# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/41 "2015-07-13T18:35:20Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > [Latest photo](http://pre09.deviantart.net/e9a6/th/pre/i/2013/296/7/5/pluto_the_dog_by_awesomephoenix-d6rl4m5.jpg) of the surface. You _dog_! ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/42 "2015-07-13T19:47:30Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Well, apparently, [the universe is beige](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_latte), on average. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s bad enough that I live in a beige subdivision, but now I find out the entire universe is beige?? To quote George Takei “oh myyyy” ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/43 "2015-07-13T19:49:51Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > 4.5 hours each way? Unacceptable; they should have rigged it to use the subspace frequencies. > Amateurs. Not only that but it will take a year or so for all the pictures to return. But that is due to low power. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/44 "2015-07-13T20:34:55Z")
[15 hours and 15 minutes](http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/) to the nearest approach. But, yeah, it’ll take time to process the data and start sending results back. Truly mind-boggling. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/45 "2015-07-13T20:43:42Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > 4.5 hours each way? Unacceptable; they should have rigged it to use the subspace frequencies. > > Amateurs. > [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Not only that but it will take a year or so for all the pictures to return. But that is due to low power. This feels like surfing nudie pix on dialup all over again. ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/46 "2015-07-13T22:04:29Z")
Ended up not doing much there - the station sent me after the primary press conference at 10:30am. However it was nice to see the activities and I got a cool press package including a bumper sticker and pin. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/47 "2015-07-13T22:41:11Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Well, apparently, [the universe is beige](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_latte), on average. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise. A yellowish beige - I’ve got it on the dining room walls. And if you’re having trouble waiting for Pluto pics, watching The Pitch Drop experiment probably isn’t for you. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/48 "2015-07-14T00:35:16Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > A yellowish beige - I’ve got it on the dining room walls. > > And if you’re having trouble waiting for Pluto pics, watching The Pitch Drop experiment probably isn’t for you. That’s funny. I needed that. Thanks. ---
**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:** [July 14, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/49 "2015-07-14T00:37:26Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Why would it be beige? It just seems like such an odd color for a remote and mysterious world. That’s probably the default. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/50 "2015-07-14T00:49:28Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > And if you’re having trouble waiting for Pluto pics, watching The Pitch Drop experiment probably isn’t for you. That was just fucked up. We were waiting a decade for that thing, then they went to clean up the beaker and it broke off while they were fussing with it. Now we all have to live another dozen years for the excitement to build up again. Might as well plant an _Amorphophallus Titanum_ and wait for that to bloom in the meantime. Or wait for Berkeley Breathed to start drawing cartoons again. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/51 "2015-07-14T03:04:13Z")
_Discovered by a man named Clyde, [On that ship, he caught a ride](http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/07/12/pluto-clyde-tombaugh-ashes-nasa/30050515/), It turned into quite a shot Astronomer to Astronaut_ ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/52 "2015-07-14T04:19:18Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > This feels like surfing nudie pix on dialup all over again. Ah… I remember ASCII-art porn… the way it printed out one line at a time on the old teletype terminals. Sort of a like a strip-tease. ---
**Author:** ![bb49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b38774/32.png) [@bb49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bb49)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/53 "2015-07-14T05:37:50Z")
They’re probing Pluto? Shouldn’t they be probing Uranus first? ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/54 "2015-07-14T06:01:04Z")
Less than 6 hours to go! Links: > **[New Horizons: Beyond Pluto](http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/)** > > The New Horizons spacecraft launched on January 19, 2006 – beginning its odyssey to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. New Horizons now continues on its unparalleled journey of exploration with the close flyby of a Kuiper Belt object called 2014 MU69 –... > **[New Horizons](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/main/index.html)** > > New Horizons launched on Jan. 19, 2006 and conducted a six-month-long reconnaissance flyby study of Pluto and its moons in summer 2015, culminating with Pluto closest approach on July 14, 2015. Blog at Planetary Society: > **[Pluto minus one day: Very first New Horizons Pluto encounter science…](https://www.planetary.org/articles/07131311-pluto-first-science)** > > At a press briefing this morning, New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern divulged some extremely preliminary first science results from the New Horizons Pluto encounter. Science results include Pluto's diameter and information on its surface... Dr. Phil Plait’s Bad Astronomy blog at Slate. He used to post here. > **[Slate | Bad Astronomy](https://slate.com/technology/bad-astronomy)** > > Everything on Slate about Bad Astronomy [Space.com](http://Space.com)’s planetary page. [Spaceflight - News About Space Travel and Exploration](http://www.space.com/spaceflight/) ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/55 "2015-07-14T11:34:20Z")
Closest approach is in 16 minutes! [NASA TV](https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html) is doing a live streaming thing to celebrate, and they’ll be using the moment of closest flyby as an excuse to release the best pictures from the last day or two. Today that should include some full-frame images of Pluto. Of course, the actual probe is quite busy with observations, and won’t be sending any more data back until Thursday when it sends a small set of images from the closest approach. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/56 "2015-07-14T11:46:34Z")
About five minutes away from closest approach! There is already an incredible picture on Twitter taken yesterday at 476K miles away. My understanding was that the first signals won’t start coming in until about 4:00 PM this afternoon, presumably because it will be VERY busy for about four more hours, consuming all its power and computing resources. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/57 "2015-07-14T11:51:31Z")
As a slightly more practical matter, New Horizon’s antenna and instruments are all fixed. They can’t be aimed independently, so there’s no communication with Earth while there are observations to be made. ---
**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:** [July 14, 2015, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/58 "2015-07-14T11:53:03Z")
Whoosh! and there it goes, right on by! I hope it didn’t blink. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/59 "2015-07-14T11:55:54Z")
This is so awesome and I can’t wait for the pictures. What’s next for New Horizons? ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/60 "2015-07-14T12:03:56Z")
It’s going to be very busy with observations for the next few days: taking as many pictures as possible before and after the approach. Its trajectory is also taking it through the shadows of both Pluto and Charon, allowing it to get some good observations of the atmosphere of each. Then, once the flyby and primary observations are complete, it’s going to sloooowly transmit all the data back, over the course of the next year. Afterwards, there are plans to use the remaining fuel on the probe to fly by some other Kuiper belt objects sometime after 2018. Finally, it has some plasma instruments that will allow it to measure the solar wind at the edge of the solar system like Voyager 1 and 2. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695.md?page=4)