Artists impressions prove horrifically inaccurate once again.
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Artists impressions prove horrifically inaccurate once again.
http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/wp...to-647x485.jpghttp://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cps...7_84264806.jpg
It's hard to believe that we sent a "space capsule" into the universe nearly ten years ago......and now we have pictures of/from a planet that's no longer considered part of our solar system!
It blows my mind. I read something that made my head hurt even more --- this is like hitting a golf ball from the US east coast and making a hole-in-one on the west coast. :eek:
It's still considered part of our solar system, it's just not considered to be a planet anymore!
Everything about Pluto is different from expectation. Both Pluto and its big moon Charon are apparently active bodies. There are very few craters suggesting they are either newish worlds or their surfaces are getting remade now or were in the recent past. There are also ice mountains and evidence of recent geyser activity on Pluto. All of this requires heat and there was no current theory as to where that heat is coming from. Given their size they should have lost the heat of formation a LONG time ago - unless they're new(ish). The icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn get heated internally from tidal force caused friction. But there's no big planet nearby to heat Pluto/ Charon. So either something else is going on or they're new. Pretty cool stuff, really. Beautiful worlds too. Big thumbs up! :up:Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Glint
I'm surprised to read it as a thin/collapsing nitrogen atmosphere. I guess not really surprising, but in my mind it had none.
That's indeed interesting. Charon has a tidal lock with Pluto, that means their rotation around each other and their rotation around themselves are exactly the same. And also their rotations are an exact circle. That means that are indeed no large tidal forces to be expected.Quote:
Originally Posted by EyeKhan
BTW the tidal locking and very circular motion is not really surprising. Our own moon is tidal locked as well (we always see the same side). And as Charon is a very large moon compared to Pluto it is not surprising that Pluto is locked to Charon as well. There are many that suggest that we should see Pluto - Charon as a double dwarf planet system instead of a dwarf planet with a big moon and some small ones. I would really like that, and my definition would be: If center point of the rotation is outside of the largest body, the system is considered a dual.
It is an achievement because politicians are not thinking about space.Quote:
Originally Posted by GGT
Also it is a far away place where no man has gone before.