Comments on: New Horizons team picks Ultima Thule as nickname for 2014 MU69

By: Robert Zimmerman

Robert Zimmerman — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 15:47:21 +0000

In reply to Steve Earle. Steve Earle: The quote function exists. You place the tag "blockquote" before the quote, enclosing the word with the <> symbols instead of quotes, and then place "/blockquote" after the quote, changing the quotes once again to the <> symbols.

By: Steve Earle

Steve Earle — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 15:35:28 +0000

Bad link above, sorry. This one should work, just X out of the Car Ad and the video will start:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5v20rw

(Did I mention that these comments need an “edit function”? Oh, and a “Quote function as well…)

By: Steve Earle

Steve Earle — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 15:26:38 +0000

Mr Z said:
“…I suspect not. They were I think very lucky to get Ultima Thule. Considering their speed, and the vastness of emptiness out there, the odds of having another object reachable for a fly-by seems quite low. Moreover, being farther out such an object would also be harder to find….”

That’s a pity. We won’t have another controllable spacecraft out that way anytime soon. I would also guess that even if they were to find another object within its reach that expending any more fuel would hasten EOM…. Better to keep it on its current course and transmitting as many years as possible.

Continuing on my video roll here’s the episode of Space 1999 that Gealon referred to:

blob:http://www.dailymotion.com/43450e36-69e6-4df2-8dd6-0a8e8e288237

That was an interesting bit of trivia Gealon! And I had forgotten the catchy theme song for S99 :-)

By: Gealon

Gealon — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 14:42:57 +0000

An interesting bit of trivia to add to the discussion, one of the planets visited on the television show Space 1999 was Ultima Thule. It too was a frozen snowball floating far off the beaten track, though we will have to see if this real world stellar object is indeed a snowball or a rock, and if there is an encampment of long lost astronauts marooned there.

By: wayne

wayne — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 20:51:55 +0000

Steve–
you’re on a roll with the video clips!

By: Robert Zimmerman

Robert Zimmerman — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 20:36:30 +0000

In reply to Steve Earle.

Steve Earle asked, “Does anyone on here know if there is a chance they might have enough fuel/range left over to target any other Kuiper objects before the EOM occurs?”

I suspect not. They were I think very lucky to get Ultima Thule. Considering their speed, and the vastness of emptiness out there, the odds of having another object reachable for a fly-by seems quite low. Moreover, being farther out such an object would also be harder to find.

By: Steve Earle

Steve Earle — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 20:33:13 +0000

Mr Z said:
“…..Their spacecraft will be the first to see this object up close. It is their right to name it. And if the International Astronomical Union objects, they can go to hell….”

Perfect sentiment, I agree 100%. The Pluto fiasco should have been a lesson to all concerned. (and yes, I am teaching my science and space interested 7 yr old son that Pluto IS a planet and the Sol System has NINE planets not eight!)

Does anyone on here know if there is a chance they might have enough fuel/range left over to target any other Kuiper objects before the EOM occurs?

Sheldon Cooper berates Neil Degrasse Tyson over his role in demoting Pluto:
https://youtu.be/H3DfwFZZXDQ

By: Localfluff

Localfluff — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 18:06:43 +0000

The New Horizons team decides its name. Not the IAU. The IAU has degraded their authority on classifications and namings in recent years. They should maybe keep to the catalogs and stay clear of whatever the general public happens to get interested in.

Naming it after the Norwegian myths of something beyond the fogs of the outermost northern island of Thule (like America beyond Greenland maybe), is quite appropriate I think.