#pluto flyby

I will never forget the full-blown ugly cry sesh I had the moment we got these images for the first time.

Just 15 minutes after its closest approach to Pluto on July 14, 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft looked back toward the sun and captured this near-sunset view of the rugged, icy mountains and flat ice plains extending to Pluto’s horizon. The smooth expanse of the informally named icy plain Sputnik Planum (right) is flanked to the west (left) by rugged mountains up to 11,000 feet (3,500 meters) high. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

    The groundbreaking New Horizons mission blazed past Pluto in 2015, transforming our view of the dwarf planet from just a speck to a complex world with changing geology, ice volcanoes, jagged spikes and more. But it almost didn't happen — time after time.

In "Chasing New Horizons" (Picador, 2018), out today (May 1), New Horizons' principal investigator, Alan Stern, joins astrobiologist David Grinspoon to tell the story of the lightweight spacecraft's challenging development and trip to the outer frontiers of the solar system. Their narrative delivers an in-depth view of how to design a space mission, shepherd it through the hurdles of approval and design, and send it toward the unknown when you have just one shot to get it right.

Space.com caught up with Stern to talk about the new book, the tough path New Horizons traveled before and after launch, the most amazing discoveries at Pluto, and the "Star Trek" test for planets.

If You are Sad About Pluto, How About 110 Planets In Our Solar System?

Article written by Matt Williams Published on Universe Today February 21, 2017  

Under a size cutoff of 10,000 kilometers, there are two planets, 18 or 19 moons, 1 or 2 asteroids, and 87 trans-Neptunian objects, most of which do not yet have names. All are shown to scale, keeping in mind that for most of the trans-Neptunian objects, their sizes are only approximately known. Montage by Emily…

If You are Sad About Pluto, How About 110 Planets In Our Solar System?

Article written by Matt Williams Published on Universe Today February 21, 2017  

Under a size cutoff of 10,000 kilometers, there are two planets, 18 or 19 moons, 1 or 2 asteroids, and 87 trans-Neptunian objects, most of which do not yet have names. All are shown to scale, keeping in mind that for most of the trans-Neptunian objects, their sizes are only approximately known. Montage by Emily…

My Pluto on Pluto t-shirt is in this week @teebusters newsletter! You can buy it here, in the @teebusters tee Hall of Fame!

Pluto Might Have Clouds

It’s possible the presence of clouds could help the dwarf planet earn back its planet status in the solar system. 

Read more here.