a few Kbps, so it's going to take the better part of a year to get all the data back.

worktroll · « **Reply #242 on:** 29 July 2015, 17:25:29 »

Law of diminishing returns. What instruments would you sacrifice to get that larger antenna? Is that a good swap?

It's fair to assume that NE is at exactly the maximum mass they could sling out that way in reasonable time. A decade in flight is a long time to build for, in a very hostile environment.

BirdofPrey · « **Reply #243 on:** 29 July 2015, 18:16:21 »

I wasn't saying, I would have liked them to sacrifice instrumentation, I was saying, I wish they had been able to launch a bigger probe. i.e a bigger rocket to loft it all, and the money to take advantage of it.
Hence, more payload.

worktroll · « **Reply #244 on:** 24 August 2015, 19:41:49 »

Ceres explained!

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #245 on:** 24 August 2015, 20:28:18 »

Quote from: worktroll on 24 August 2015, 19:41:49

Ceres explained!

Ceresly?

worktroll · « **Reply #246 on:** 24 August 2015, 22:06:32 »

Surely you don't mean that?

rebs · « **Reply #247 on:** 24 August 2015, 22:42:50 »

Space Vegas must be real. It would make existence so damned worth it! :D

Wrangler · « **Reply #248 on:** 25 August 2015, 11:15:17 »

It must be the MGM hotel, since this article is reporting that its being unofficially being called the "Pyramid".

worktroll · « **Reply #249 on:** 10 September 2015, 18:36:38 »

Go to this link. Astounding.
http://boingboing.net/2015/09/10/new-close-up-images-from-nasa.html#more-420606

Also, Charon

rebs · « **Reply #250 on:** 10 September 2015, 21:26:42 »

Half the reason I made this thread was because I knew I would have to put myself in a curious sort of stasis and forget about what's going on in space right now in order to get through these exciting times and discoveries and actually view the pretty pictures and excited text and deem all of it to be good.

And it's awesome! :D

The thread worked. Someone posted a link and told me to go there. That's like all I ever wanted. For real, yo. [fiddle]

worktroll · « **Reply #251 on:** 10 September 2015, 22:19:13 »

You're welcome! O0

And yes, it's awesome. I love the total difference between Charon & Pluto. Wondering where the energy to drive Pluto's geology comes from, given that Charon isn't getting any (tectonically speakin) is driving me slightly batty.

Wrangler · « **Reply #252 on:** 10 September 2015, 22:22:13 »

Do you think Charon's core cooled off? Perhaps thats the reason. Gravity of pluto may not be enough to keep it going. Maybe Pluto still has active core.

worktroll · « **Reply #253 on:** 10 September 2015, 22:29:06 »

The Moon has a mean radius of 1700km, and is tidally locked with libration, which should be adding some energy into the system. It's got an inner molten core around 500km in radius, but the 1200km on top is basically cold.

Pluto is around 1200km in radius, with no large object nearby to provide tidal heating. If Charon was enough, then Pluto would be producing more heating on Charon.

It may be that both Charon & Pluto got heated as their rotations locked, and Charon just lost the heat earlier due to small size. Or there may be some freaky phase change powering it all - nitrogen or water ices moving between different forms when Pluto's heated during perihelion, and the energy released as it moves away (see also Saturn's heating via helium condensing in its lower atmosphere). Or it may be heat bleed from the impact of the Tnucptin spaceship on the area now called Cthulhu Regio, which knocked Pluto out of its orbit around Neptune*

Looking forward to knowing!

W.

*Niven L, "World of Ptaavs"

BirdofPrey · « **Reply #254 on:** 11 September 2015, 00:12:46 »

ooooh pretty.
Truth be told, though, as much as I love gazing at images, I am more eager to find out more on what information they have gathered from their other instruments.
I don't want to look at Pluto as much as I want to know about Pluto.

rebs · « **Reply #255 on:** 11 September 2015, 02:02:55 »

I like the text and breakdown of readings, too. But all things in time. Images get priority for transmission, and can lead the intelligent observer to much of the knowledge we seek, anyway. So I right now clamor for pretty pictures, unabashedly.

rebs · « **Reply #256 on:** 20 September 2015, 16:09:32 »

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2015/09171318-spectacular-new-horizons-mvic-haze.html

Our friends at the Planetary Society have written a nice article here on the hazy atmosphere of Pluto revealed by some of the most recent images received.

