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astro201, blog7, exploration, NASA, new horizons, pluto, sensors
Exploring Pluto
Pluto, the small icy body at the edge of our planetary system, has been under scrutiny in scientific and public communities for the last decade after the International Astronomical Union (IAU) demoted it from a true planet to a dwarf planet. Though Pluto’s planetary status is important, the real issue raised by this demotion was that of the IAU’s lack of a true classification system for planets and dwarf planets. One of the best ways to refine this definition is it to explore the composition, features, and satellites of Pluto in order to determine the differences between it and terrestrial and Jovian worlds.
A graphic of New Horizons from BetaWired.
NASA’s Response to the Need for Exploration
Following the discovery of two faraway satellites of Pluto in 2005, NASA collaborated with the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) to launch the space probe New Horizons. This probe was built to fly by the terrestrial planets, approach Jupiter for a gravitational assist that would slingshot it to the outer reaches of our Solar System, and get closer to Pluto and its moon Charon that any space probe has gone thus far. The first close flyby of Pluto is planned for July 2015. New Horizons may then fly past Pluto and into the rest of the Kuiper Belt, sending back images of the compositions of various Kuiper Belt objects. (Johns Hopkins University)
The Spacecraft
New Horizons is equipped with seven different probes to measure various aspects of Pluto and its moons. The first is an ultraviolet imaging spectrometer that will measure the composition of Pluto’s atmosphere. Other sensors will measure the geography and surface features of Pluto and other worlds; measure the density, pressure, and temperature of atmospheres; read evidence of geological features like volcanoes and geysers on planets and moons; study solar wind and flow of electrons around planets; analyze the movement of particles leaving Pluto’s atmosphere; and examine dust particles in the space around planets. (See NASA for more info.)
All in all, New Horizons aims to give astronomers a better understanding of the composition and current layout of large bodies in the outer reaches of our Solar System. This will help us understand the differences between terrestrial planets, Jovian planets, dwarf planets, and Kuiper Belt objects, and may help us understand more about the formation of the outer Solar System.
See here for info about naming the features of Pluto!
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