New Horizons: Jupiter Encounter. Through 2007.

3488 · Jan 29, 2007

I am trying to convince NASA for a dedicated Io mission, an Io orbiter certainly, maybe a lander equiped with cameras, tiltmeters & seismometers. The orbiter would carry out a mini re-run of the Galileo mission, closley approaching all four Galileans yeilding images of less than 1 metre resolution of all four @ closest approach. Also Amalthea, Thebe, Adrastea, Metis & the giant planet itself would be observed & I would have the intention of making weather movies, particularly of the Great Red Spot, prior to Io orbital insertion. Seeing as the orbiter would only last perhaps a week due to the daily 4 Megerad dose of radiation, the globe of Io would be imaged at high resolution using a camera not too unlike the HiRISE on the Mars Recon Orbiter ( wide angle but very high reso). On route would try & get a close main belt asteroid encounter during the outbound journey, perhaps & / or a close approach to one or more irregular outer satellites like Himalia, Pasiphae or Sinope. Europa almost certainly will have a follow on mission, due to the suspected global sub ice ocean. If it exists, there will be more liuid water on Europa, than on Earth!!! Europa anyway is worthy of a return too. Ganymede & Callisto too are likely to have many surprises yet up their sleeves. Back to New Horizons, it is a great shame that the geometery of the Jovian system is not at its best during closest approach of New Horizons. Just thought, Amalthea is in Jupiter's shadow at this time, just prior to coming out of eclipse!! Both Europa & Callisto are almost directly opposite to New Horizons, but will get reasonable views of both during the approach & shortly afterwards. I understand that New Horizons will be able to image Jupiter & the Galileans in crescent phase, a few days after closest approach. If so, what a family portrait!! Below is a blow up & enhancement of the Great Red <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · Jan 29, 2007

Below, my enhanement & enlargement of Jupiter southern hemisphere & Ganymede. New Horizons LORRI camera. Jupiter & Ganymede: Sunday 21st January 2007. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

tom_hobbes · Jan 29, 2007

Many thanks for the informative reply. By God, I'd love to see those mission concepts become a reality! I was wondering about the possibility of New Horizons doing some fairly good imaging of the Jovian moons both before and after close approach and from the sound of it, all is not lost. Cheers! Jay. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> I wish I could remember But my selective memory Won't let me - Mark Oliver Everett </div>

yevaud · Jan 29, 2007

I can't approve that image - it's far too large for the post margins. Please resize it down to no more than 600*600 and repost it. Thanks. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

3488 · Jan 30, 2007

Second attempt: 600*250, should fit this time. Below, my enhanement & enlargement of Jupiter southern hemisphere & Ganymede. New Horizons LORRI camera. Jupiter & Ganymede: Sunday 21st January 2007. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · Jan 30, 2007

New Horizons at Jupiter. Jupiter's Giant Magnetosphere Due to the Jupiter's strong magnetic field, the planet's magnetosphere fills a vast volume of space—1,000 times the volume of the Sun and a million times the volume of the Earth's magnetosphere. Material escaping from Io's atmosphere becomes ionized, supplying about a ton of plasma (sulfur and oxygen ions plus accompanying electrons) every second. This ionized material is trapped in the magnetic field and spun-up to rotate about the planet with Jupiter's 10-hour period, forming a giant torus (or donut-shaped cloud) that circles the planet. The Io plasma torus emits strong UV emission that the Alice instrument will observe as New Horizons approaches Jupiter. Alice will also observe the powerful auroral emissions produced when energetic charged particles from the magnetosphere bombard Jupiter's atmosphere. Jupiter's Dynamic Torus and Aurora Jupiter's aurora is about 103 times as powerful as Earth's, with emissions covering the electromagnetic spectrum (from x-rays to radio), and high spatial and temporal variability. Although there is an incredible amount of data available (from ground-based and space-based observatories, and deep-space missions), many outstanding questions remain. Since most observations have been made from Earth, one of the biggest mysteries is how the aurora behaves on the night side — Galileo's low data rate did not allow that mission to address this very well. Another key unanswered question is how the solar wind influences the high-latitude aurora (the main auroral oval is powered internally by Jupiter's rotation). Another recent discovery is that near-infrared quadrupole emissions do not show the same morphology as the other auroral emissions — in particular, they seem to lack the northern "hot spot" seen at other wavelengths. No reason is known for this surprising behavior. Most of the magnetosphere "real estate" New Horizons w <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

