2014 MU69 "Ultima Thule" flyby, For discussion of the encounter as it happens |
2014 MU69 "Ultima Thule" flyby, For discussion of the encounter as it happens |
Dec 13 2018, 10:12 PM
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#1
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Administrator Group: Admin Posts: 5172 Joined: 4-August 05 From: Pasadena, CA, USA, Earth Member No.: 454 |
It's only 10 days now until the "Core" phase of the 2014 MU69 flyby begins! I thought it was time for a new thread. Carry on discussing distant observations of other KBO worlds in the KBO encounters thread, and use this one for MU69 until after the departure phase is officially over on 8 January.
I'll be posting a "What to Expect" article next week. -------------------- My website - My Patreon - @elakdawalla on Twitter - Please support unmannedspaceflight.com by donating here.
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Jan 3 2019, 02:58 AM
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#2
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Newbie Group: Members Posts: 9 Joined: 22-November 15 Member No.: 7847 |
New Horizons at Pluto was a triumph for Alan Stern's team, and NH at Ultima Thule is the cherry at the top. But there are thousands (tens of thousands?) of KBOs and only 1 New Horizons. In retrospect, NH images validate the occultation results, and one might be tempted to say that, based on those occultation results only, there is a 90% (or whatever) likelihood that Ultima Thule is a contact binary.
So what does this mean for occultation measurements going forward? And isn't this something that amateurs could assist with? What percent of KBOs are contact binaries? |
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Jan 3 2019, 04:59 AM
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 684 Joined: 24-July 15 Member No.: 7619 |
But there are thousands (tens of thousands?) of KBOs and only 1 New Horizons. So what does this mean for occultation measurements going forward? And isn't this something that amateurs could assist with? What percent of KBOs are contact binaries? That sounds like an excellent idea for citizen science outreach - Found and fund a "semester at NASA fellowship" dedicated to calculating asteroid, centaur and KBO occultations of stars which occur during the next six months. Promote that "watch list" and organize monthly dark sky "picket fence parties" where astronomy clubs and collegiate/university programs deploy multiple scopes to observe the occultations. |
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Jan 3 2019, 07:39 AM
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#4
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Member Group: Members Posts: 184 Joined: 2-March 06 Member No.: 692 |
That sounds like an excellent idea for citizen science outreach - Found and fund a "semester at NASA fellowship" dedicated to calculating asteroid, centaur and KBO occultations of stars which occur during the next six months. Promote that "watch list" and organize monthly dark sky "picket fence parties" where astronomy clubs and collegiate/university programs deploy multiple scopes to observe the occultations. Bravo! You could even "sweet spot" areas to do this. Areas with good weather and infrastructure. Throw a little support in and learn about the kbo population! |
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