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Pluto and Charon: The "Double Planet"
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ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-20100727_LORRINeptune_lg.jpgOn the Way to Pluto: Neptune's on sight!79 visiteCaption NASA:"The New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) observed Neptune on June 23, 2010, as part of a test of the critical Optical Navigation Annual Checkout (ACO).
In this 100-millisecond exposure, taken when the Spacecraft was 23,2 Astronomical Units (about 2,15 Billion Miles) from Neptune, the Planet appears slightly larger than a star. At the time of this observation, the Solar Phase Angle was 34° and the Solar Elongation Angle (Planet-Spacecraft-Sun) was 95°.
Only New Horizons can observe Neptune at such large Solar Phase Angles, which can be used to study the light-scattering properties of Neptune's Atmosphere".MareKromium
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ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-20110401_0515.jpgWhere's New Horizons? April 2011 (1) - Current Position (beyond Uranus' Orbit)119 visiteThis image shows New Horizons' "Current Position". The green segment of the line shows where New Horizons has traveled since launch; the red indicates the Spacecraft's path toward Jupiter, Pluto and beyond. Positions of stars with magnitude 12 or brighter are shown from this perspective, which is above the Sun and "north" of Earth's orbit.
Notes: what Is an AU? The graphics on these pages note New Horizons' distance from Earth, Jupiter and Pluto in AU, or Astronomical Units. One AU is the average distance between the Sun and Earth, such as about 93 Million Miles (MMs) or 149,6 Million Kilometers (MKM).
Heliocentric Velocity. The Current Position graphic also notes the Spacecraft's "Heliocentric Velocity" - such as its speed with respect to the Sun - in Kilometers per second (Km/sec). One Km/sec is equivalent to 0,62 miles per second (Mi/sec), or 2237 miles per hour (mph).
New Horizons crossed the orbit of Uranus at approximately 18:00 EDT on March 18, 2011, with the Spacecraft more than 1,8 Billion Miles (nearly 2,9 Billion Kilometers) from Earth. Uranus was 2,4 BMs (3,8 BKM) from New Horizons at the time and the Spacecraft was cruising in "Electronic Sleep Mode".MareKromium
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ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-Nhov20110401_0515.jpgWhere's New Horizons? April 2011 (2) - Full Trajectory: Overhead View 112 visiteThis image shows New Horizons' Current Position along its full planned trajectory. The green segment of the line shows where New Horizons has traveled since launch; the red indicates the Spacecraft's future path. Positions of stars with magnitude 12 or brighter are shown from this perspective, which is above the Sun and "north" of Earth's orbit.MareKromium
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ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-Nhsv-20110401_0515.jpgWhere's New Horizons? April 2011 (3) - Full Trajectory - Side View 114 visiteAlso this image shows New Horizons' Current Position along its full planned trajectory. The green segment of the line shows where New Horizons has traveled since launch; the red indicates the Spacecraft's future path. Positions of stars with magnitude 12 or brighter are shown from this perspective, which is slightly above the Orbital Plane of the Planets. MareKromium
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ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-Z-New_Horizons_-_Map.pngIn the Kuiper's Belt...66 visiteSfuggire nell'Infinito "Oltre": ecco la "Missione" di New Horizons.
Plutone é passato, assieme alle Sue (almeno 5) Lune Naturali. Ora é la volta di imbattersi in altri oggetti che, nella Notte Eterna e nel gelo ultra-plutoniano, si librano lungo orbite tanto precise, quanto indefinibili nella loro Natura Prima.
Una Missione Meravigliosa. Come ai tempi delle Sonde (---> probes) Voyager e Pioneer...
Il resto ("Scienza" inclusa), son solo chiacchiere: anche l'Immaginazione e l'Immaginario contano, almeno a parere di chi scrive.MareKromium
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ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-Charon-PIA19709-PCF-LXTT-IPF-1.jpgThe Dark North Polar Regions of Charon (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)59 visiteAs you can see very well here, in today's APOD, remarkable new details of Pluto's largest moon Charon are revealed in this wonderful Extra Detail Magnification (or "EDM", for short) that shows us the North Polar Regions of Charon itself - the original Contextual Picture was taken from the New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (or "LORRI", for short), late on July 13, 2015, from a distance of about 289.000 miles (such as approx. 465.099,26 Km) from the Surface of this - however - unusually-looking Celestial Body.
