Why Pluto???

[brandbll]

Although i am extremely excited about the New Horizon's mission, i am also very curious why we chose that planet as opposed to some of the other outter ones. Personally, i find Neptune to be MUCH more interesting than Pluto. Does anyone know why they chose Pluto over some of these other planets besides the fact they have never visited it before? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="3">You wanna talk some jive? I'll talk some jive. I'll talk some jive like you've never heard!</font></p> </div>

 

[strandedonearth]

Pluto had to be done as soon as possible, because "summer" is ending there and the chance to study what little atmosphere Pluto has before it freezes out is evaporating. It also represents all the KBO's out there, of which nearly nothing is known.

 

[brandbll]

Yeah, but still, what about Neptune? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="3">You wanna talk some jive? I'll talk some jive. I'll talk some jive like you've never heard!</font></p> </div>

 

[baktothemoon]

Last I heard we were going to send a probe to Neptune that was like JIMO.<br /><br />"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." John F. Kennedy

 

[jwsmith]

StrandedonEarth writes: >> It also represents all the KBO's out there, of which nearly nothing is known. <<<br /><br />Stranded only gives you part of the answer. This Mission was planned to Pluto because it is the only one of the "9" planets not visited. It Neptune has been visited at least twice, maybe more. <br />Add to that this mission was first planned over 8 years ago, long before we had any actual idea that there were other and bigger objects out past Pluto. <br />Add to this the fact that the Pluto visit is just a brief interlude at the beginning of the real mission which will be to study as much of the Kelper Belt and the Orte Cloud as it can in its usefull lifetime.<br />Is it really worth it? Of course, it will tell us just how little we now know even though we know 10 times what we did when the mission was planned. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2">John Wayne Smith, CEO</font></p><p><font size="2">1000 Planets, Inc</font></p><p><font size="2">Http://www.1000Planets.com</font></p><p><font size="2">203 W.Magnolia St.</font></p><p><font size="2">Leesbutg Florida 34748</font></p><p><font size="2">Ph: 352 787 5550</font></p><p><font size="2">email jwsmith42000@aol.com</font></p> </div>

 

[brandbll]

Ok well why not study all that other junk after you study Neptune? <br /><br />Oh and what is Neptune made out of? Like whats it composed of mainly? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="3">You wanna talk some jive? I'll talk some jive. I'll talk some jive like you've never heard!</font></p> </div>

 

[vogon13]

Voyager II flew by Neptune in 1989.<br /><br />Triton pictures were dramatic.<br /><br />Neptunes ring system was an interesting contrast to the Uranian one.<br /><br />The bright white white clouds of Neptune above the vivid blue cloud deck was stunning.<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[lampblack]

<font color="yellow">Ok well why not study all that other junk after you study Neptune? </font><br /><br />It's not as though they're mutually exclusive. One thang at the time. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#0000ff"><strong>Just tell the truth and let the chips fall...</strong></font> </div>

 

[qso1]

There can only be so many missions approved and Neptune had already been visited. Neptune will probably be visited again by an orbital type probe but not any time soon.<br /><br />Pluto was also the only planet we had not sent an unmanned probe to after the 1989 Neptune flyby. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[yurkin]

Theres not a whole lot more about Neptune that can be answered by a simple flyby mission. An orbital mission to Neptune I doubt would be possible with present technology. You would need an ion propulsion system and probably a nuclear reactor to get the kind of energy needed to do that.

 

[vogon13]

Perhaps a simple ballute can brake an approaching craft into orbit (around Neptune or Triton) by utilizing the conveniently deep (and thin) Tritonian atmosphere.<br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[mlorrey]

One of the Voyager probes already flew by Neptune. Pluto is the only one of the recognised nine planets we haven't been to yet, and its the closest large KBO. <br /><br />NASA is also building a probe to visit Ceres, which was once considered a planet but got demoted after other asteroids were discovered.

 

[willpittenger]

JIMO is dead. I would assume any other probes based on it are also dead. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

 

[willpittenger]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>Neptune has been visited at least twice, maybe more. <p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br />Only once -- by Voyager 2. Actually, I like the idea of going because Pluto represents so many of the comets which might hit Earth in the future. <br /><br />Edit: Corrected typo pointed out by Vogon13. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

 

[willpittenger]

Unless you are wanting an orbit around Triton, forget it. If you are going to aerobrake, you probably do not want to use a moon of the object you want to orbit. If the moon had a thick atmosphere like Titon's, perhaps. Triton's atmosphere would require many passes which would be difficult to arrange in a short period of time. However, Neptune's own atmosphere may provide a solution. All atmosphere's are thin if you go high enough. Neptune's can't be an exception. Single orbit aerobraking is probably also possible using Neptune's atmosphere, but you need a really good heat shield. <br /><br />For an idea of the type of heat shield needed for single pass aerobraking, watch the movie <i>2010</i> sometime. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

 

[vogon13]

-----------------------------------------------------------<br /> . . . . comets which might attempt to hit earth.<br />-----------------------------------------------------------<br /><br /><br />Comets are self aware and can choose to end their existence by deliberately splattering themselves on a particular planet?<br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[john_316]

You know you do bring up a perfectly good point!<br /><br />Why not explore Neptune and also why not explore Uranus!!!!<br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />

 

[scottb50]

That's definitly in bad taste, or tastes bad, especially on page 2 of a thread. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[john_316]

Sorry Scottb50!!<br /><br /><br />I didn't know if we would find klingons or not?<br /><br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>Yeah, but still, what about Neptune? <p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />The main impetus behind New Horizons is the fact that Pluto is moving into a very long and very cold winter; the brief window of opportunity to study Pluto will close very soon. But Neptune's orbit is much less eccentric. In other words, Neptune is a worthy target, but unlike Pluto, it can wait a few years. Uranus is another worthy target, but arguably a much more challenging one. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[willpittenger]

What are the windows for an equatorial orbit around Uranus? Given its tilt, we might have to wait a long time anyway for such an orbit. Yet that is probably waht you want to study its moons and rings. Polar would work OK for the planet itself, but not any surrounding objects. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

 

[willpittenger]

Sorry. Bad wording. See revised text. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

 

[josh_simonson]

Why pluto? To secure the plutonium lest terrorists get there first!

 

[willpittenger]

How many rotten tomatoes do you want thrown your way for your dumb joke? The probe <i>carries</i> plutonium! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

Well then, there's another reason to send it. Get that plutonium away from Earth, where the terrorists can't reach it!<br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /><br /><br />(Sorry, I'm a little slap-happy right now. It's been an interesting week.) <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>