brellis · Jan 30, 2007

Hi Andrew New Horizons is escaping from the solar system, via Pluto & the rest of the KBO, never to return, thus joining Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, Voyager 1 & Voyager 2 in this respect. So many questions: Is there a chart predicting NH's path out of the Solar System? Does NH have the juice to last as long as the Voyagers? At its record speed, when will it overtake the Voyagers as the farthest-flung human-made object? Or, is Voyager I going faster due to additional gravity-assists obtained from Saturn, Neptune and Uranus? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better. </div>

3488 · Jan 31, 2007

Hi brellis, I have found these. AFAIK, New Horizons will not overtake any of the previous four (Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, Voyager 1 & Voyager 2), as the trajectory out of the solar system is steeper, so although New Horizons was faster than any of the above leaving Earth, deceleration due to solar gravity will be stronger on New Horizons in the longer term. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · Jan 31, 2007

New Horizons solar system exit Chart 2. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

MeteorWayne · Jan 31, 2007

It would have to be steeper, since pluto has it's highly inclined orbit, one of the points in the planet or not debate. What I don't understand is why that would affect the gravity? Gravity is affected by distance, not inclination. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

MeteorWayne · Jan 31, 2007

That makes sense, I hadn't thought of that. Time to check out the 3D charts. Thanx MW <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

centsworth_II · Jan 31, 2007

I believe the reason that New Horizons slows down faster than the Voyagers is that it gets no additional gravity assisted boosts as the Voyager craft did. Jupiter is its one any only boost. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

mrmorris · Feb 1, 2007

"At its record speed, when will it overtake the Voyagers as the farthest-flung human-made object?" Seeing the number of posts about this, I did some Googling and found the following from this site. New Horizons' "record speed" is much more specific than is generally realized. It doesn't directly address the 'overtake' question, but provides an indirect answer of... most likely not. "As the New Horizons launch approached, many news reports hailed the new probe as the fastest spacecraft ever. However, that is not quite correct. We have previously written about two vehicles called Helios launched to study the Sun during the 1970s. Both of these probes attained maximum speeds of around 150,000 mph (250,000 km/h) at closest approach to the Sun in their highly elliptical orbits. Helios 2 was slightly faster than its twin craft, and this probe still holds the speed record as not only the fastest spacecraft but also the fastest manmade object in history. New Horizons does hold a speed record of its own, however, but it is much more specific than simply the "fastest spacecraft." New Horizons is instead the fastest spacecraft launched from Earth to date. In other words, New Horizons was traveling faster as it left Earth's orbit than any previous vehicle launched into interplanetary space. New Horizons attained an escape velocity of about 35,800 mph (57,600 km/h) as it departed Earth orbit. This speed is so fast that the probe reached the distance of the Moon in only nine hours (compared to three days for the Apollo missions) and will reach Jupiter in just 13 months. Previous holders of this speed record included the European/NASA probe Ulysses, designed to study the Sun, that was launched at 34,450 mph (55,400 km/h) in 1990 and NASA's Pioneer 10 launched to Jupiter at 32,400 mph (52,100 km/h) in 1972. During

MeteorWayne · Feb 1, 2007

Great stuff, mrmorris. Thanx for the effort! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

brellis · Feb 1, 2007

cool site. thanks mrmorris <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better. </div>

3488 · Feb 1, 2007

Yes great article, I have downloaded a copy. One question though. I understood that New Horizons was going to accelerate to 52,000 MPH, where as your article states 47,000 MPH. Why the discrepancy, what gives here? Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · Feb 2, 2007

Hi there, cheers for that. Of course Jupiter will cause some deceleration, but the net speed will still be greater after the encounter than it was prior. It was just the way the article was worded, that this was not clear. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · Feb 2, 2007

