# Pluto Probe on it's way **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 19, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695 "2006-01-19T19:08:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/1 "2006-01-19T19:08:44Z")
I just watched the Pluto probe launch. The view fromthe gulf coast was not that impressive. Basically, a thin little contrail with not even a bright light at the top. I wish now that I had stayed inside and watched it on my bosses TV. I’ll bump this thread when the probe gets to Pluto. See you in 9 years. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/2 "2006-01-19T19:12:38Z")
CNN pipeline carried all of the NASA feeds and is was great. Now it’s well into the upper atmosphere and they are showing telemetry imaging. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/3 "2006-01-19T19:20:26Z")
And it’s not supposed to get there until 2015? Waitaminnit. That _is_ nine years. Ack. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/4 "2006-01-19T19:25:56Z")
For some reason my 5 year old has become absolutely fascinated with the planets, memorizing not just the order but excruciating details about each and every one. We talked last night about how she’ll be 14 when this probe gets there and a good bit older before it reaches the 10th one. I think I’ll take her picture holding the newspaper with this article. It’ll be a nice reference when we’re reading about it’s arrival. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/5 "2006-01-19T20:01:45Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > I’ll bump this thread when the probe gets to Pluto. Heh. I set a reminder on my calendar to check in on the mission around the time of the gravity assist at Jupiter in 2007. I salute my fellow space nerds. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/6 "2006-01-19T20:31:11Z")
I forget exactly, but isn’t this probe going to reach the moon in something like 9 hours instead of the three days it took apollo missions? This sucker is FAST. ---
**Author:** ![everyone\_loves\_monkeys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9e5f3/32.png) [@everyone\_loves\_monkeys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everyone_loves_monkeys)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/7 "2006-01-19T23:55:04Z")
**Hypno-toad** : are you an alien? from the tittle of your post it sounds like your expecting a visit from the probe. Have i just discovered your secret? Will i now be subject to martian mind control? **Will the world ever be the same again?** ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/8 "2006-01-20T02:29:56Z")
I got to watch it in my boss’s office. She and her deputy each worked on the Atlas V program during their mid-grade officer years, and when the booster jumped off the pad, she said “Holy shit! Look at that thing jump. Go, go, goooo!” Apparently with such a small payload and five strap-on solid boosters, the Atlas doesn’t mess around. It was also cool that she knew most of the guys in the control room and knew who had their lucky ties on. FWWOOOOOOOOSH! ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/9 "2006-01-20T13:44:35Z")
Is there any footage online of the takeoff? All I can find are still shots. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/10 "2015-05-13T12:33:47Z")
Well, I said I’d revive this thread in 9 years, so here we are. The New Horizons probe is due to reach Pluto in about two months. It could have been there sooner, but the section from Jupiter to Pluto was routed through Atlanta. [Here’s some of the latest news about Plutos five moons.](http://www.space.com/29391-pluto-moons-family-photo-new-horizons.html) ---
**Author:** ![tonyfop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/85f322/32.png) [@tonyfop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tonyfop)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/11 "2015-05-13T13:34:20Z")
The probe that was launched towards a planet and arrived at a dwarf planet? ---
**Author:** ![Fool\_in\_the\_Rain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fool\_in\_the\_Rain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fool_in_the_Rain)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/12 "2015-05-13T13:53:10Z")
Huh, Pluto has five moons, didn’t know that. > [@](#): > > Pluto’s five known satellites are Charon, Hydra, Nix, Kerberos and Styx. At 648 miles (1,043 km) in diameter, Charon is nearly half as wide as Pluto itself, but the other four moons are minuscule. Kerberos and Styx, for example, are thought to be just 4 to 13 miles (7 to 21 km) and 6 to 20 miles (10 to 32 km) wide, respectively. I’m curious if it’s possible that Pluto and it’s family were evicted from the Neptunian system, as it does interesect Neptune’s orbit of the sun and is on a different plane, off from the other planetary orbits. Could it be it hasn’t settled into a compliant orbit around the sun yet due to an impact or gravitational push from Triton, Neptune’s relatively new and backward orbiting moon? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/13 "2015-05-13T13:55:36Z")
How many moons where there at the time of launch? Was Pluto still a planet back then? ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/14 "2015-05-13T13:56:10Z")
I’ve been looking forward to this - very excited! ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/15 "2015-05-13T14:02:48Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > How many moons where there at the time of launch? Well, the same number there are now, but we only knew about Charon, Nix, and Hydra. 😃 Styx and Kerberos were discovered in 2012 and 2011, respectively. ETA: Nix and Hydra were both discovered in 2005, a year before New Horizons launched, but well after the funding for the probe was allocated. > [@kanicbird](#): > > Was Pluto still a planet back then? New Horizons was launched in January of 2006 and Pluto was reclassified in September of 2006. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/16 "2015-05-13T14:05:49Z")
As new news comes along will you post it here or start new threads? In other words, is it time to bookmark this? ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/17 "2015-05-13T14:12:53Z")
Feel free to update this thread with whatever New Horizons news you find. After nine years, this thread has arisen and craves new posts. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/18 "2015-05-13T15:11:40Z")
Evicted from the Neptunian system? Did it fail to pay the rent? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/19 "2015-05-13T15:16:34Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Evicted from the Neptunian system? Did it fail to pay the rent? 🙂 Good thing it wasn’t eliminated from the Uranian system. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/20 "2015-06-01T19:46:53Z")
Getting closer. [Only 34 million miles away](http://www.cpr.org/news/story/new-horizons-probe-closes-pluto-and-spots-possible-polar-caps). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695.md?page=2)