New Pluto data released
Cool image time! During today’s New Horizons’ press conference, principal investigator Alan Stern noted that only 4%-5% of the data has been recovered. They have finished first phase of download and are moving into second phase, which will be dominated by engineering and other data, not images. So, for the next couple of months they will only be able to release images once and awhile. Beginning in September images, however, they will begin downloading images at a much faster pace.
Some results from today:
They released a high resolution image of encounter hemisphere, 2 km per pixel, a reduced resolution is shown on the right. It shows that the incredibly complex and varied geology revealed in earlier New Horizons’ images is even more complex and varied than indicated.
The data set obtained so far suggests that Charon has practically no atmosphere.
As for Pluto’s atmosphere, they have gotten the first image of it, looking back at Pluto. From this they have found that the pressure of Pluto’s atmosphere at the surface is lower than expected. The atmosphere also has a haze layer, and there is an indication that the planet has weather. The haze is extensive, as much as 100 miles above the surface. This atmosphere appears to be made of ethylene and acetylene. This atmospheric surface pressure data suggests that the atmosphere has finally begun to condense after Pluto’s close approach to the Sun in 1989. Earth data had suggested it had been expanding since 1989, something scientists didn’t understand. The new data point suggest that the Earth data just wasn’t good enough, and that the atmosphere has been condensing as expected.
They think the dark equatorial areas are created by material rained down from the northern latitudes in a seasonal process. Tombaugh Regio however is a specific region that seems to be spewing out its own material and disturbing this latitude-determined weather pattern.
Higher resolution images of the nitrogen ice of the Regio near its rugged edges strongly suggest that it is flowing just like ice glaciers on Earth. The scientists explained that nitrogen, even at almost -400 degrees Fahrenheit, is soft and can flow. As Stern added, the interaction between geology and weather appears to be much greater on Pluto than on any other object seen in our solar system.
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In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
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Cool image time! During today’s New Horizons’ press conference, principal investigator Alan Stern noted that only 4%-5% of the data has been recovered. They have finished first phase of download and are moving into second phase, which will be dominated by engineering and other data, not images. So, for the next couple of months they will only be able to release images once and awhile. Beginning in September images, however, they will begin downloading images at a much faster pace.
Some results from today:
They released a high resolution image of encounter hemisphere, 2 km per pixel, a reduced resolution is shown on the right. It shows that the incredibly complex and varied geology revealed in earlier New Horizons’ images is even more complex and varied than indicated.
The data set obtained so far suggests that Charon has practically no atmosphere.
As for Pluto’s atmosphere, they have gotten the first image of it, looking back at Pluto. From this they have found that the pressure of Pluto’s atmosphere at the surface is lower than expected. The atmosphere also has a haze layer, and there is an indication that the planet has weather. The haze is extensive, as much as 100 miles above the surface. This atmosphere appears to be made of ethylene and acetylene. This atmospheric surface pressure data suggests that the atmosphere has finally begun to condense after Pluto’s close approach to the Sun in 1989. Earth data had suggested it had been expanding since 1989, something scientists didn’t understand. The new data point suggest that the Earth data just wasn’t good enough, and that the atmosphere has been condensing as expected.
They think the dark equatorial areas are created by material rained down from the northern latitudes in a seasonal process. Tombaugh Regio however is a specific region that seems to be spewing out its own material and disturbing this latitude-determined weather pattern.
Higher resolution images of the nitrogen ice of the Regio near its rugged edges strongly suggest that it is flowing just like ice glaciers on Earth. The scientists explained that nitrogen, even at almost -400 degrees Fahrenheit, is soft and can flow. As Stern added, the interaction between geology and weather appears to be much greater on Pluto than on any other object seen in our solar system.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
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