New images of Pluto

[mithridates]

Haven't seen a thread on this yet, so here it is:<br /><br />http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=23785<br /><br />Any chance of getting some really good photographs of Ceres as well, I wonder? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>----- </p><p>http://mithridates.blogspot.com</p> </div>

 

[h2ouniverse]

Great to see the plutonian subsystem. The pictures superimpose pluto+charon pictures onto nix+hydra ones, but that is needed otherwise in order to see nix and hydra, pluto and charon would saturate the pixels given the difference in magnitude.<br /><br />I saw too that they "confirm" the diameter of Nix, Hydra to be less than 100km. There was already litttle reason to think they would be bigger so I don't see what their statement brings.<br /><br />

 

[h2ouniverse]

There is also an article in SDC:<br />http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/071012-pluto-pictures.html<br /><br />The interesting news are that they plan further observations.

 

[alokmohan]

Welcome nix and hydra in sdc board

 

[h2ouniverse]

in reply to<br />-------------<br />Any chance of getting some really good photographs of Ceres as well, I wonder? <br />---------------------<br /><br />Hi Mithridates,<br /><br />A pity indeed. Ceres is close to opposition these times. They should definitely benefit from it to try to evidence some surface activity!<br />

 

[mithridates]

Hm, that's a good point. At least the next opposition will be even closer than this one so we'll likely get something better than what we have before Dawn arrives. I just looked up the dates of opposition for the two bodies for the period before Dawn's arrival:<br /><br />Ceres (February 2015 arrival)<br /><br />November 10 2007 - 1.833 AU<br />February 26 2009 - 1.581 AU<br />June 15 2010 - 1.825 AU<br />September 17 2011 - 1.992 AU<br />December 21 2012 - 1.681 AU<br />April 15 2014 - 1.634 AU<br /><br />Vesta (October 2011 arrival)<br /><br />October 27 2008 - 1.539 AU<br />February 22 2010 - 1.413 AU <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>----- </p><p>http://mithridates.blogspot.com</p> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

Ceres is close to opposition these times. They should definitely benefit from it to try to evidence some surface activity! <br />HOW?<br /><br /> <br />

 

[MeteorWayne]

Thanx for looking those dates and distances up!<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[h2ouniverse]

Alokmohan,<br /><br />If there is some frost cycle (e.g. night frost vaporizing at dawn, recondensing) there might be some albedo variation close to the limb. They did not succeed up to now. This is indeed not easy to spot. But may be they can have a better resolution in spectrography as on-ground instruments improve?<br /><br />Regards.

 

[h2ouniverse]

Also, they could detect Pluto's atmosphere thanks to occultation of stars. Hope they will have such opportunities with Ceres...

 

[mithridates]

No problem. Now if only I were able to find out whether observatories plan to make use of them or not. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>----- </p><p>http://mithridates.blogspot.com</p> </div>

 

[3488]

This is amazing stuff.<br /><br />I think Joel that Hydra was thought to be 160 KM across, much larger than Nix. Perhaps<br />the new observations refute that, but Hydra does look substatially brighter than Nix.<br /><br />I do not think we will know for sure until either<br /><br />1). New Horizons arrives & images both.<br /><br />or <br /><br />2). There are steller occultations by both before then.<br /><br />I wonder too if there will be 1 Ceres imagery, using same equipment, perhaps 2 Pallas,<br />4 Vesta, the Eris & Dysmonia system & 2003 EL61 system?<br /><br />Andrew Brown.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"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".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[h2ouniverse]

Mmm, remember Andrew when we exchanged about the toggling of Pluto by Nix and Hdra.<br />I had already just 44 and 54 km of diameter in that calculation. <br />Enough to toggle the Pluto/Charon CoG by 250 to 650 meters.<br />http://uplink.space.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=sciastro&Number=749447&page=7&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=2<br />Regards <br />Joel

 

[3488]

Thats true, I forgot about that Joel. <br /><br />These new observations seem to confirm your values pretty much.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"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".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[h2ouniverse]

I must confess I had them from...wikipedia (shame on me)