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Roger's Equations

This blog is all about science and technology (with occasional math thrown in for fun). The goal of this blog is to try and pass on the sense of excitement and wonder I feel when I read about these topics. I hope you enjoy the posts.
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Pluto Flyby - New Horizons Just Finished Closest Approach

Posted July 14, 2015 9:17 AM by Bayes

Leaving Pluto - An Hour After Closest Encounter

After 3462 days in space, New Horizons has finally reached its closest approach to Pluto! Roughly an hour ago, it got within 7,800 miles of Pluto. Over the past few days and in the next few days, New Horizon will be working nonstop to gather as much data and images as it can.

In about 12 hours it will send that information home (or its signal will arrive home, I'm unclear on this detail). Soon after that we will get our first glimpse of Pluto in HD. To give you an idea of how furiously New Horizons is working right now, here is a sample of its work since midnight (these updates were provided by NASA):

00:06:21-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 383562.38 km away at est. resolution 1.9 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

00:07:10-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 382887.65 km away at est. resolution 1.9 km/pix.

00:07:59-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 382212.93 km away at est. resolution 1.9 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

00:08:48-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 381538.21 km away at est. resolution 1.9 km/pix.

00:14:17-New Horizons is taking an image of Pluto with MVIC Color from 377007.99 km away at est. resolution 7.5 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

00:19:07-New Horizons is taking an image of Pluto with MVIC Color from 373014.86 km away at est. resolution 7.4 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

00:22:46-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Kerberos with LORRI from ~360000 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

00:23:26-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Kerberos with LEISA from ~350000 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

00:36:05-New Horizons is taking an image of Nix with MVIC Color from 328310.54 km away at est. resolution 6.5 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

00:39:16-New Horizons is taking 3 images of Nix with LORRI from 325691.61 km away at est. resolution 1.6 km/pix.

00:42:10-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Hydra with LEISA from 373727.08 km away at est. resolution 23 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

00:50:00-7 hours to #PlutoFlyby Closest Approach. New Horizons is 347,501 km from Pluto!

00:53:26-New Horizons is taking an image of Hydra with MVIC Color from 364560.23 km away at est. resolution 7.2 km/pix.

00:56:13-New Horizons is taking 3 images of Hydra with LORRI from 362297.29 km away at est. resolution 1.8 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

00:57:03-New Horizons is taking 3 images of Hydra with LORRI from 361619.90 km away at est. resolution 1.8 km/pix.

00:57:53-New Horizons is taking 3 images of Hydra with LORRI from 360942.56 km away at est. resolution 1.8 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

00:58:43-New Horizons is taking 3 images of Hydra with LORRI from 360265.29 km away at est. resolution 1.8 km/pix.

01:02:52-New Horizons is taking 18 spectra of Pluto with Alice from 336873.78 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

01:20:00-New Horizons soon to be communicating with Goldstone 34 m (DSS-26) http://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html

01:35:00-New Horizons soon to be communicating with Goldstone 34 m (DSS-25) http://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html

01:49:41-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Charon with LORRI from 312464.78 km away at est. resolution 1.5 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

01:50:00-6 hours to #PlutoFlyby Closest Approach. New Horizons is 297,946 km from Pluto!

01:50:29-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Charon with LORRI from 311803.64 km away at est. resolution 1.5 km/pix.

01:50:00-New Horizons soon to be communicating with Goldstone 34 m (DSS-24) http://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html

01:51:17-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Charon with LORRI from 311142.51 km away at est. resolution 1.5 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

01:52:05-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Charon with LORRI from 310481.39 km away at est. resolution 1.5 km/pix.

01:57:59-New Horizons is taking radio uplink data with REX. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

01:58:14-New Horizons is taking radio uplink data with REX. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

02:05:00-New Horizons soon to be communicating with Goldstone 70 m (DSS-14) http://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html

02:23:04-New Horizons is taking radio reflectance data of Pluto with REX from 270644.06 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

02:23:19-New Horizons is taking radio reflectance data of Pluto with REX from 270437.66 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

02:28:14-New Horizons is taking radio reflectance data of Pluto with REX from 266378.70 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

02:28:30-New Horizons is taking radio reflectance data of Pluto with REX from 266158.55 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

02:35:46-New Horizons is taking radio reflectance data of Charon with REX from 274398.00 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

02:36:02-New Horizons is taking radio reflectance data of Charon with REX from 274177.85 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

02:44:14-New Horizons is taking radio reflectance data of Charon with REX from 267408.95 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

02:44:29-New Horizons is taking radio reflectance data of Charon with REX from 267202.61 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

02:49:08-New Horizons is taking an image of Pluto with MVIC Color from 249126.75 km away at est. resolution 4.9 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

02:50:00-5 hours to #PlutoFlyby Closest Approach. New Horizons is 248,411 km from Pluto!

