Pluto and Beyond FULL SPECIAL (2019) | NOVA | PBS America

PBS America・2 minutes read

A spacecraft embarks on a challenging mission to explore Ultima Thule, a mysterious object in the Kuiper Belt beyond Pluto, with the potential to reshape our understanding of planet formation and the solar system. Through meticulous planning, observations, and collaboration, the New Horizons team successfully captures the first close-up image of Ultima Thule, revealing a unique binary object that aligns with theories of planetary formation, marking a significant milestone in space exploration.

Insights

  • New Horizons, a spacecraft on a daring mission four billion miles from Earth, aims to explore Ultima Thule, a billion miles beyond Pluto, a planetary embryo from the solar system's dawn.
  • Through meticulous planning and perseverance, the New Horizons team overcomes challenges to capture valuable data on Ultima Thule, potentially transforming our comprehension of planetary formation, a groundbreaking achievement in space exploration.

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Summary

00:00

"New Horizons Explores Ultima Thule Beyond Pluto"

  • A spacecraft is on a mission four billion miles from Earth to explore a mysterious object beyond known planets.
  • The mission is risky, as even a small object hitting the spacecraft at high speed could be catastrophic.
  • The spacecraft, New Horizons, is attempting to fly by an object named Ultima Thule, a billion miles beyond Pluto.
  • Ultima Thule is believed to be a planetary embryo frozen since the solar system's formation.
  • New Horizons' journey has been challenging, with risks posed by even tiny objects in space.
  • The spacecraft successfully completes a fly-by of Pluto, capturing detailed images of its surface.
  • Pluto's surface is complex, with ice mountains, glaciers, and possible ice volcanoes.
  • The geological diversity on Pluto may be driven by seasonal changes and internal heat from a rocky core.
  • Scientists speculate that Pluto may have an ocean of liquid water beneath its icy surface, potentially supporting life.
  • The mission's success provides valuable insights into Pluto's geology, raising questions for future exploration.

16:55

Pluto, Kuiper Belt, and Ultima Thule

  • Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh, who was the only American to discover a planet for nearly a century.
  • Initially, astronomers doubted Pluto's status as a planet due to its small size, smaller than Earth's moon.
  • Pluto's location in the outer solar system was also unusual, with a strange orbit and composition different from terrestrial or giant planets.
  • Astronomers David Jewitt and Jane Luu discovered the Kuiper Belt in 1992, a region beyond Neptune believed to contain hundreds of thousands of icy objects, including Pluto.
  • The Kuiper Belt is vast, with objects separated by a million miles on average, and it restructured the understanding of the solar system.
  • In 2006, Pluto was demoted from being a planet to a dwarf planet by an international association of astronomers.
  • The Kuiper Belt contains a variety of objects, including dwarf planets like Pluto and Ultima Thule, believed to be remnants from the solar system's formation.
  • The New Horizons spacecraft was launched in 2006 to explore beyond Pluto, and in 2014, it was redirected to Ultima Thule after a successful search by the Hubble telescope.
  • Nailing down Ultima Thule's orbit was crucial for the mission's success, likened to skeet shooting where the target's future position must be predicted.
  • Observing an occultation event helped determine Ultima Thule's size and shape, revealing new details about this unknown object in the Kuiper Belt.

32:25

"Ultima Thule: Star Blink Reveals Complex Shape"

  • Star moving 20 miles per second across the sky disappears for one second, indicating it's 20 miles across.
  • Hubble locates the object, Gaia Mission maps star positions for occultation prediction.
  • New Horizons team finds best viewing spots in Argentina and South Africa for Ultima's shadow.
  • 13 telescopes sent to South Africa, 12 to Argentina, but no blink observed.
  • Ultima Thule's orbit estimations off, star continues to shine, leading to disappointment.
  • SOFIA aircraft observes another occultation over South Pacific Ocean, challenging to be in the right place.
  • Volunteers help shield telescopes from wind in Patagonia, finally capturing the star blink.
  • Data from five telescopes suggests Ultima is about 20 miles long with a complex shape.
  • Possibilities include two circular objects, lumpy potato shape, or contact binary.
  • New Horizons' focus on Ultima Thule could revolutionize understanding of planet formation.

48:35

"New Horizons Confirms Planet Formation Theories"

  • Alice Bowman, MOM of New Horizons, waits for confirmation that all systems on the spacecraft are working, with thermal status reported as green. She specifically checks if the digital recorders are full of valuable data, which is confirmed by CNDH, indicating a successful fly-by of the solar system.
  • The first close-up image of the distant object reveals it as two spheres stuck together, confirming predictions made from previous observations. Scientists express excitement over the discovery, with the shape aligning with theories of planetary formation, marking a significant achievement in exploration.
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