Space
Watch the NASA New Horizons Historic Flyby of Pluto with New Video
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Aug 31, 2015 03:42 PM EDT
NASA's New Horizons mission has now passed Pluto, but it's still sending back data about the planet. Now, researchers are revealed new images of the dwarf planet and have created a simulation using them.
The latest simulation was created by first building an accurate Pluto system within a 3D environment. The researchers used the latest data on Pluto orbit, its obliquity, which is how its pole is tilted relative to its orbit, and the orbits of the known moons; using this data, they created the system in software. Then,, the researchers "attached" a camera to the latest trajectory information so it would look as if you had a seat on New Horizons and had a clear view as the spacecraft zoomed past.
The final version wasn't easy to make. In the original version, each frame represented one minute of real time, and the field of views was that of the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), New Horizons' eagle-eyed, black-and-white camera that gives the closest views. However, the result was questionable at best.
The final result was made with a variable timescale, and the view was varied so that you could see the whole system at beginning and end.
Want to see the simulation for yourself? Check out the video below, courtesy of YouTube.
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First Posted: Aug 31, 2015 03:42 PM EDT
NASA's New Horizons mission has now passed Pluto, but it's still sending back data about the planet. Now, researchers are revealed new images of the dwarf planet and have created a simulation using them.
The latest simulation was created by first building an accurate Pluto system within a 3D environment. The researchers used the latest data on Pluto orbit, its obliquity, which is how its pole is tilted relative to its orbit, and the orbits of the known moons; using this data, they created the system in software. Then,, the researchers "attached" a camera to the latest trajectory information so it would look as if you had a seat on New Horizons and had a clear view as the spacecraft zoomed past.
The final version wasn't easy to make. In the original version, each frame represented one minute of real time, and the field of views was that of the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), New Horizons' eagle-eyed, black-and-white camera that gives the closest views. However, the result was questionable at best.
The final result was made with a variable timescale, and the view was varied so that you could see the whole system at beginning and end.
Want to see the simulation for yourself? Check out the video below, courtesy of YouTube.
Related Stories
Pluto May be a Geologically Active Dwarf Planet, New Horizons Reveals
NASA New Horizons Targets Kuiper Belt After Pluto Flyby
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone