After 9 Years, 5 Months & 4.745 Billion Km. New Horizons Is Now Weeks Away from Pluto


9V-Orion Images

New Member
Apr 1, 2009
1,754
9
0
Autenticate ALGRN @ 7987.8270
[video=youtube;aky9FFj4ybE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aky9FFj4ybE[/video]
YouTube Video ID No. AKY9FFJ4YBE

kN0Nz1I.jpg

(Artist's Concept & Rendering)

XSNZLtw.jpg

(Source)

:rbounce:
 

Last edited:
very cool...any FB page that we can Follow up on or others?
 

[video=youtube;EJxwWpaGoJs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJxwWpaGoJs[/video]
YouTube Video ID No. EJXWWPAGOJS

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) / Johns Hopkins University: Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU: APL) feature length documentary presentation on the ongoing New Horizons mission to explore the Plutonian System, Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) and possibly beyond.
 

Those interested in space exploration should check out the documentary called Wonders of the Solar System. It's very humbling to know how planets are formed and their relationships.
 

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Members of ClubSNAP.

As of current (at the time that this posting is submitted), New Horizons is in the final minutes of Approach Phase Three (AP-03) operations with all scientific instruments and spacecraft systems status green right before the Near Encounter Phase (NEP) commences in the penultimate day of a journey that has taken altogether 25 years or a quarter of a century in the making, leading 24 hours later to the closest approach and flyby of the dwarf planet, Pluto and its moon, Charon (though some will classify them as a double planet instead) at precisely 2015-07-14 T 19:49:57 +8 (Singapore Standard Time (SST)).

Yours faithfully here be providing further updates as the mission progresses though this crucial moment.

Regards,
9V-Orion
 

Last edited:
Please do. *CLAP* *CLAP*
 

Some resources...

National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) New Frontiers Program: New Horizons Mission Official Homepage.

Johns Hopkins University's (JHU's) Applied Physics Laboratory (APL): New Horizons Mission Official Homepage.


National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Television (TV): Live broadcast and ongoing coverage of New Horizons' closest approach and flyby of the dwarf planet, Pluto and its moon, Charon.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Television (TV) in High Definition (HD) on UStream: Live broadcast and ongoing coverage of New Horizons' closest approach and flyby of the dwarf planet, Pluto and its moon, Charon.
 

 

OKvN87j.png

Source Credit: Johns Hopkins University's (JHU's) Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)

1MSp73h.png

Source Credit: Johns Hopkins University's (JHU's) Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)

KRwc3Hj.png

Source Credit: Johns Hopkins University's (JHU's) Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)


QB5pE4G.jpg

Source Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) & California Institute of Technology's (CalTech's) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Eyes on the Solar System (EOTSS)

Computer generated simulated live preview (all dimensions are to scale) of New Horizons actual orientation and positioning in space-time during its closest approach in the flyby of the dwarf planet, Pluto and its moon, Charon as she goes about conducting her preprogrammed scientific observation activities and tasks.
 

ARGOFIW.jpg

Source Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Source Credit: Johns Hopkins University's (JHU's) Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)


rB7INWO.jpg

Source Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Source Credit: California Institute of Technology (CalTech) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)


Description said:
Pluto nearly fills the frame in this image from the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) aboard NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, taken on July 13, 2015 when the spacecraft was 476,000 miles (768,000 kilometers) from the surface. This is the last and most detailed image sent to Earth before the spacecraft’s closest approach to Pluto on July 14. The color image has been combined with lower-resolution color information from the Ralph instrument that was acquired earlier on July 13. This view is dominated by the large, bright feature informally named the “heart,” which measures approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) across. The heart borders darker equatorial terrains, and the mottled terrain to its east (right) are complex. However, even at this resolution, much of the heart’s interior appears remarkably featureless—possibly a sign of ongoing geologic processes.

