New Horizons: Approach Phase, OpsNav - 25 January 15 to 28 June 15 |
New Horizons: Approach Phase, OpsNav - 25 January 15 to 28 June 15 |
Jun 11 2015, 11:17 PM
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#271
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2346 Joined: 7-December 12 Member No.: 6780 |
The raw images are rotated around the camera z-axis, each series differently. So if you try to register the raw images, you need to align them according to the faint background stars, or use the filename as timestamp, together with the known orbital period of Charon to rotate the raw images correctly.
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Jun 11 2015, 11:22 PM
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#272
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 64 Joined: 17-December 12 From: Portugal Member No.: 6792 |
Here is a different processing of the deconvolved frames... That looks exactly like Mars when imaged through a small telescope, although contrast seem a bit stronger (even taking into account processing). -------------------- www.astrosurf.com/nunes
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Jun 12 2015, 12:11 AM
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#273
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Solar System Cartographer Group: Members Posts: 10146 Joined: 5-April 05 From: Canada Member No.: 227 |
-------------------- ... because the Solar System ain't gonna map itself.
Also to be found posting similar content on https://mastodon.social/@PhilStooke NOTE: everything created by me which I post on UMSF is considered to be in the public domain (NOT CC, public domain) |
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Jun 12 2015, 12:52 AM
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#274
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 95 Joined: 5-September 07 Member No.: 3662 |
Phil, that's excellent, thanks! In fact, comparing it with the average of Buie's maps in post #82, the very bright spot at ~180 deg and the much darker spot next to it on the older map appear to be very much confirmed. (This assumes both the maps and your thumbnails are in the same coordinate system--are both right-hand rule?) Is the dark region on the bottom of the 281 degrees image in the area to close to the south pole to be mapped in the older data? Is this our first hint of "new" features? Jeff |
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Jun 12 2015, 01:10 AM
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#275
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 77 Joined: 27-June 04 From: Queensland Australia Member No.: 90 |
The dark line seen in Bjorn's work got me thinking. Elsewhere in the solar system, what does a long, large linear (but not perfectly linear) feature indicate? Often, it's a sign of geological activity, either extension or horizontal movement. Other causes could be volatiles in motion. Another possibility is that the line is merely the negative space between other things, although this becomes unlikely if the two edges are parallel over long distances. By and large, geological activity, past or present, is most common. That would be very exciting. But then again, Pluto might break every rule we've ever thought of. Could it be some residual feature from the formation of the Pluto/ Charon system such as impact scars from the original collision? Something analogous to the Vallis Marineris on Mars perhaps. It's never too early to speculate. |
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Jun 12 2015, 01:27 AM
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#276
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 68 Joined: 27-March 15 Member No.: 7426 |
In the image from the new video, centered at 17 degrees, it almost looks as if there is a crater about 1/3 of Pluto's diameter, near its South pole. The bottom rim of this supposed crater seems to be faintly visible, at the very bottom edge of Pluto's disk. It surrounds a dark elliptical area, which is presumably the correct shape for a crater seen at the indicated angle.
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Jun 12 2015, 01:51 AM
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#277
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Solar System Cartographer Group: Members Posts: 10146 Joined: 5-April 05 From: Canada Member No.: 227 |
Taking those images I posted above, and a bit of crude fudging rather than a proper reprojection (because I should be doing something else) - hey presto, a map, north up, 0 longitude at the left edge.
And a comparison with an average of several maps by Mark Buie (see near the start of this thread): I can see my latitudes are a bit out, but I'm not sure why just yet. Phil -------------------- ... because the Solar System ain't gonna map itself.
Also to be found posting similar content on https://mastodon.social/@PhilStooke NOTE: everything created by me which I post on UMSF is considered to be in the public domain (NOT CC, public domain) |
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Jun 12 2015, 02:59 AM
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#278
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 59 Joined: 4-July 08 Member No.: 4251 |
Media schedule is out now; quite busy! http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-ann...for-pluto-flyby For those who didn't click, and for the record here, the near term has the following events in store for us: June 16, 23 and 30 (WEEKLY) 11:30 a.m. -- Mission Updates July 7- 12 (DAILY) 11:30 a.m. -- Final approach to Pluto; live daily mission updates on NASA TV Daily updates? I'm swooning. It'll be like the first few days of a Mars lander mission! |
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Jun 12 2015, 05:03 AM
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#279
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Member Group: Members Posts: 443 Joined: 1-July 05 From: New York City Member No.: 424 |
The forum's appropriately modest collection of emoticons doesn't include any that is sufficient to celebrate this good news. TTT (remembering the days when the daily MER briefings were on CSPAN but weren't archived for long) This post has been edited by Tom Tamlyn: Jun 12 2015, 05:04 AM |
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Jun 12 2015, 08:51 AM
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#280
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Member Group: Members Posts: 120 Joined: 26-May 15 From: Rome - Italy Member No.: 7482 |
Bellissimo collage Phil.. What kind of energy can 'cause Pluto in CHaron and Charon in Pluto? marea force? Pluto-Charon ratio is much small compared to the Earth-Moon ratio. Earth-Moon ratio farther thAn hydra. Thanks, Daniele |
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Jun 12 2015, 12:36 PM
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#281
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 65 Joined: 19-November 14 From: Milan, Italy Member No.: 7340 |
What kind of energy can 'cause Pluto in CHaron and Charon in Pluto? marea force? Do you mean tidal forces? Today, Charon and Pluto are tidally locked. There isn't any tidal flexing going on, so no heat is being generated and any current activity is unlikely. When they formed, though, they were much closer, and the tidal interaction would have been very strong before they became locked. In fact, at a recent New Horizons Science Team Meeting, Bill McKinnon explained that Pluto may still be oblate as a relic from its high spin rate after the Charon-forming collision. Relaxing from that state could lead to a lot of fault systems on the surface, and these should be easy for NH to map if they exist. |
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Jun 12 2015, 12:41 PM
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#282
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Member Group: Members Posts: 120 Joined: 26-May 15 From: Rome - Italy Member No.: 7482 |
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Jun 12 2015, 03:33 PM
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#283
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2530 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 321 |
Could it be some residual feature from the formation of the Pluto/ Charon system such as impact scars from the original collision? Something analogous to the Vallis Marineris on Mars perhaps. It's never too early to speculate. It's interesting to note that Mars, Venus, and Titan all have some sort of massive, roughly east-west, chasm near or at the equator. But larger worlds don't show any scars from formative collisions. Vesta, however, does. I suspect that Pluto is big enough to have put itself back together and gone on evolving after its formative events – closer to Mars than Vesta. But we'll see. |
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Jun 12 2015, 03:47 PM
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#284
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1624 Joined: 5-March 05 From: Boulder, CO Member No.: 184 |
Bill McKinnon explained that Pluto may still be oblate as a relic from its high spin rate after the Charon-forming collision. Relaxing from that state could lead to a lot of fault systems on the surface, and these should be easy for NH to map if they exist. It's interesting to compare oblateness to what would be expected from present day rotation rate on various bodies. Iapetus for example seems more oblate than I would expect. Ceres is actually in equlibrium. -------------------- Steve [ my home page and planetary maps page ]
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Jun 12 2015, 06:27 PM
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#285
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3419 Joined: 9-February 04 From: Minneapolis, MN, USA Member No.: 15 |
The circular dark area near the bottom of the disk in the best-processed of the recent images looks like a huge basin to me. One that either has a very dark floor, or that is in shadow as it rides the terminator 'round and 'round like a carousel. If so, the sun shining on its ramparts may be what has made Pluto look really lumpy in the early approach images.
-------------------- “The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right.” -Mark Twain
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