Generally speaking, the Mission Scientists are surprised by the apparent lack of Impact Craters on Charon. But, in particular, all over Charon's North Polar Regions (that is VERY WELL seen here), a dark marking - which was already prominent in the NASA - New Horizons Spacecraft' approach images - is now showing a diffuse (---> lighter in color) Boundary, suggesting that it could be a (thin?) Deposit of Dark Material (whose nature and origin are still - and, maybe, will remain - unknown).
So, what are we talking about? A North Polar Cap made out of Frozen Hydrocarbons? Or, perhaps, a Layer of a powdered dark mineral - like Coal - which, eons after eons, fell over a Surface of bright Water Ice North Polar Cap and then turned its color (almost) completely black? Who knows...
The image has been compressed to reduce its file size for transmission to Earth. In high-contrast areas of the original Contextual Image, Surface Features as small as about 3 miles (approx. 4,828 Km) across can be seen. Some lower-contrast detail is obscured by the compression of the image, which may make some areas appear smoother than they really are. The uncompressed version still resides in New Horizons' Computer Memory and is scheduled to be transmitted at a later date. Remember that the NASA - New Horizons Spacecraft traveled more than three billion miles over nine-and-a-half years to reach the Plutonian System.
The image (which is a crop taken from an Original NASA - New Horizons Spacecraft's falsely colored and NON Map-Projected frame published on the NASA - Planetary Phojournal with the ID n. 19709) has been additionally processed, magnified to aid the visibility of the details, contrast enhanced and sharpened, Gamma corrected and then re-colorized (according to an educated guess carried out by Dr Paolo C. Fienga-LXTT-IPF) in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a normal human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - New Horizons Spacecraft and then looked ahead, towards the Plutonian moon Charon), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team.MareKromium
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ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-Charon-PIA19709-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgCharon (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)86 visiteRemarkable new details of Pluto's largest moon Charon are revealed in this wonderful image from New Horizons' Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (or "LORRI", for short), that was taken late on July 13, 2015, from a distance of about 289.000 miles (such as approx. 465.099,26 Km). A swath of Cliffs and Troughs stretches about 600 miles (approx. 1609,34 Km) from left (Sx) to right (Dx), suggesting the occurrence, in a remote past, of a widespread fracturing of Charon's Crust (likely a result of internal processes). At the upper righ (Dx) of the framet, along the moon's curving edge, there is a Canyon that is estimated to be approx. 4 to 6 miles (such as about 6,437 to roughly 9,656 Km) deep.
The Mission Scientists are surprised by the apparent lack of Impact Craters on Charon. South of the moon's Equator, at the bottom of this image, Terrain is lit by the slanting Rays of the Sun, and thus creating shadows that make it easier to distinguish its real Topography. Even here, however, relatively few Impact Craters are visible, and this circumstance indicates a (relatively speaking) young Surface that, probably, has been often reshaped by Geologic Activites.
In Charon's North Polar Regions, a dark marking - which was already prominent in the NASA - New Horizons Spacecraft' approach images - is now seen to have a diffuse (---> lighter in color) Boundary, suggesting that it could be a thin Deposit of Dark Material. Underlying, it is a distinct, sharply bounded, Angular Surface Feature; higher resolution images still to come are expected to shed more light on this truly enigmatic Region.
The image (which is an Original NASA - New Horizons Spacecraft's falsely colored and NON Map-Projected frame published on the NASA - Planetary Phojournal with the ID n. 19709) has been additionally processed, magnified to aid the visibility of the details, contrast enhanced and sharpened, Gamma corrected and then re-colorized (according to an educated guess carried out by Dr Paolo C. Fienga-LXTT-IPF) in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a normal human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - New Horizons Spacecraft and then looked ahead, towards the Plutonian moon Charon), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team.MareKromium
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ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-Hydra-PIA19847-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgHydra (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)60 visitePluto's small, and highly irregularly shaped moon Hydra, is, finally (but just partly), revealed in this Absolute Natural Colors image taken from the NASA - New Horizons' Spacecraft LORRI instrument on July 14, 2015, from a distance of about 143.000 miles (such as approx. 230.135,62 Km). Surface Features as small as approx. 0,7 miles (such as about 1,26 Km) are visible on Hydra, which measures, roughly, 34 miles (approx. 54,71756 Km) in length.
