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Pluto's Expanding Atmosphere Confounds Researchers, Pluto Atomosphere
bagelverse
post Apr 19 2011, 08:26 PM
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Pluto's Expanding Atmosphere Confounds Researchers

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011...onf.html?ref=hp

Could these be evidence of geyers like on Triton?
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brellis
post Apr 20 2011, 10:41 AM
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This is fascinating stuff! The Pluto system is starting to get a much more detailed look from us earthlings.

I recall reading an article -- geez, ten years ago, or more -- about the change in Pluto's atmosphere as it got closer to the sun, and how time was of the essence to get New Horizons launched in time to get good readings before things froze back.

Thinking about the energy and investment it takes to get a large, robust spacecraft with complex instruments launched toward the outer planets:

What's the smallest craft that would be worth putting in orbit around or landing on a solar system object?

Can we get good science from something the size of a blackberry?

Have we learned enough from the Cassini/Huygens mission to apply that experience towards "even smaller, even better, even cheaper"?

Could a future Mother Ship the size of New Horizons carry several micro-orbiter/landers that get jettisoned behind it as it approaches each target? hehe, talk about a Goose laying golden eggs! smile.gif
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- bagelverse   Pluto's Expanding Atmosphere Confounds Researchers   Apr 19 2011, 08:26 PM
- - tasp   Interesting. A tenuous atmosphere extending almos...   Apr 19 2011, 11:53 PM
|- - Greg Hullender   QUOTE (tasp @ Apr 19 2011, 04:53 PM) Just...   Apr 21 2011, 04:40 AM
|- - Den   QUOTE (tasp @ Apr 20 2011, 12:53 AM) A te...   Apr 21 2011, 10:08 AM
- - Paolo   see also the paper Discovery of carbon monoxide in...   Apr 20 2011, 05:12 AM
- - brellis   This is fascinating stuff! The Pluto system is...   Apr 20 2011, 10:41 AM
|- - Floyd   QUOTE (brellis @ Apr 20 2011, 05:41 AM) W...   Apr 20 2011, 11:30 PM
- - machi   This idea is theoretically possible (you must ...   Apr 20 2011, 12:39 PM
- - Drkskywxlt   Pluto's atmosphere is (almost certainly) hydro...   Apr 20 2011, 01:32 PM
|- - Rob Pinnegar   QUOTE (Drkskywxlt @ Apr 20 2011, 06:32 AM...   Apr 21 2011, 12:39 AM
||- - Drkskywxlt   QUOTE (Rob Pinnegar @ Apr 20 2011, 08:39 ...   Apr 21 2011, 12:47 PM
||- - Rob Pinnegar   QUOTE (Drkskywxlt @ Apr 21 2011, 05:47 AM...   Apr 22 2011, 03:39 AM
|- - AndyG   QUOTE (Drkskywxlt @ Apr 20 2011, 02:32 PM...   Apr 21 2011, 10:03 AM
|- - Drkskywxlt   QUOTE (AndyG @ Apr 21 2011, 06:03 AM) And...   Apr 21 2011, 12:35 PM
- - nprev   That sort of begs the question of whether Pluto ha...   Apr 21 2011, 12:45 AM
- - Paolo   may someone with some time to spare and Pluto and ...   Apr 21 2011, 10:18 AM
|- - AndyG   I get L1 for Pluto lying around 5050km from the ce...   Apr 21 2011, 11:30 AM
|- - Paolo   QUOTE (AndyG @ Apr 21 2011, 01:30 PM) I g...   Apr 21 2011, 05:24 PM
|- - Greg Hullender   QUOTE (AndyG @ Apr 21 2011, 04:30 AM) I g...   Apr 22 2011, 04:57 AM
|- - Paolo   QUOTE (Greg Hullender @ Apr 22 2011, 06:5...   Apr 22 2011, 05:19 AM
||- - Alan Stern   QUOTE (Paolo @ Apr 22 2011, 06:19 AM) tha...   Apr 22 2011, 12:49 PM
|- - AndyG   QUOTE (Greg Hullender @ Apr 22 2011, 05:5...   Apr 22 2011, 09:36 PM
- - brellis   I'm confused. Does the L1 point of the Pluto s...   Apr 21 2011, 10:41 PM
- - nprev   Yes, it does; just like the Earth-Moon Lagrange po...   Apr 21 2011, 11:15 PM
- - Paolo   thanks Alan. I know I will spend a large part of t...   Apr 22 2011, 06:42 PM
- - Greg Hullender   So Andy and I worked through this offline, and we ...   Apr 29 2011, 02:57 AM
|- - AndyG   Never too keen on terms to the fifth power, and al...   May 1 2011, 07:01 PM
- - Greg Hullender   Grin. Terms in the denominator are just as bad as ...   May 2 2011, 01:39 AM
- - tasp   My thanks to the folks who can do the math. I am ...   May 3 2011, 07:05 PM
- - algorimancer   It was studying the mathematics of space travel th...   May 4 2011, 04:56 PM


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