Hi there, Pluto & Eris will actually be further apart than Earth is from either!! I failed to take into account of the orbital INCLINATION of Eris. Now they are 110 AU apart, closing to 106 AU in 2016. So I doubt New Horizons could do as I suggested. HOWEVER, Ixion will be only 16 AU away & Quaoar 19 AU away. New Horizons could do the suggested observations on both of them. The LORRI camera could do light curve observations on both & perhaps New Horizons get spectra?? The images will reveal no detail as both will be far too far away, but the observations would reveal light curves from different phase angles (are the surfaces smooth or rough, rotational axis & periods, etc), not to mention more accurate orbital elements. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

MeteorWayne · Feb 2, 2007

Good afternoon, Andrew, thanks for the update. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

3488 · Feb 2, 2007

Good afternoon MeteorWayne, well nearly evening here now, its getting quite dark, well into Nautical Twilight now. The Full Moon is a few degrees up now. I discovered my error last night & have owned up to it, but have found a couple of alternative targets for New Horizons to observe from afar instead!!! I will push for this sort of thing, simply because, there is only one New Horizons (should have been two, the second via Jupiter & Uranus to the Kuiper Belt, a travesty that it did not happen), & although New Horizons may yet make close visits to one or more KBOs after Pluto, any other observations that are possible, IMO must be made. The KBO appears to be made up of varied objects, & like the main Asteroid Belt, must be understood. It is not often we have a probe this far out from the Sun, only the fifth so far!! Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

MeteorWayne · Feb 2, 2007

Admitting an error? What a refreshing concept here on SDC <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /> I wouldn't really call it an error, since you had not yet seriously investigated the 3D situation. I would hope that by the time NH gets to Pluto we will have multiple targets to select for both distant and hopefully a few close up observations of KBO's. Consider the rate at which such objects are being discovered...remember 2003 UB313 that became Eris? That designation means that during the 2 week period "U" in 2003 (Oct 16-31), that was the 314th time the letter B had been used. That means it was the 8,827 th small solar system body discovered during that 2 week period! Now while certainly not all two week periods are as flush with discoveries, it means that by the time of NH's passing Pluto we may have discovered another few hundred thousand KBO's. Surely we should be able to get close to a few. I can't wait, but have no choice <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

3488 · Feb 2, 2007

Same here, I also hope that there will be some trailing Neptune trojans that New Horizons could rendezvous with, just prior to Pluto. You are correct, I saw a potential opportinity in 2D, as Pluto & Eris are both generally on the same side of the Sun, but in 3D are very much further apart. The discovery rate is tremendous, I like you think, well hope, that there will be at least one if not more post Pluto encounters. I never did quite understand the numbering sequence properly, so thank you for explaining it. I understand it now!! Who knows, we may even find that Pluto has more than three moons too by then!!! Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

MeteorWayne · Feb 2, 2007

Here's a link to the numbering system if you're interested. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

mikeemmert · Feb 3, 2007

Hi, Andrew; We are not, of course, going to be able to have much choice of additional targets after Pluto, and even less chance of intercepting a Neptune trojan, since fuel must be conserved for the main encounter. After the Pluto flyby, any fuel left can be used for maneuvering. It's highly doubtful that New Horizons can be sent to one of the large, spectacular objects. But that's quite alright. Pluto and Charon are those large, spectacular objects. It is better to get a bit of variety. Most of that variety will come in the next few weeks during the encounter. If there is a choice between an encounter with on object 500 km in diameter or two objects 50 km in diameter, then we should definitely take the double target option. Going by the large object tells us about only one object, whereas going by two objects gives us twice as much information about the Kuiper Belt. Another choice that might come up, since the craft is fairly close to the plane of the ecliptic, is between doing, say, two plutinos or a plutino and a cubewano. In this case the plutino and the cubewano would be the choice. Do remember that Nix and Hydra might or might not be plutinos and that the system is definitely that of a plutino. I think Nix and Hydra are heavily processed moons.

viper101 · Feb 4, 2007

I was just checking out the NH website and found a link to recent LORRI images, but the newest was from about the 24th of Jan - does anyone know a url that might have more frequent updates? I'd like to take a look at the raw jupiter images coming in, assuming someone is posting them. Thanks for any help. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

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