This view is dominated by the large, bright feature informally named the “heart,” which measures approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) across. The heart borders darker equatorial terrains, and the mottled terrain to its east (right) are complex. However, even at this resolution, much of the heart’s interior appears remarkably featureless—possibly a sign of ongoing geologic processes.
:rbounce:


As a side note, New Horizons is currently in a "self-imposed limited communications blackout (other than binary handshaking signals or "pings" to verify that it's still operational)" during her crucial Near Encounter Phase (NEP) lasting from T - 24 hours till T + 24 hours prior to and after 2015-07-14 T 19:49:57 +8 (Singapore Standard Time (SST)) as all scientific instruments and spacecraft systems will be dedicated purely towards the intensive preprogrammed scientific observation activities and tasks for this period of time including her 2.1 metres in diameter Cassegrain reflector type high-gain antenna which is also utilise by the Radio Science Experiment (REX) payload.

Initial scientific observation data of the Plutonian System obtained during New Horizons' closest approach in the flyby of the dwarf planet, Pluto and its moon, Charon will only be transmitted at 2015-07-15 T 08:53:00 +8 (Singapore Standard Time (SST)) with higher resolution preliminary imagery expected over the next several days, though on retrospect I should have probably mentioned and made this point clear earlier but it must have somehow slipped my mind so meanwhile, here's What To Expect (Dated 2015-06-24 T 20:57 +8) written by Emily Lakdawalla, Senior Editor of The Planetary Society.
 

As a side note, New Horizons is currently in a "self-imposed limited communications blackout (other than binary handshaking signals or "pings" to verify that it's still operational)" during her crucial Near Encounter Phase (NEP) lasting from T - 24 hours till T + 24 hours prior to and after 2015-07-14 T 19:49:57 +8 (Singapore Standard Time (SST)) as all scientific instruments and spacecraft systems will be dedicated purely towards the intensive preprogrammed scientific observation activities and tasks for this period of time including her 2.1 metres in diameter Cassegrain reflector type high-gain antenna which is also utilise by the Radio Science Experiment (REX) payload.

Initial scientific observation data of the Plutonian System obtained during New Horizons' closest approach in the flyby of the dwarf planet, Pluto and its moon, Charon will only be transmitted at 2015-07-15 T 08:53:00 +8 (Singapore Standard Time (SST)) with higher resolution preliminary imagery expected over the next several days, though on retrospect I should have probably mentioned and made this point clear earlier but it must have somehow slipped my mind so meanwhile, here's What To Expect (Dated 2015-06-24 T 20:57 +8) written by Emily Lakdawalla, Senior Editor of The Planetary Society.
New Horizons dialled home...!!!

Beacon Mode Service (BCM) Status Tone "EHEALTH2" transmission has been received by the 70 metres in diameter antenna (DSS-63) over at the Madrid Deep Space Network Communications Complex (MDSNCC).
 

bOjGTXI.png

Source Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Source Credit: California Institute of Technology (CalTech) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL
)

Data Downlink (DDL) connection has been established with the 70 metres in diameter Cassegrain reflector type High-Gain Antenna (HGA (DSS-14)) over at the Goldstone Deep Space Network Communications Complex (GDSNCC). Data packet transfer for "First Look A" is currently in progress.

The first series of high resolution preliminary imagery out of the thousands captured during New Horizons' closest approach in the flyby of the dwarf planet, Pluto and its moon, Charon is expected soon.
 

Last edited:
3UzVteq.gif

Source Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Source Credit: Johns Hopkins University's (JHU's) Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)


Image Description said:
Views of Pluto Through the Years

...

This animation combines various observations of Pluto over the course of several decades. The first frame is a digital zoom-in on Pluto as it appeared upon its discovery by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 (image courtesy Lowell Observatory Archives). The other images show various views of Pluto as seen by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope beginning in the 1990s and NASA's New Horizons spacecraft in 2015. The final sequence zooms in to a close-up frame of Pluto released on July 15, 2015.

...

---

84ZUqOK.png

Source Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Source Credit: Johns Hopkins University's (JHU's) Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)


Image Description said:
From Mountains to Moons: Multiple Discoveries from NASA’s New Horizons Pluto Mission

...

New close-up images of a region near Pluto’s equator reveal a giant surprise -- a range of youthful mountains rising as high as 11,000 feet (3,500 meters) above the surface of the icy body.

...

