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Musings on Exploration

Pluto north pole region exploration — The north polar region of Pluto, with canyons running vertically across the region, named Lowell Regio. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

We got another green light from the New Horizons mission this week, indicating its journey of exploration of continues. It means the spacecraft is alive and well, although mostly hibernating on its way out to its next target. The spacecraft is speeding along, continuing its headlong outward journey from Earth, exploring “new worlds” out there. If what it saw at Pluto is any indication, planetary scientists will likely have a few surprises in store.

Already, they’re puzzling over the shape of the next target world, 2014 MU69 (first spied by Hubble Space Telescope). Could it be two worlds in close orbit? A bi-lobed world in the deeps of the Kuiper Belt? We’ll all find out much later this year.

Targeting a Distant Planet

Pluto atmosphere exploration — Sunlight filters through and illuminates Pluto’s complex atmospheric haze layers. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

Pluto has always been a target for exploration, although the launch windows don’t open very often. Heck, it wasn’t even discovered until early in the 20th century. Missions to the nearby planets didn’t begin until the 1960s, and the outer planets in the late 1970s.

Pluto started getting taken seriously as the most distant known planet in the late 1980s. Eventually, the New Horizons project was selected after a few tentative starts and a competition. In September 1989, a group of us students put together a Pluto Perihelion party to celebrate the planet’s closest approach to the Sun.

Over beers and volleyball, we got into a fairly heated discussion about when Pluto’s tenuous atmosphere would freeze out and fall to the surface. And, that was a concern for any mission that would head out that way. Would it get there in time to measure the atmosphere before it “fell down”? To be sure, that “freezing out” wouldn’t take place for many years, and we speculated when that might happen. It was a subject of much debate. We all had to wait until a spacecraft could actually get out there. But, no doubt about it, Pluto was definitely an object of fascination years before we got there with a spacecraft.

The Attempt to Demote a Distant Planet

Pluto also became an object of controversy. In the years since its perihelion, only a few months after New Horizons was launched, nobody expected the IAU to decide Pluto wasn’t a planet. That happened even before it had been explored. Most planetary scientists weren’t sure what to expect from a world so far out that it takes a decade to get there, even for a spacecraft that is the fastest ever sent. So, why pre-judge the world before it’s explored? I still wonder that to this day. Nothing about that “decision” made sense, except perhaps for the proffering of the term “dwarf planet” to cement Pluto’s planetary status.

Moving on to the Next Distant World

MU69 exploration and artist's concept — The Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69 may be a double-lobed object or possibly a more spherical one with a chunk missing. The *New Horizons* spacecraft will fly by this object on December 31, 2018. Courtesy JHU/APL/SWRI/Alex Parker

Fast-forward to now, when we get those weekly “green lights” from New Horizons. It’s kind of heartening to know that a tiny outpost of human intellect is speeding out through the solar system, extending our senses to such a cold, dark, and distant region.

New Horizons has done a great deal at Pluto. However, it’s really just getting started in the Kuiper Belt. We’re ready for the next stop on the tour, even as we look back to see that the pesky Plutonian atmosphere still hasn’t fallen down. Even more fascinating, Pluto’s fascinating surface belies activity deep inside the planet.

What will 2014 MU69 tell us? I can’t wait to find out!

Things to See in the Night Sky

A chart view of Orion, showing Betelgeuse in the shoulder of the giant. The three belt stars run through the middle, and just below them is the Orion Nebula starbirth region. Courtesy Zwergelstern on Wikimedia Commons.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a book review here, and I certainly have a few books piled up that I’ve read and want to share with you. So, we’ll start out with one of my favorite topics: stargazing. There are a lot of books out there to help you with stargazing, star charts, buying telescopes, and so on. I just got one a few weeks ago called 100 Things to See in the Night Sky: From Planets and Satellites to Meteors and Constellations, Your Guide to Stargazing”. It’s by Dean Regas, who has worked at the Cincinnati Observatory for years, has written for various publications, and knows his way around the sky. His publisher (who is also the publisher of my own Astronomy 101 book) sent me an advance copy and I spent some time the past few weeks reading it.

I have many books like these on my shelf. Still, it’s fun to open up a new one and see what the writer’s favorite objects are. Dean covers all the usual favorites (the Orion Nebula, Andromeda Galaxy, Double Cluster, and others). He limits himself to objects seen from between 25 and 55 degrees north latitude on Earth. Each entry has some easy hints and tips about stargazing, and he demystifies the stargazing process.

Sectioning the Sky for Stargazers

I like how he divides the sky into various sections. Dean starts with the northern circumpolar star patterns and constellations and works his way south. For each deep-sky object, he has a “difficulty rating”. That relates to how dim or bright it is and how tough it might be to locate. He talks about some of the cultural significance behind the constellations and sky objects and gives a little scientific background about each thing he discusses. I also like his discussions about looking for satellites and attending such events as eclipses. All very handy info. It’s all written at a level that’s really approachable for most users. I wouldn’t hesitate to give it to a pre-teen as well as an adult beginner. The graphic illustrations are simple and to the point.

So, if you’re looking for a gift book or a new stargazing book for your own shelf, check this one out. Click the link above for the Amazon page for Dean’s book. It has a “Peek Inside” logo, which means you can browse through the pages to see how well it’s written.

My New Book is Out

Speaking of books, my own latest book from Amberley Press will be out in hard copy on April 1. For those of you who prefer electronic books, it’s available now and called Space Exploration: Past, Present, Future. It’s aimed at folks who are interested in knowing more about space exploration but appreciate an executive summary of the topic. The text covers the ancient history of rockets all the way through the Space Age and beyond. It looks at the current state of affairs looks at various agencies and companies involved. Finally, it dives into the cultural changes that space exploration has brought about. It was fun to write, and I invite folks to check it out!

The Spacewriter's Ramblings

New Horizons Extends Planetary Exploration