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New Horizons Ultima Thule Flyby

Started by PopeyesPappy, January 01, 2019, 11:30:13 AM

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PopeyesPappy

The New Horizons probe made its flyby of the Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule last night. The initial telemetry data received 6 plus hours later indicates everything went as planned. We should be getting the initial images later today. It is going to take about a year to downlink all the data. It takes a while at 1 kilobit per second.
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Minimalist

NASA should get an internet upgrade!
The Christian church, in its attitude toward science, shows the mind of a more or less enlightened man of the Thirteenth Century. It no longer believes that the earth is flat, but it is still convinced that prayer can cure after medicine fails.

-- H. L. Mencken

Gawdzilla Sama

Quote from: Minimalist on January 01, 2019, 11:50:29 AM
NASA should get an internet upgrade!
And it install it on that flying hunk a junk out beyond the beyond?
We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

Baruch

Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

PopeyesPappy

Save a life. Adopt a Greyhound.

Gawdzilla Sama

We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

Minimalist

Watch as some pro-choice asshole says "it looks like a foetus....don't abort the mission!"
The Christian church, in its attitude toward science, shows the mind of a more or less enlightened man of the Thirteenth Century. It no longer believes that the earth is flat, but it is still convinced that prayer can cure after medicine fails.

-- H. L. Mencken

Unbeliever

#7


QuoteIn this video, we will talk about the Ultima Thule encounter and specifically, interesting facts about the mission and how it influences our understanding of the solar system

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUgiRUyfods



Here's the Brian May video Anton mentioned:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3Jm5POCAj8
God Not Found
"There is a sucker born-again every minute." - C. Spellman

Cavebear

Quote from: Minimalist on January 01, 2019, 11:50:29 AM
NASA should get an internet upgrade!

It was launched with 2006 software, you understand, right?
Atheist born, atheist bred.  And when I die, atheist dead!

Cavebear

Great to see some pics though!  Another outstanding flight from NASA...  I thank them.
Atheist born, atheist bred.  And when I die, atheist dead!

Gawdzilla Sama

APOD has an animation of the dirty little snowman's rotation.
We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

Unbeliever

I'm looking forward to the time we can grab an asteroid like UT and put it in either Earth or Lunar orbit. Then we can both mine it and maybe turn it into a habitat for humanity. And then we can do it again, and again, and...
God Not Found
"There is a sucker born-again every minute." - C. Spellman

Cavebear

Quote from: Unbeliever on January 05, 2019, 02:07:01 PM
I'm looking forward to the time we can grab an asteroid like UT and put it in either Earth or Lunar orbit. Then we can both mine it and maybe turn it into a habitat for humanity. And then we can do it again, and again, and...

With you on that!  Let's have the Belters...
Atheist born, atheist bred.  And when I die, atheist dead!

Baruch

Quote from: Unbeliever on January 05, 2019, 02:07:01 PM
I'm looking forward to the time we can grab an asteroid like UT and put it in either Earth or Lunar orbit. Then we can both mine it and maybe turn it into a habitat for humanity. And then we can do it again, and again, and...

Sorry, will be used as a weapon, dropping an small asteroid on an Earth target.  Humanity only knows how to make war.
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

PopeyesPappy

Quote from: Cavebear on January 05, 2019, 07:14:51 AM
It was launched with 2006 software, you understand, right?

The software New Horizons launched with bears little resemblance to the software it has now. It has been updated several times. The slow transmit data rate is a hardware issue. Primary communication is via a pair of 12 watt transmitter connected to an 83" parabolic dish. It's a miracle of modern science that we can receive the signals at all at that distance. As the probe gets further away they have to slow the data rate in order to receive it. When it passed Jupiter is was transmitting at 38 kbps. At Pluto is was down to 2 kbps. Half a billion miles later at Ultima Thule they have slowed it to 1 kbps.

By comparison the Voyager I probe uses a 22 watt transmitter connected to a 12' dish. It has a more powerful transmitter connected to a much larger antenna, it currently transmits at 160 bits per second, but at nearly 12 billion miles from Earth it is nearly 3 times further from us than the New Horizons probe.
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