Spacecraft already offering insights about Pluto
Mission scientists have found Pluto to be 1,473 miles in diameter. Previously scientists thought it was smaller. This illustration shows Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, as compared to Earth. Image: NASA.
Mission scientists studying data from the New Horizons probe have found Pluto to be 1,473 miles in diameter. Previously scientists thought it was smaller – about 1,400 miles, according to NASA. So the diameter of Pluto is roughly the same as the distance between San Antonio, Texas, and Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
This means the dwarf planet is, officially, the largest object in the Kuiper belt, a region of icy rocks beyond Neptune.
"That settles the debate about the largest object in the Kuiper belt," said Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and principal investigator for the mission, during a televised press conference July 13.
Once thought to be a planet, Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006.
During the press conference, Stern waxed poetic, describing Pluto as “enchanting in its strangeness, its alien beauty.”
Beyond knowing its diameter, scientists have already gathered information about the atmosphere and polar cap. The scientific knowledge produced is “a gift for the ages to all mankind,” he said.
After nine years, uncountable updates from NASA and 3 billion miles of cold, heartless space, the New Horizons probe zoomed by Pluto July 14. Scientists said the grand piano-sized spacecraft was actually silent much of the day. That is because the spacecraft’s dish antenna was pointed at Pluto, gathering information about the dwarf planet and its moons.
New Horizons came within 7,800 miles of the planet. Its sensitive instruments absorbed information about the icy planet. Late in the day, the spacecraft again contacted the space agency – giving scientists confirmation that their 9-year-old pet project was still alive.
NASA’s website is wall-to-wall Pluto. Space agency press reps were all over Twitter. Investigators for NASA noted that the Pluto mission has gone viral and made evident the public's thirst for exploration.
This means the dwarf planet is, officially, the largest object in the Kuiper belt, a region of icy rocks beyond Neptune.
"That settles the debate about the largest object in the Kuiper belt," said Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and principal investigator for the mission, during a televised press conference July 13.
Once thought to be a planet, Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006.
During the press conference, Stern waxed poetic, describing Pluto as “enchanting in its strangeness, its alien beauty.”
Beyond knowing its diameter, scientists have already gathered information about the atmosphere and polar cap. The scientific knowledge produced is “a gift for the ages to all mankind,” he said.
After nine years, uncountable updates from NASA and 3 billion miles of cold, heartless space, the New Horizons probe zoomed by Pluto July 14. Scientists said the grand piano-sized spacecraft was actually silent much of the day. That is because the spacecraft’s dish antenna was pointed at Pluto, gathering information about the dwarf planet and its moons.
New Horizons came within 7,800 miles of the planet. Its sensitive instruments absorbed information about the icy planet. Late in the day, the spacecraft again contacted the space agency – giving scientists confirmation that their 9-year-old pet project was still alive.
NASA’s website is wall-to-wall Pluto. Space agency press reps were all over Twitter. Investigators for NASA noted that the Pluto mission has gone viral and made evident the public's thirst for exploration.
Related:
Spacecraft to offer up-close look at Pluto
NASA's spacecraft traverses Neptune's orbit
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