Photo Of Pluto !

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33517419

Isn't this amazing ! Its billions of miles from Earth, and we can expect some even more spectacular photos in a day or so. Quite incredible !

[bookbinder]

Nearly there, mikey! Only the Americans could have achieved something like this! They deserve praise for their efforts and dedication! How do they navigate all that way with such accuracy?

[Retrochic]

I am so looking forward to more pictures of Pluto and hopefully they will now upgrade it back to planet status. Wouldn't it be awesome if the photos showed primordial forests and lakes -obviously not possible but it would be fantastic!

[Retrochic]

bookbinder -they could hardly veer of the beaten track lol!

[naomi24]

I'm waiting for the later pictures. I heard on the news that they will show areas the size of a football pitch - so pretty close!

[bookbinder]

Ah, yes, Retro, but from this distance, Pluto is just one dot of light among millions.

[whiskeryron]

I applaud NASA's wonderful efforts. Just to be silly for 1 minute here's another picture of Pluto

http://tinypic.com/r/291f7o8/8

[EDDIE51]

Wrong link how did that happen?
http://www.universetoday.com/
This has all the latest 'space news' and is free.
Better pictures as well.

[Gromit]

3 billion miles to be precise.

I might see if the flyby is live on the NASA channel tonight.

[DTCwordfan]

Apparently they are right down the money on the line past Pluto, brilliant.....that's half the battle to start getting superb piccys and data back.. the module is also carrying some of the ashes of the astronomer who discovered Pluto, Clyde Tombaugh. That's rather nice as he was also one of the pioneers in unearthing the Kuiper Belt.

[ukbod2015]

Three questions
Now they reckon the photos confirm Pluto is bigger than originally thought is it a planet again.
How is it that the ship hasnt frozen solid with the temperatures out there.
Whats it using for power to far for solar panels must have duracell +++++ versions.

[DTCwordfan]

I wondered that too, bod, question 1 - and your two and three - three in part has come via using the different planets as gravitational slings, it's moving at 14km a second - that beats Concorde.

[Milvus]

The next new pictures won't be until Wednesday evening. The satellite has been turned to run all its experiments during the flyby so no transmissions until they are complete

[Milvus]

There's a good free app for iPad from the Pluto team. Pluto Safari

[Gromit]

Pluto was downgrade because another dwarf planet Eris was thought to be bigger than Pluto. It now looks like Pluto is in fact the bigger of the two. But I don't expect it to get its full planet status back. The re-classification works.

Though it is very cold at 3 billion miles from the sun, space Is a near perfect vaccuum. There is oxygen, so no water, so ice cannot form.

The New Horizons craft is power by converting decaying radioactive material on the vessel into electricity.

http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Mission/Spacecraft/docs/NHRTG_FS_100804.pdf

[TWR]

News flash, "Sky" a Building has been seen on the surface of Pluto, they can not figure out but it looks like a Very Large " M"

[ukbod2015]

Who is going to be the first one to do the nice place but wouldnt like to live there as no atmosphere - oops I just did - sorry
Unless you like liquid methane...

[DTCwordfan]

does that read 'mikey4444 - the Coalition was right,' TWR?

[bibblebub]

"Only the Americans could have achieved something like this"

The European Space Agency is responsible for the Rosetta mission which included landing Philae (which is still working) on an object travelling at 135,000 kph with a gravitational pull that is several hundred thousand times weaker than on Earth. Quite impressive.

http://www.space.com/24266-rosetta-comet-mission-photos-esa.html