New Horizons

[LaydeeDem]

Looks like the lobes are less spherical than we thought.

Edited January 16, 2019 by LaydeeDem

[tater]

 

[cubinator]

I spy a few craters!

[NSEP]

 

[HebaruSan]

Is this setting off anyone else's facial detection circuitry?

[NSEP]

17 minutes ago, HebaruSan said:

Is this setting off anyone else's facial detection circuitry?

NASA is hiding something from us.

[DDE]

1 hour ago, NSEP said:

NASA is hiding something from us

Yes, a new mixed-diameter upper stage.

[NSEP]

3 hours ago, DDE said:

Yes, a new mixed-diameter upper stage.

Without an engine, hmmmm maybe its a refueling depot.

[DDE]

47 minutes ago, NSEP said:

Without an engine, hmmmm maybe its a refueling depot.

Or a bad case of budget cuts

[kerbiloid]

(Caution, may be disgusting)

Spoiler

 

[tater]

Interesting...

http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/News-Article.php?page=20190208

^^^there's a good video there of it rotating so you can see how it looks vs what we have seen so far in images.

Edited February 8, 2019 by tater

[MaverickSawyer]

Huh. Now THAT's an odd shape!

[tater]

 

[kerbiloid]

So, they haven't become spherical due to the gases evaporation.

(Gravity is not guilty as well)

Edited February 8, 2019 by kerbiloid

[tater]

 

[tater]

[cubinator]

I wonder if Methone might have formed similarly to Ultima?

[Green Baron]

I'd guess that Ultima-Thule might be much older, as probably all KBOs a remnant from the early solar system, and considerably denser than Methone. Methone seems to be in a state of flow to maintain a smooth surface, while U-T may have icy parts (at the collar for example) as well as more rocky components. If Methone is formed from material from the ice rings it may just be a few 10s of millions of years old, the rings are assumed to be an ephemeral thing.

Just a guess ...

Edited March 13, 2019 by Green Baron

[Green Baron]

Rumours have it that New Horizons found methanol ice on UT.

Before we split into one group who shouts "Fuel station !" and another "Distillery !"(*), this still needs a proper link ...

 

(*) ... always prepared to risk an eye ... that could be the place where i'll open my space pub. "Andorian Ale, local product" Epic headache made for the movies included.

Edited March 20, 2019 by Green Baron

[kerbiloid]

Now we need an ethanol planetoid as an antidote.

[Green Baron]

The methanol thing apparently originates from a slide show "Ultima Thule, Surface Composition" held during a NASA press briefing.

http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/Press-Conferences/index.php?page=2019-03-18

Scroll down slide no. 7 by Dr. S. Protopapa. I find the name remarkable :-)

Edited March 20, 2019 by Green Baron

[tater]

 

[Barzon]

Slides from yesterday's New Horizons update from Alan Stern at the May OPAG Meeting:

Spoiler

 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2023 by Barzon

[AckSed]

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/12/squeezing-science-out-of-new-horizons-as-it-heads-out-of-the-solar-system/

In summary:

Observations funded until 2028-29;

Arrokoth was, it seems, made up of 8-9 smaller objects glomming together gently enough they didn't break;

Computing possible Kuiper Belt Objects to observe has been hugely sped up from weeks to hours, thanks to computer-aided selection;

There are a series of sensors that detect the infinitesimal amounts of dust at the edge of the Kuiper Belt. It was predicted it would fall off around 40-50 AU, but it hasn't yet;

Using the small LORRI telescope, they took observations of Uranus and Neptune from a brand-new perspective. They also observed on the blackest part of the sky they could find to measure the Cosmic Optical Background, the remaining visible light in the cosmos. It turned out to be brighter than expected, even when they eliminated everything they could think of. They're going to check 15 more fields of utter blackness to see if this holds water.