02:53:50-New Horizons is taking 10 spectra of Nix with Alice from 215128.06 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

03:15:00-New Horizons soon to be communicating with Canberra 70 m (DSS-43) http://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html

03:15:00-New Horizons soon to be communicating with Canberra 34 m (DSS-45) http://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html

03:16:00-New Horizons soon to be communicating with Canberra 34 m (DSS-34) http://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html

03:22:05-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Hydra with Alice from 245106.59 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

03:22:47-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Hydra with LEISA from 244554.11 km away at est. resolution 15 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

03:36:05-New Horizons is taking an image of Hydra with MVIC Color from 234084.66 km away at est. resolution 4.6 km/pix.

03:39:28-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Hydra with LORRI from 231430.29 km away at est. resolution 1.1 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

03:40:17-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Hydra with LORRI from 230790.15 km away at est. resolution 1.1 km/pix.

03:41:06-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Hydra with LORRI from 230150.24 km away at est. resolution 1.1 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

03:41:55-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Hydra with LORRI from 229510.56 km away at est. resolution 1.1 km/pix.

03:42:44-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Hydra with LORRI from 228871.11 km away at est. resolution 1.1 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

03:43:33-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Hydra with LORRI from 228231.89 km away at est. resolution 1.1 km/pix.

03:48:56-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Pluto with LEISA from 199789.59 km away at est. resolution 12 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

03:50:00-4 hours to #PlutoFlyby Closest Approach. New Horizons is 198,910 km from Pluto!

03:52:41-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Nix with LEISA from 166944.23 km away at est. resolution 10. km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:00:00-New Horizons' track ending with Goldstone 34 m (DSS-26)

04:02:39-New Horizons is taking an image of Nix with MVIC Color from 158804.46 km away at est. resolution 3.1 km/pix.

04:05:11-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Nix with LORRI from 156736.78 km away at est. resolution 0.78 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:05:59-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Nix with LORRI from 156083.94 km away at est. resolution 0.77 km/pix.

04:06:47-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Nix with LORRI from 155431.16 km away at est. resolution 0.77 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:11:06-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Pluto with LEISA from 181514.76 km away at est. resolution 11 km/pix.

04:13:51-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 179248.28 km away at est. resolution 0.89 km/pix.

04:14:39-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 178588.97 km away at est. resolution 0.89 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:15:27-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 177929.68 km away at est. resolution 0.88 km/pix.

04:16:15-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 177270.40 km away at est. resolution 0.88 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:17:03-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 176611.14 km away at est. resolution 0.88 km/pix.

04:17:51-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 175951.89 km away at est. resolution 0.87 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:18:39-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 175292.66 km away at est. resolution 0.87 km/pix.

04:19:27-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 174633.44 km away at est. resolution 0.87 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:20:15-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 173974.24 km away at est. resolution 0.86 km/pix.

04:21:03-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 173315.06 km away at est. resolution 0.86 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:21:51-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 172655.89 km away at est. resolution 0.86 km/pix.

04:22:39-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 171996.74 km away at est. resolution 0.85 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:23:27-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 171337.60 km away at est. resolution 0.85 km/pix.

04:24:15-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 170678.48 km away at est. resolution 0.85 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:25:03-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 170019.38 km away at est. resolution 0.84 km/pix.

04:25:51-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 169360.30 km away at est. resolution 0.84 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:26:39-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 168701.23 km away at est. resolution 0.84 km/pix.

04:27:27-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 168042.18 km away at est. resolution 0.83 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:28:15-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 167383.15 km away at est. resolution 0.83 km/pix.

04:29:03-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Pluto with LORRI from 166724.13 km away at est. resolution 0.83 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:29:50-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Pluto with Alice from 166078.87 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:32:31-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Charon with LORRI from 178279.45 km away at est. resolution 0.88 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:33:19-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Charon with LORRI from 177623.82 km away at est. resolution 0.88 km/pix.

