Tag: Pluto

NASA to extend New Horizons mission to Kuiper belt, where comets come from
4Oct By adminNo Comments
Technology

NASA to extend New Horizons mission to Kuiper belt, where comets come from

[ad_1] NASA's New Horizons mission which was launched in 2006 has now been extended by almost 5 more years. The objective of the mission was to explore Pluto and now the mission will continue till the spacecraft exits the Kuiper belt, the place where comets reside. The mission was planned to be concluded next year in 2024, however, now the space agency has extended objectives for the mission. Know what NASA has planned for the mission.New Horizons mission extensionAccording to a NASA report, the New Horizons will start with new objectives from 2025. Now, the spacecraft is planned to explore the Kuiper belt objects. This mission will be continued till the spacecraft exits the Kuiper belt, which could take till 2028 or 2029. The primary goal of New Horizons is to gather heliophysics data ...
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Solar system has a 9th planet? This Asteroid may have spilled the secret
18Jun By adminNo Comments
Technology

Solar system has a 9th planet? This Asteroid may have spilled the secret

[ad_1] Pluto, famously known as a dwarf planet, is a celestial body orbiting the Sun. But it is not considered a planet. Why? Because Pluto falls short of being classified as a full-sized planet by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) as it fails to meet one of the three criteria used for categorising planets. Well, it satisfies the majority of the criteria, except one - It has not “cleared the neighbourhood” around its orbit. The other two criteria are it must be in orbit around the Sun and it has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium. Now, in the absence of Pluto, there are only 8 planets left in our solar system.However, arguments about a 9th planet in our solar system have raged for years. The quest for such a planet continues till date! And now, the latest study s...
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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day June 3, 2023: Portrait of Pluto’s moon Charon
3Jun By adminNo Comments
Technology

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day June 3, 2023: Portrait of Pluto’s moon Charon

[ad_1] Pluto's orbit is highly elliptical. And due to its relatively small size and a considerable distance from Earth, Pluto's characteristics and features have remained largely a secret until the New Horizons spacecraft conducted a flyby in July 2015. This mission provided crucial data about this distant world. Among the discoveries made during the New Horizons mission, it was found that Charon, one of Pluto's five moons, holds a significant role. Charon is not only the largest of Pluto's moons, but it is also the largest known satellite relative to its parent body in our entire solar system. In fact, Charon's diameter is roughly half that of Pluto itself. Today's NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day is a portrait of Pluto's largest moon - Charon. In this high-resolution image, a captiva...
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Mysterious RED asteroids found around Neptune could reveal big secrets
7Apr By adminNo Comments
Technology

Mysterious RED asteroids found around Neptune could reveal big secrets

[ad_1] The fascination of scientists with understanding the origin of the solar system is never ending. Recently, in an attempt to uncover the secrets around it, NASA sent its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to collect samples from asteroid Bennu, which will reach Earth in the later half of this year. And now, out of the same curiosity, astronomers have turned to Neptune to understand this grand mystery. Not exactly Neptune, but the area surrounding it, which is filled with mysterious red asteroids. A new study claims that it could reveal how our solar system came to be.The study was conducted by NASA astronomer Bryce Bolin and has been published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. The study focuses on the red color of the asteroids and highlights that the c...
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The curious case of Pluto! Is it a dwarf planet, comet or an asteroid? KNOW the truth
16Mar By adminNo Comments
Technology

The curious case of Pluto! Is it a dwarf planet, comet or an asteroid? KNOW the truth

[ad_1] The solar system has eight planets. But it wasn't always the case. In 1930, when Pluto was first discovered by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, it was considered the ninth planet of the solar system. In fact, it continued to be known as a planet till 2006 when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefined the definition of a planet and reclassified Pluto as a "dwarf planet". While astronomers found an agreement over Pluto, it didn't last long. In recent years, questions have been raised on classification of Pluto and interestingly, it has been suggested that it could even be a comet or an asteroid.Is Pluto a planet?As per the updated definition given by IAU, Pluto continues to be excluded from the list of planets. The organization said that for a celestial object to be...
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NASA’s New Horizons snaps awesome glowing Blue Halo around Pluto
24Feb By adminNo Comments
Technology

NASA’s New Horizons snaps awesome glowing Blue Halo around Pluto

[ad_1] NASA has just revealed an amazing photo of Pluto with a blue halo glowing all around it. The image was captured by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft back on July 14, 2015. When this photo was taken, New Horizons was approximately 120000 miles or 200,000 kilometers from Pluto. What caused it? "The smog present in Pluto's atmosphere is thought to be a result of the reaction between sunlight and methane and other molecules," NASA said in a blog.The space agency further explained that this process creates a complicated blend of hydrocarbons that accumulate into tiny haze particles, which disperse blue light. As these particles gradually descend through the atmosphere, they generate several complex horizontal layers that span heights of more than 120 miles, around 200 kilometers. NASA a...
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Find the mystery asteroid! ESA sends Christmas challenge over humongous asteroid
13Dec By adminNo Comments
Technology

Find the mystery asteroid! ESA sends Christmas challenge over humongous asteroid

[ad_1] The ESA has thrown a Christmas challenge for astronomy enthusiasts and has asked them to find a 262-foot wide mystery asteroid which will come dangerously close to the Earth. It is called the Christmas asteroid. The 12 days of Christmas have begun and while many are preparing for the festivities, the European Space Agency (ESA) is adding to the excitement with its Christmas challenge. It has thrown a strange ‘Christmas challenge' for all the astronomy fans across the globe. And the challenge is to find a mystery asteroid floating around space. It is being called the Christmas asteroid. But this is not just a fun challenge, there is a terrifying fact underlying this space rock. It will make a dangerously close approach to the Earth on December 15 and there is always the fear tha...
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