Turning a Point of Light into a Planet

After 85 years of seemingly constant re-sizing, mostly in the downward direction, Pluto’s diameter can now be reliably set at 2379 kilometers (1473 miles)… Pluto’s moon Charon is marred with an impact craters and nearby canyon larger than Earth’s Grand Canyon… Pluto does, in fact, feature a polar ice cap, and it’s made of methane and nitrogen gas.

But this is only the beginning of discoveries to be made. In only a few hours, New Horizons will pass by Pluto, carrying with it high expectations from scientists and the public alike. Among the 200 media members and hundreds of special guests to experience the event at the New Horizons Center of Operations in Laurel, Maryland are members of the Lowell and Tombaugh family, royalty when it comes to Pluto.

Not only did Lowell Putnam’s great grand-uncle, Percival Lowell, kick off this madness when he began searching for a ninth planet in 1905, but Putnam’s grandfather, Roger, was central in the decision to name the new body Pluto, following a suggestion first made by English girl Venetia Burney.

Then there is Annette and Alden Tombaugh, whose father made the discovery on a cold Arizona night in 1930. The Tombaughs have an extra-special reason to celebrate tomorrow’s event, since some of Clyde’s ashes are aboard New Horizons, fulfilling dad’s wish to “sometime go to Pluto”.

Scientific intrigue, family legacy, the thrill of discovery, the satisfaction of seeing a mission succeed that many thought not possible…New Horizons has it all.

The big day, the one circled on calendars for years, is now here. On the 14th, New Horizons (and Clyde Tombaugh) will make their closest approach to Pluto, some 12,500 kilometers (7,779 miles) at 4:49 (Flagstaff time). NASA TV will begin a countdown program at 4:00 am.

That evening, at around 5:53 pm, the signal from New Horizons confirming a successful flyby, sent using a mere 12 watts (this alone boggles the mind to imagine just how little energy is being used to send data more than three billion miles), will arrive to the jubilation of Earthlings across the globe. Then the real fun begins on Wednesday when we finally start seeing THE closest images (we’ve been saying “closest images” for a while now, only to see them outdone the next day). Plus, there’s all the fabulous observations made with New Horizons’s seven instruments.

To paraphrase Alan Stern, New Horizons has allowed us to turn a point of light into a planet, and there’s no going back.

Kevin Schindler- Lowell Observatory