Over the next 16 months, the data collected during the New Horizons spacecraft’s mid-July flyby of Pluto will find its way back to Earth, a few bits at a time. Already there are surprises in the data so far received.…
Category: Solar System
The Great Age of Planetary Exploration
How do you measure the milestones in your life? We all have events that help us mark the passage of years: school and jobs, marriage and family, births and deaths. These are of course primary in all our lives, but…
Nine Years to the Ninth Planet
Yes, you read that right. In honor of Pluto’s imminent debut on computer screens worldwide, I’ll award it planetary status for the next few months. After all, when the New Horizons spacecraft nearing Pluto now was launched in January 2006,…
Venus, Jupiter…and Earth
Those of us of a certain age will remember these song lyrics: When the moon is in the seventh house And Jupiter aligns with Mars… Jupiter is about to align not with Mars, but with Venus, the ancient goddess of…
New Horizons Update
As the New Horizons spacecraft closes in on its July flyby of Pluto, its cameras capture ever higher resolution images. Here is a link to the latest released images. It’s starting to get real!
A Cosmic Dance
The two brightest planets in the sky right now—and the two brightest planets, period—are Venus and Jupiter. Shortly after sunset at the end of April, Venus is the very bright object in the west, and Jupiter is only a little…
Ceres Awaits
Dawn is sneaking up on Ceres from behind. On March 6, this well-traveled spacecraft slipped into orbit around the dwarf planet (or asteroid; take your pick) after having spent 14 months orbiting the asteroid Vesta and more than two years…
Getting to Pluto
What were you doing on January 19, 2006? If you were in any way connected to the New Horizons mission to Pluto, you were at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to watch it being launched on its long journey.…
Earth Calling Dawn
On March 6, the Dawn spacecraft was captured by the gravity of Ceres which is, depending on your preferences, either the largest asteroid of the solar system, or one of many dwarf planets. On its approach, Dawn’s cameras took these…
In Saturn’s Shadow
One of the most astounding images of the space age is about to be replicated. Take a look at this image of a backlit Saturn eclipsing the sun. This is a mosaic of images taken over three hours in September,…
Tagged with: Cassini
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