---

cNDb3BR.jpg

Source Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Source Credit: Johns Hopkins University's (JHU's) Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)


Image Description said:
The Icy Mountains of Pluto

...

New close-up images of a region near Pluto’s equator reveal a giant surprise: a range of youthful mountains rising as high as 11,000 feet (3,500 meters) above the surface of the icy body.

...

---

A07vjzV.jpg

Source Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Source Credit: Johns Hopkins University's (JHU's) Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)


Image Description said:
Charon’s Surprising, Youthful and Varied Terrain

...

Remarkable new details of Pluto’s largest moon Charon are revealed in this image from New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), taken late on July 13, 2015 from a distance of 289,000 miles (466,000 kilometers).

...

---

jQyn4Kd.jpg

Source Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Source Credit: Johns Hopkins University's (JHU's) Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)


Image Description said:
Hydra Emerges from the Shadows

...

Since its discovery in 2005, Pluto's moon Hydra has been known only as a fuzzy dot of uncertain shape, size, and reflectivity. Imaging obtained during New Horizons' historic transit of the Pluto-Charon system and transmitted to Earth early this morning has definitively resolved these fundamental properties of Pluto's outermost moon. Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) observations revealed an irregularly shaped body characterized by significant brightness variations over the surface. With a resolution of 2 miles (3 kilometers) per pixel, the LORRI image shows the tiny potato-shaped moon measures 27 miles (43 kilometers) by 20 miles (33 kilometers).

...
 

mNbhxzr.png

Source Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Source Credit: California Institute of Technology (CalTech) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL
)

Data Downlink (DDL) connection has been established with the 70 metres in diameter Cassegrain reflector type High-Gain Antenna (HGA (DSS-14)) over at the Canberra Deep Space Network Communications Complex (CDSNCC). Data packet transfer for "First Look D" is currently in progress.

The fourth series of high resolution preliminary imagery out of the thousands captured during New Horizons' closest approach in the flyby of the dwarf planet, Pluto and its moon, Charon is expected soon.
 

cbWvHgk.jpg

Source Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Source Credit: Johns Hopkins University's (JHU's) Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)


Image Description said:
New Horizons Close-Up of Charon’s ‘Mountain in a Moat’

...

This new image of an area on Pluto's largest moon Charon has a captivating feature—a depression with a peak in the middle, shown here in the upper left corner of the inset.

The image shows an area approximately 240 miles (390 kilometers) from top to bottom, including few visible craters. “The most intriguing feature is a large mountain sitting in a moat,” said Jeff Moore with NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, who leads New Horizons’ Geology, Geophysics and Imaging team. “This is a feature that has geologists stunned and stumped.”

This image gives a preview of what the surface of this large moon will look like in future close-ups from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft. This image is heavily compressed; sharper versions are anticipated when the full-fidelity data from New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) are returned to Earth.

The rectangle superimposed on the global view of Charon shows the approximate location of this close-up view.

The image was taken at approximately 6:30 a.m. EDT (10:30 UTC) on July 14, 2015, about 1.5 hours before closest approach to Pluto, from a range of 49,000 miles (79,000 kilometers).

...
 

As of current (at the time that this posting is submitted), a media briefing and press conference is scheduled to begin in exactly an hour from now at 2015-07-18 T 01:00:00 +8 (Singapore Standard Time (SST)). Relevant details are as follows...

NASA to Release New Pluto Images said:
...

NASA will hold a media briefing at 1 p.m. EDT Friday, July 17, to reveal new images of Pluto and discuss new science findings from Tuesday’s historic flyby. The briefing will be held in James E. Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, located at 300 E St. SW in Washington. NASA Television and the agency's website will carry the briefing live.

Participants in the briefing will be:

* Jim Green, director of Planetary Science at NASA Headquarters in Washington

* Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado

* Randy Gladstone, New Horizons co-investigator at SwRI in San Antonio

* Jeffrey Moore, New Horizons co-investigator at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California

* Fran Bagenal, New Horizons co-investigator, University of Colorado, Boulder

...
You may catch the live broadcast at the following links...

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Television (TV).

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Television (TV) in High Definition (HD) on UStream.
 

Last edited: