# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/121 "2015-07-15T18:18:53Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Why would it be beige? It just seems like such an odd color for a remote and mysterious world. It’s about the safest color if you want to resell. ---
**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 15, 2015, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/122 "2015-07-15T18:31:53Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > I know what you mean. I watched the Curiosity landing live (or as live as Einstein permitted) and I was just sort of _happy_ for about a week afterwards. Exactly the way I felt, amplified even more by the fact that the sky crane deployment was so bloody complicated I was sure something was going to go wrong! According to the local news there is a press briefing at 3:00 PM ET today at which the first of the close flyby pics are supposed to be released. It’s being streamed live at NASA TV and by various news organizations. ---
**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 15, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/123 "2015-07-15T18:41:53Z")
My favorite model of the Solar System is [the one in Sweden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden_Solar_System). It’s… well, it’s the size of Sweden. The sun is represented by the [Globe Arena](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ericsson_Globe) in Stockholm. The [Earth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden_Solar_System#/media/File:Sweden_Solar_System_Earth.jpg), 64 cm (25 inches) across, is in the Museum of Natural History, still in the city. [Pluto](http://www.swedensolarsystem.se/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/pluto.jpg) is in a town in the middle of nowhere, 300 km (186 miles) away and 12 cm (4,7 inches) across. But even then you’re not even a third of the way there before you’re out of the system. The outer bodies like Eris and Sedna are way further up north, with the edge of the heliosphere above the Arctic Circle. I like it because it gives you not only a sense of the scale, but also of the sheer hassle of trekking through the thing. It’s like the family vacation from hell. I mean, leave the safe confounds of the urban inner system, with Starbucks, McDonald’s and reasonable weather, to go to some frozen wasteland in Northern Sweden, where nothing ever happens, to look a pebble? Do we have to? Oh, well, if it’s for science… see you in nine years, or thereabouts. 😉 ---
**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 15, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/124 "2015-07-15T19:26:19Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Anyway, so… It’s a butterscotch color (not what I imagined as a kid). What does that coloration, primarily, come from? It’s mostly frozen nitrogen, methane and carbon monoxide. I believe the current theory is various hydrocarbons contribute to the color. Organic molecules (meaning, carbon-containing, not necessarily originating from life) are apparently more common out there than once believed. ---
**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 15, 2015, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/125 "2015-07-15T19:33:19Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I believe the current theory is various hydrocarbons contribute to the color. Organic molecules (meaning, carbon-containing, not necessarily originating from life) are apparently more common out there than once believed. [Tholins.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tholin) It’s what you get when you zap, say, some methane with ultraviolet light. (I only learned about that yesterday, BTW. This whole thing is proving quite the educational experience for me.) ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/126 "2015-07-15T19:36:52Z")
More pics! [Official gallery is here](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/images/index.html)! [MOUNTAINS OF PLUTO](http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/the-icy-mountains-of-pluto)! Hydra, like comet 67p/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, appears to be another [giant space duck](http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/hydra-emerges-from-the-shadows). ---
**Author:** ![J-P\_L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/j-p_l/32/3156_2.png) [@J-P\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J-P_L)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/127 "2015-07-15T19:39:55Z")
So New Horizon was launched in 2006. Do we know how many scientists (engineers) that were involved in the design and launch are still working on the project. I would assume that many were re-assigned while waiting for the probe to reach its destination. ---
**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 15, 2015, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/128 "2015-07-15T19:44:38Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > Hydra, like comet 67p/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, appears to be another [giant space duck](http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/hydra-emerges-from-the-shadows). [Latest pic of Hydra.](http://images.clipartpanda.com/donald-duck-clip-art-donald.duck.face.gif) ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/129 "2015-07-15T20:36:26Z")
The first high resolution photo of an area of Pluto shows no impact craters, which indicates recent (in geologic time) geological activity. This was unexpected because they didn’t think there would be enough heat or tidal forces to cause such activity. (This is from the NASA TV live press conference.) ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/130 "2015-07-15T21:37:25Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > [Tholins.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tholin) > > It’s what you get when you zap, say, some methane with ultraviolet light. > > (I only learned about that yesterday, BTW. This whole thing is proving quite the educational experience for me.) Thanks, very interesting. I loved how the team named that dark region on top of Charon, “Mordor.” It totally looks like Mordor, with a little Mt. Doom in there. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/131 "2015-07-16T04:03:26Z")
I heard on my local news that it arrived 72 seconds early. That’s incredible. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/132 "2015-07-16T13:18:54Z")
It was speeding. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/133 "2015-07-16T14:36:01Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I heard on my local news that it arrived 72 seconds early. > > That’s incredible. 🆒 The fact that they can have such a precise definition of “arrived”, and can measure it to that precision, is amazing. I assume they used radar to measure the distance from Pluto. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/134 "2015-07-16T14:51:57Z")
Anyone else catch the NOVA program about New Horizons on PBS last night? Fascinating. It was fun watching the scientists age 9 years. They see the probe as their “baby.” I didn’t know they used Jupiter’s gravity to propel the probe even faster out to Pluto. Without that, it would have taken three additional years to get there. It takes 4 1/2 hours for radio waves to travel to Earth and back. If something went wrong, scientists wouldn’t be able to do anything about it for 9 hours. The fact that the probe hasn’t been destroyed or damaged by unseen space debris is rather mind-boggling. I also have a much better understanding of why Pluto’s planetary status was downgraded. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/135 "2015-07-16T15:20:54Z")
Did anyone else hate the narrator in the National Geographic Pluto show? His over the top enthusiasm and stoner dude accent seemed so forced. "Whoa, dude, space is like sooo totally awesome, man! " ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/136 "2015-07-16T15:57:04Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > Did anyone else hate the narrator in the National Geographic Pluto show? His over the top enthusiasm and stoner dude accent seemed so forced. > > "Whoa, dude, space is like sooo totally awesome, man! " Yeh, he’s the BrainGames guy, and he gets on my nerves. We’re not children, man. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/137 "2015-07-16T16:20:45Z")
Here’s a cool [animated gif](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/images/index.html?id=366752) of Pluto through the years, on NASA’s Gallery page. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/138 "2015-07-16T16:21:31Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > The fact that they can have such a precise definition of “arrived”, and can measure it to that precision, is amazing. I assume they used radar to measure the distance from Pluto. Not radar, but they have New Horizons echo back a timing signal sent out from Earth and they know to about a millionth of a second just how long the round trip takes- even taking Relativity into account. Indeed, it’s intriguing that currently time can be directly measured more accurately than any other physical value. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/139 "2015-07-16T19:42:37Z")
So they’re using the distance from Earth rather than the distance from Pluto? Interesting. It seems like there would be less assumptions involved if it actually measured the distance to Pluto (at least when it’s relatively close). ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695/140 "2015-07-16T19:50:54Z")
They’ll also be able to measure the relative orientation of Pluto, its moons, and background stars with high precision using a star tracker and the navigation camera. It also needs to figure out the direction to Earth to point its antenna, though I don’t know how much that’s measured (based on radio signal strength vs direction) or calculated. Combined with high precision data about the distance from and speed relative to the Earth, there’s enough information to solve for the position and trajectory of the probe relative to Pluto. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pluto-probe-on-its-way/340695.md?page=8)