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Catching Pluto’s shadow (NASA mission chases Pluto’s shadow to catch details of its atmosphere.)
MIT scientists assist as a NASA mission chases Pluto’s shadow to catch details of its atmosphere.
As NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft closes in on Pluto — scheduled to make its closest approach on July 14 — another mission much closer to Earth has caught sight of the dwarf planet’s shadow: On June 29, SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy), a high-altitude NASA plane carrying a 100-inch-diameter telescope, raced over New Zealand to catch a stellar occultation — a rare celestial alignment in which Pluto passes directly between Earth and a distant star, casting a faint shadow on Earth. The way in which Pluto blocks starlight may tell scientists about the dwarf planet’s atmospheric composition.
Michael Person, a research scientist in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS), was aboard SOFIA, monitoring its telescope for signs of the occultation; Amanda Bosh, a lecturer in EAPS, was part of a team in Arizona that was triangulating the planetary and stellar positions. Bosh and Person spoke with MIT News about efforts on the ground, and in the air, to put the plane in the right place at the right time.
Q: It sounds like this mission was quite a thrill ride. Can you lay out for us the key moments that ultimately led to catching Pluto’s shadow?
Person: To begin, the whole flight was almost scrubbed, because on the afternoon before the event, wind picked up suddenly and caused the lift truck to bang against the aircraft. Thankfully, the damage was not severe enough to scrub the flight.
http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2015/qa-catching-plutos-shadow-0708
As NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft closes in on Pluto — scheduled to make its closest approach on July 14 — another mission much closer to Earth has caught sight of the dwarf planet’s shadow: On June 29, SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy), a high-altitude NASA plane carrying a 100-inch-diameter telescope, raced over New Zealand to catch a stellar occultation — a rare celestial alignment in which Pluto passes directly between Earth and a distant star, casting a faint shadow on Earth. The way in which Pluto blocks starlight may tell scientists about the dwarf planet’s atmospheric composition.
Michael Person, a research scientist in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS), was aboard SOFIA, monitoring its telescope for signs of the occultation; Amanda Bosh, a lecturer in EAPS, was part of a team in Arizona that was triangulating the planetary and stellar positions. Bosh and Person spoke with MIT News about efforts on the ground, and in the air, to put the plane in the right place at the right time.
Q: It sounds like this mission was quite a thrill ride. Can you lay out for us the key moments that ultimately led to catching Pluto’s shadow?
Person: To begin, the whole flight was almost scrubbed, because on the afternoon before the event, wind picked up suddenly and caused the lift truck to bang against the aircraft. Thankfully, the damage was not severe enough to scrub the flight.
http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2015/qa-catching-plutos-shadow-0708
A tiny, cold rock, Pluto seems almost incapable of having an atmosphere. Between its small size and its distant location, the dwarf planet seems unlikely to have what it takes. Yet the tiny body boasts an atmosphere in a constant state of flux.
http://www.space.com/18564-pluto-atmosphere.html
http://www.space.com/18564-pluto-atmosphere.html
