I have been eying the New Horizon mission (New Horizons Web Site) ever since it launched in 2006. Too bad it could not set its path to 'Xena' after it explores Pluto!
I have been eying the New Horizon mission (New Horizons Web Site) ever since it launched in 2006. Too bad it could not set its path to 'Xena' after it explores Pluto!
As Laurele pointed out in her threads, refusing to call Pluto a planet for fear of having to name all these other things planets doesn't wash.Charon would also be a planet. And AV would be complaining that suddenly we have all of these new planets.
New Horizons communicates with NASA at the speed of light... At this rate their spacecraft is only three hours away!
New Horizons Web Site
As Laurele pointed out in her threads, refusing to call Pluto a planet for fear of having to name all these other things planets doesn't wash.
After all, there are now over 100 elements in the Periodic Table, and you don't see anyone complaining about that.
Here's a picture of the Aricebo message, sent into space by S.E.T.I. in 1974:But we knew about Charon and Ceres, etc. before this, you'd be complaining that what were once called asteroids and moons were now planets.
Assuming there is some universally applicable definition of "planet" that would be known by aliens.
It seems to me that any advanced civilization is likely to be able to figure out which solar system it came from simply based on it's trajectory and speed. I seriously doubt they'll have a hard time figuring out where it came from.
As post #2 shows however, it make a left turn at Saturn.
Notice the part in yellow?
It's a depiction of our sun and our nine planets, with the earth elevated.
It's no wonder them boys at M13 haven't responded.
They are either ROFL at our scientists saying we have nine planets, or they are out roaming the galaxy looking for a star with nine planets circling it.
It takes a scientist to broadcast our ignorance into intergalactic space!
I am curious as to where the New Horizons space probe goes after Pluto. The following conference will be an interesting one to keep tabs on. It is interesting that the Hubble Space telescope will be in position to get some shots of Pluto and beyond.