07-13-2015, 05:00 PM
We're less than 5 hours from NASA'a major historic achievement. First space probe to visit Pluto.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhor...index.html
If the probe gets the observations this will go down as one of NASA's greatest achievements;
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Participate/comm...oolkit.php
The United States has been the first nation to reach every planet from Mercury to Neptune with a space probe. If New Horizons is successful, it will allow the U.S. to complete the initial reconnaissance of the solar system.
To watch the flyby go here;
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html
No need to stay up late as it takes 4 and a half hours to relay the info back to Earth. The countdown on NASA's web site is just for the actual flyby. It'll take 45-90 days after the close flyby of 7,800 miles for the full load of data to reach the Earth.
This space craft set the record for the highest launch speed of a human-made object from Earth at 36,373 mph. It has taken about 9 and a half years to travel the 3 billion miles to Pluto and currently is speeding along at 30,800 mph in the Kuiper Belt where trillions of objects are.
Discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 some of his ashes are on board and it'll be the first time human remains leave the solar system.
There is just a ton of info already from this probe and there's some background info here;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Horizons
Enjoy the show!
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhor...index.html
If the probe gets the observations this will go down as one of NASA's greatest achievements;
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Participate/comm...oolkit.php
The United States has been the first nation to reach every planet from Mercury to Neptune with a space probe. If New Horizons is successful, it will allow the U.S. to complete the initial reconnaissance of the solar system.
To watch the flyby go here;
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html
No need to stay up late as it takes 4 and a half hours to relay the info back to Earth. The countdown on NASA's web site is just for the actual flyby. It'll take 45-90 days after the close flyby of 7,800 miles for the full load of data to reach the Earth.
This space craft set the record for the highest launch speed of a human-made object from Earth at 36,373 mph. It has taken about 9 and a half years to travel the 3 billion miles to Pluto and currently is speeding along at 30,800 mph in the Kuiper Belt where trillions of objects are.
Discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 some of his ashes are on board and it'll be the first time human remains leave the solar system.
There is just a ton of info already from this probe and there's some background info here;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Horizons
Enjoy the show!
]
]