04:34:07-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Charon with LORRI from 176968.26 km away at est. resolution 0.88 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:34:55-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Charon with LORRI from 176312.76 km away at est. resolution 0.87 km/pix.

04:35:43-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Charon with LORRI from 175657.33 km away at est. resolution 0.87 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:36:31-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Charon with LORRI from 175001.97 km away at est. resolution 0.87 km/pix.

04:37:19-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Charon with LORRI from 174346.67 km away at est. resolution 0.86 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:38:07-New Horizons is taking 2 images of Charon with LORRI from 173691.45 km away at est. resolution 0.86 km/pix.

04:39:07-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Charon with Alice from 172872.51 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:41:55-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Pluto with Alice from 156127.63 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:42:22-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Pluto with LEISA from 155757.12 km away at est. resolution 9.7 km/pix.

04:50:00-3 hours to #PlutoFlyby Closest Approach. New Horizons is 149,473 km from Pluto!

04:55:36-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Pluto with Alice from 144864.84 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

04:55:59-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Pluto with LEISA from 144549.43 km away at est. resolution 9.0 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

05:11:51-New Horizons is taking an image of Nix with MVIC Color from 102629.49 km away at est. resolution 2.0 km/pix.

05:14:42-New Horizons is taking 6 images of Charon with LORRI from 143819.25 km away at est. resolution 0.71 km/pix.

05:15:16-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Charon with LEISA from 143358.25 km away at est. resolution 8.9 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

05:25:09-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Charon with Alice from 135328.69 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

05:26:15-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Pluto with Alice from 119669.38 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

05:26:42-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Pluto with LEISA from 119299.90 km away at est. resolution 7.4 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

05:40:45-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Pluto with Alice from 107772.52 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

05:41:09-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Pluto with LEISA from 107444.60 km away at est. resolution 6.7 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

05:50:00-2 hours to #PlutoFlyby Closest Approach. New Horizons is 100,194 km from Pluto!

05:57:13-New Horizons is taking 13 images of Nix with LORRI from 66612.933 km away at est. resolution 0.33 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

05:58:10-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Nix with LEISA from 65875.190 km away at est. resolution 4.1 km/pix.

06:10:15-New Horizons is taking 15 images of Pluto with LORRI from 83646.234 km away at est. resolution 0.41 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

06:18:40-New Horizons is taking an image of Pluto with MVIC Pan Frame from 76792.463 km away at est. resolution 1.5 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

06:19:28-New Horizons is taking an image of Pluto with MVIC Pan Frame from 76141.986 km away at est. resolution 1.5 km/pix.

06:20:16-New Horizons is taking an image of Pluto with MVIC Pan Frame from 75491.696 km away at est. resolution 1.5 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

06:21:04-New Horizons is taking an image of Pluto with MVIC Pan Frame from 74841.597 km away at est. resolution 1.5 km/pix.

06:21:52-New Horizons is taking an image of Pluto with MVIC Pan Frame from 74191.695 km away at est. resolution 1.5 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

06:23:47-New Horizons is taking 12 images of Charon with LORRI from 88389.251 km away at est. resolution 0.44 km/pix.

06:24:37-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Charon with LEISA from 87736.235 km away at est. resolution 5.4 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

06:38:15-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Charon with Alice from 77151.533 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

06:40:11-New Horizons is taking an image of Charon with MVIC Color from 75668.123 km away at est. resolution 1.5 km/pix.

06:40:00-New Horizons' track ending with Goldstone 34 m (DSS-25)06:40:00New Horizons' track ending with Goldstone 34 m (DSS-24)

06:40:00-New Horizons' track ending with Goldstone 70 m (DSS-14)06:40:00New Horizons' track ending with Canberra 70 m (DSS-43)

06:40:00-New Horizons' track ending with Canberra 34 m (DSS-45)06:40:00New Horizons' track ending with Canberra 34 m (DSS-34)

06:43:00-New Horizons is taking 23 images of Pluto with LORRI from 56315.602 km away at est. resolution 0.28 km/pix.

06:45:03-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Pluto with LEISA from 55474.326 km away at est. resolution 3.4 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

06:50:00-1 hour to #PlutoFlyby Closest Approach. New Horizons is 51,520 km from Pluto!