Wrangler · « **Reply #257 on:** 22 September 2015, 10:51:43 »

Not quite space exploration, but it can lead to it.

US Darpa research think tank wants try build transportation hub aka a Robotic Shipyard in high orbit.

Sabelkatten · « **Reply #258 on:** 22 September 2015, 11:51:52 »

I think Reaction Engines ltd.'s low-orbit refueling base is more useful in the short term - I expect it will be a good long while before we start putting a lot of stuff beyond Geosync orbit, but most everything goes from the ground up past ISS orbit.

Still, potentially very interesting. :)

kato · « **Reply #259 on:** 22 September 2015, 15:00:25 »

Quote

Objects stay in GEO, while they tend to fall from low-Earth orbit within about 25 years.

Someone should tell DARPA about this one international agreement coming into power that NASA signed that everything you put up there should either enter the atmosphere automatically or actively deorbit. In exactly that 25-year limit.

The idea DARPA has there is basically just an extension of one multiple space agencies and private companies are floating, that of building a tender for "recovery, repair, refuel" of satellites. German space agency DLR really wants one in LEO, NASA and supposedly also China are also fiddling with that, commercial companies are more interested in the profitable GEO environment where refurbishing 15-year-old satellites could easily yield 20-30 million each. DARPA may primarily be thinking about the hardware the USAF has up there.

Maingunnery · « **Reply #260 on:** 22 September 2015, 15:14:38 »

Quote from: kato on 22 September 2015, 15:00:25

Someone should tell DARPA about this one international agreement coming into power that NASA signed that everything you put up there should either enter the atmosphere automatically or actively deorbit. In exactly that 25-year limit.

Aren't graveyard orbits except from this?

kato · « **Reply #261 on:** 22 September 2015, 16:06:04 »

By current NASA and FCC standards yes.

The GEO graveyard orbit outlined there doesn't require the second IADC requirement though*, that of an eccentricity in orbit of under 0.003. That means you can't just kick them out of GEO and that's it, you need to recircularize well above GEO. Eccentricities above 0.003 have a moderately good chance of reentering the GEO safe zone within the next 40 years again, and possibly less than that for flaked-off particles.

* the first requirement is also different: NASA = 300 km ; IADC = 235 km + 1000*Cr*A/m (i.e. dependent on size, mass and colour of object). This is due to solar wind reshaping orbits into a quasi-elliptical form over time.

rebs · « **Reply #262 on:** 22 September 2015, 21:16:19 »

It's not Space Dock, but we have to start somehow. :)

rebs · « **Reply #263 on:** 24 September 2015, 21:17:46 »

This is quite a lovely Pluto hemispherical shot. Unsure of which one, but imagery is nice to have hanging around.

Image courtesy of NASA.

Full-sized attached. It's plenty big, so be careful.

rebs · « **Reply #264 on:** 24 September 2015, 21:28:00 »

Oh, man... Ice dunes!!!

I'll attach the big one, so be warned. Again, thank you NASA for the New Horizons images, you do some wonderful work.

worktroll · « **Reply #265 on:** 24 September 2015, 21:40:26 »

The thumbnail does rather look like the Fzyxyeb expedition starship in low orbit, with a lander in the process of going down, doesn't it? ;)

W.

rebs · « **Reply #266 on:** 24 September 2015, 21:43:33 »

Honestly... the thumbnail on my phone caught my eye for the exact same reason (More or less). I experienced a chill seeing it at work and had to go get it for here.

I forgot about the thumbnail effect still in play here ;D But yes, that illusion is built right into this image at smaller sizes and resolutions.

Sharpnel · « **Reply #267 on:** 25 September 2015, 01:16:08 »

Quote from: worktroll on 24 September 2015, 21:40:26

The thumbnail does rather look like the Fzyxyeb expedition starship in low orbit, with a lander in the process of going down, doesn't it? ;)

W.

Or a Klingon Cruiser at first glance

Wrangler · « **Reply #268 on:** 25 September 2015, 06:15:54 »

Looks like someone lost the top of their ice cream cone myself. It was mixed chocolate swirl too..

Frabby · « **Reply #269 on:** 27 September 2015, 08:18:52 »

Sooo... NASA announced a press conference with high-ranking staff in attendance for monday, with a Big Scientific Find to be revealed. Apparently, this has geeks worldwide on the edge of their seats, expecting some groundbreaking news on extraterrestrial life...