The first photos of Pluto are upon us..!
Astronomy / Space New Horizons - First Photos of Pluto
- Thread starter Ram Paige
- Start date
Did I not go to the right site? All I see are small little pictures with black and white. 
Mmmmm. Brown...
I have to ask. I am not a telescope type person but if Hubble can see "billions and billions" of stars at great distances why is it that it takes a murky looking puddle picture of a planet in our own system?
I have to ask. I am not a telescope type person but if Hubble can see "billions and billions" of stars at great distances why is it that it takes a murky looking puddle picture of a planet in our own system?
Because it's bloody hard
I have to ask. I am not a telescope type person but if Hubble can see "billions and billions" of stars at great distances why is it that it takes a murky looking puddle picture of a planet in our own system?
I think it's similar to taking a high power scope and staring at your feet. It's meant to see far, not up close, and on a galactic scale, Pluto is basically right in front of us.
Because it's bloody hard
To get a picture of Pluto that is high def and has detail? For real?
I'll just do a fly by later
Got it thanks! I was sort of hoping that wasn't the case but now I understand.
Pluto is almost 40x the distance from the Sun as is Earth. It's also at least half the size of our moon. It is incredibly far and seeing it from Earth (or even Hubble) has been compared to seeing a matchstick in Los Angeles from New York. Stars, by comparison - even very distant ones) generate many, many orders of magnitudes more light than Pluto.
I thought at one time they were not going to even call Pluto a planet because of the small size. Was that going to happen?
Pluto was considered a planet until 2006. It's been demoted for numerous reasons. It's now called a dwarf planet, along with many others that inhabit a region called the Kuiper Belt.
Also, this video might help. I'm fortunate enough to personally know Mike Brown, who discovered Eris, a dwarf planet larger than Pluto. I've been an astronomer hobbyist for many, many years.
Also, this video might help. I'm fortunate enough to personally know Mike Brown, who discovered Eris, a dwarf planet larger than Pluto. I've been an astronomer hobbyist for many, many years.
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Do you even astronomy?
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Pluto is officially a dwarf planet, a sub-category of interstellar objects among those that form a mostly round shape under the influence of their own gravity.
It happened. Along with Eris and some of the other former planets (we used to have 11+) it is now a dwarf planet.
Also, the reason we can see stars better with the telescope than pluto is the same reason it's also true on earth - stars are hella bright!
Also, the reason we can see stars better with the telescope than pluto is the same reason it's also true on earth - stars are hella bright!
Thanks for asking. I random Astronomy if that helps. I just figured I would ask a sincere question. I appreciate your comment though. I guess next time instead of actively enjoying the discussion on here I will simply Google it!
As an aside for those that are so inclined, the new definitions mean that at present there's some debate as to wether our own moon is technically a dwarf planet too
Pluto basically went through the exact process Ceres did way back when. We were convinced it was a planet... until we realized it wasn't alone, and we didn't want to have thousands of planets, so nope, not a planet any more.
The repartee around here certainly isn't for the meek. Nor should anyone forget that this forum is conveniently located on the internet, and thus treated with all of the dire seriousness that level of esteem deserves.