07:00:00-50 minutes to #PlutoFlyby Closest Approach. New Horizons is 43,609 km from Pluto!

07:05:05-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Pluto with Alice from 39643.266 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

07:05:18-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Pluto with Alice from 39475.307 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

07:05:25-New Horizons is taking an image of Pluto with MVIC Color from 39384.908 km away at est. resolution 0.78 km/pix.

07:10:00-40 minutes to #PlutoFlyby Closest Approach. New Horizons is 35,858 km from Pluto!

07:14:32-New Horizons is taking an image of Nix with MVIC from 22235.744 km away at est. resolution 0.44 km/pix.

07:17:48-New Horizons is taking 70 images of Pluto with LORRI from 30003.890 km away at est. resolution 0.15 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

07:20:00-30 minutes to #PlutoFlyby Closest Approach. New Horizons is 28,399 km from Pluto!

07:20:16-New Horizons is taking an image of Pluto with MVIC from 28206.280 km away at est. resolution 0.56 km/pix.

07:26:28-New Horizons is taking 130 images of Pluto with LORRI from 23859.780 km away at est. resolution 0.12 km/pix.

07:30:00-20 minutes to #PlutoFlyby Closest Approach. New Horizons is 21,536 km from Pluto!

07:31:05-New Horizons is taking an image of Pluto with MVIC from 20854.035 km away at est. resolution 0.41 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

07:40:00-10 minutes to #PlutoFlyby Closest Approach. New Horizons is 16,054 km from Pluto!

07:40:57-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Pluto with Alice from 15661.488 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

07:43:07-New Horizons is taking 67 images of Charon with LORRI from 34200.236 km away at est. resolution 0.17 km/pix.

07:45:29-New Horizons is taking an image of Charon with MVIC from 33245.206 km away at est. resolution 0.66 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

07:49:57-Closest Approach to Pluto #PlutoFlyBy Go #NASANewHorizons!

07:50:47-New Horizons is taking an image of Pluto with MVIC from 13735.372 km away at est. resolution 0.27 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

07:53:19-New Horizons is taking radio reflectance data of Pluto with REX from 13981.327 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

07:53:34-New Horizons is taking radio reflectance data of Pluto with REX from 14022.327 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

07:57:15-New Horizons is taking radio reflectance data of Pluto with REX from 14947.896 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

07:57:30-New Horizons is taking radio reflectance data of Pluto with REX from 15031.013 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

07:58:17-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Pluto with Alice from 15306.595 km away. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

07:58:30-New Horizons is taking 60 images of Pluto with LORRI from 15386.759 km away at est. resolution 0.076 km/pix.

08:00:41-New Horizons is taking an image of Pluto with MVIC from 16282.704 km away at est. resolution 0.32 km/pix. New Horizons is 31.8 AU from Earth.

08:08:13-New Horizons is taking an image of Pluto with MVIC from 20323.226 km away at est. resolution 0.40 km/pix.

08:14:16-New Horizons Beginning Pluto Occultation Measurements #PlutoFlyBy

08:14:16-New Horizons is taking a spectrum of Pluto with Alice from 24247.777 km away. New Horizons is 31.9 AU from Earth.

08:15:30-New Horizons is taking radio reflectance data of Pluto with REX from 25094.810 km away. New Horizons is 31.9 AU from Earth.

08:22:18-New Horizons is taking radio reflectance data of Pluto with REX from 29958.281 km away. New Horizons is 31.9 AU from Earth.Next Observation

To see up to the moment New Horizons updates, go here.

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dkwarner
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#1

Re: Pluto Flyby - New Horizons Just Finished Closest Approach

07/14/2015 10:53 PM

WOW! That's quite a list! Thanks!

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James Stewart
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#2

Re: Pluto Flyby - New Horizons Just Finished Closest Approach

07/15/2015 9:02 AM

I was hoping for pictures. When is the episode on the science channel, or something I can watch? I want to see one-eyed one-horned flying purple Plutonians!

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dkwarner
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#3
In reply to #2

Re: Pluto Flyby - New Horizons Just Finished Closest Approach

07/15/2015 9:24 AM

http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasas-new-horizons-phones-home-safe-after-pluto-flyby

...is a start.

Note that the data transfer rate has to be low over such a great distance. They say it will take 16 months to send all the data it has gathered back to Earth.