The dark and elongated Surface Feature visible towards the South Pole of the moon could be - but we, as IPF, have no way to be sure) a huge Impact Crater, somohow conceptually similar, if you think about it, to the gigantic Stickney Crater which is located on the Martian moon Phobos.
The image (which is an Original NASA - New Horizons Spacecraft's b/w and NON Map-Projected frame published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. 19847) has been additionally processed, magnified to aid the visibility of the details, contrast enhanced and sharpened, Gamma corrected and then colorized (according to an educated guess carried out by Dr Paolo C. Fienga-LXTT-IPF) in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a normal human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - New Horizons Spacecraft and then looked ahead, towards the Plutonian moon Hydra), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team.MareKromium
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ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-Nix-O.jpgCrescent Nix160 visitenessun commentoMareKromium
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ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-Nix-PIA19847-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgNix (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)60 visitePluto's tiny moon Nix (from the Latin word for "Snow"), is shown here in Absolute Natural Colors (as it was imaged by the NASA - New Horizons's Spacecraft "Ralph" instrument). This Celestial Body seems to have a global pinkish color, as well as a relatively large orange/ reddish spot that is located in its Southern Regions - perhaps, in our humble opinion, as IPF, a huge and deep Surface Depression - a "spot" that has - obviously - attracted the interest of the Mission Scientists.
The visual data shown here were obtained on the morning of July 14, 2015, and they were received on Earth on July 18.
At the time when this specific observation was taken, the NASA - New Horizons Spacecraft was about 102.000 miles (such as approx. 164.152,68 Km) from Nix. The image shows Surface Features as small as approximately 2 miles (about 3,218 Km) across on Nix, which is estimated to be about 26 miles (such as approx. 41,84284 Km) long and, roughly, 22 miles (such as about 35,40548 Km) wide.
The image (which is an Original NASA - New Horizons Spacecraft's falsely colored and NON Map-Projected frame published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. 19847) has been additionally processed, magnified to aid the visibility of the details, contrast enhanced and sharpened, Gamma corrected and then re-colorized (according to an educated guess carried out by Dr Paolo C. Fienga-LXTT-IPF) in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a normal human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - New Horizons Spacecraft and then looked ahead, towards the Plutonian moon Nix), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team.MareKromium
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ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-Nix.jpgFeatures of Nix121 visiteUna piccola ed affascinante luna del Sistema Plutoniano: Nix. Da notare come il cambiamento di filtro e l'esaltazione dei contrasti ci portano da una visione sostanzialmente "piatta" ad una oltremodo dettagliata e densa di punti di interesse. Per esempio: il dettaglio in basso a Dx, direi ad ore 04:30 circa, secondo Voi, di che cosa potrebbe essere rappresentativo?
Un Cratere da Impatto? Ne dubito.
Una "voragine" apertasi a causa di influssi mareali? Non ne ho idea.
Ma non posso non notare le somiglianze fra questo piccolissimo Corpo Celeste ed una altrettanto piccola luna di Urano. Indovinate quale...MareKromium
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ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-ZZ-Pluto-Surface.jpgUnusually-looking Surface Features along the Plutonian Terminator80 visiteDa "NASA - Picture of the Day" del 16 Luglio 2015.
"An about 50 miles (such as approx. 80 Km) trip across Pluto would cover the distance indicated by the scale bar in this startling image.
The close-up of the icy world's rugged Equatorial Terrain was captured when the New Horizons Spacecraft was about 47.800 miles (approx. 77.000 Km) from the Surface, 1,5 hours (i.e.: 90 minutes) before its closest approach.
Rising to an estimated 11.000 feet (about 3500 meters), the Mountains visible here are likely composed of (mostly - added by Lunexit) Water Ice.
Suggesting surprising geological activity, they are also likely young with an estimated age of about 100 MY (Million Years). This speculation is based on the apparent absence of "fresh" Impact Craters.
The area pictured is near the base of Pluto's broad, bright and heart-shaped Region".MareKromium
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