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Bayes
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#4
In reply to #3

Re: Pluto Flyby - New Horizons Just Finished Closest Approach

07/15/2015 9:34 AM

Yeah, it took a ton of readings and images. Lots of data to send and right now that isn't its priority (it's still doing so much work). Heck of a spaceship!

By the way, if you're interested, I've been doing daily posts on the Pluto flyby here (in the comments):

Pluto Flyby Blog Post
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Rixter
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#5

Re: Pluto Flyby - New Horizons Just Finished Closest Approach

07/15/2015 11:11 AM

I hear it's dark way out there. I hope they remembered to bring along a flash!

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redfred
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#6

Re: Pluto Flyby - New Horizons Just Finished Closest Approach

07/15/2015 1:19 PM

It took Voyager 2 about twelve years to fly past Neptune. It has taken just under ten years for New Horizons to reach Pluto. Does anyone know or can tell me where to find out when New Horizons will be farther from us than any of our other deep space probes?

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Bayes
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#7
In reply to #6

Re: Pluto Flyby - New Horizons Just Finished Closest Approach

07/16/2015 2:41 PM

That was something I was wondering myself, but it turns out it won't be catching it:

New Horizons is often given the title of Fastest Spacecraft Ever Launched, and left Earth faster than any other spacecraft to date. It is also the first spacecraft launched directly into a solar escape trajectory, which requires an approximate speed of 16.5 km/s (59,000 km/h; 37,000 mph), plus aerodynamic and gravity losses, all to be provided by the launcher. But it is not the fastest spacecraft to leave the Solar System. This record is held by Voyager 1, currently travelling at 17.145 km/s (61,720 km/h; 38,350 mph) relative to the Sun. Voyager 1 attained greater hyperbolic excess velocity from Jupiter and Saturn gravitational slingshots than New Horizons.

http://space.stackexchange.com/questions/3520/when-will-new-horizons-overtake-voyager-1-in-distance-from-the-sun

Check out this link, it's pretty cool:

Solar Relative Velocities of Space Probes
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#8
In reply to #7

Re: Pluto Flyby - New Horizons Just Finished Closest Approach

07/16/2015 3:15 PM

Thanks for doing that research. I had a feeling that Voyager 1 and 2 would be traveling faster since they flew past more gas giants.

Your last link adds a new puzzle for me. Why would the sun be perceived as a lower magnitude for New Horizons than the other probes, Pluto is farther away?

DOH! That's not the last observation brightness from the probe when they flew past their last target. That is the brightness calculated when that chart was made. New Horizons is closer to the sun so a lower magnitude (brighter) sun would be observed.

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#9
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Re: Pluto Flyby - New Horizons Just Finished Closest Approach

07/16/2015 4:05 PM

It took me a little, but I think I understand the answer now. I think it's describing how bright the Sun looks from the Probe as compared to how stars look in Earth's night sky (Apparent Magnitude). As you noted, the lower the Apparent Magnitude, the brighter the star. The Sun viewed from Earth has an Apparent Magnitude of -26.7. I guess when viewed from New Horizons right now it is -19.1, which is brighter than I would have thought. I should mention this data is supposed to be up to the minute. So that -19.1 value is right now, by Pluto (the link below agrees with that value). Same for the other probes, definitely brighter than I would have thought. FYI, Apparent Magnitude is a Log scale, that's why it drops so slowly.

http://astrobob.areavoices.com/2012/01/05/what-would-the-sun-look-like-from-jupiter-or-pluto/
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#10
In reply to #7

Re: Pluto Flyby - New Horizons Just Finished Closest Approach

07/17/2015 12:19 PM

Interesting plots. It looks like Voyager got slowed down by Neptune, but that's the last planet to visit, so no matter.
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#11
In reply to #10

Re: Pluto Flyby - New Horizons Just Finished Closest Approach

07/19/2015 10:15 PM

Good observation about the Neptune flyby. I did some research as to why that was. Here's what I found:

Voyager 2 leaves Earth at about 36 km/s relative to the sun. Climbing out, it loses much of the initial velocity the launch vehicle provided. Nearing Jupiter, its speed is increased by the planet's gravity, and the spacecraft's velocity exceeds solar system escape velocity. Voyager departs Jupiter with more sun-relative velocity than it had on arrival. The same is seen at Saturn and Uranus. The Neptune flyby design put Voyager close by Neptune's moon Triton rather than attain more speed.
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