Ultima Thule the most distant object that humanity has ever visited.

[sderk 1,040]

NASA just pulled off humanity's farthest-ever visit to a space object — the New Horizons probe successfully flew by a mountain-size space rock 1 billion miles beyond Pluto

 

This is a great story for those that care anything about things beyond our planet (And baseball fans - See below for that).

It is 4 billion miles away from Earth.

 

"Ultima is the first thing we've been to that is not big enough to have a geological engine like a planet, and also something that's never been warmed greatly by the sun," he said. "It's like a time capsule from 4.5 billion years ago. That's what makes it so special."

Stern compared the flyby to an archaeological dig in Egypt.

"It's like the first time someone opened up the pharaoh's tomb and went inside, and you see what the culture was like 1,000 years ago," he said. "Except this is exploring the dawn of the solar system."

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-new-horizons-spacecraft-completes-ultima-thule-mission-2018-12

 

 

The New Horizon space craft also carries the ashes of Clyde Tombaugh, who was an American astronomer who discovered Pluto.

 

https://gizmodo.com/new-horizons-is-carrying-the-ashes-of-plutos-discoverer-1679291232

 

 

Clyde is the great uncle of...….Dodgers pitcher....Clayton Kershaw. I knew the Dodgers were cheaters.

 

https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2015/07/15/pluto-dodgers-clayton-kershaw-uncle-clyde-tombaugh

[MDC 5,877]

MUGA?

[fandandy 3,311]

To Do List

 

Visit Clyde Tombaugh's grave

 

Send NASA strongly worded letter

[Cruzer 1,992]

That's pretty damn cool.

[sderk 1,040]

That's pretty damn cool.

Here's another fun bit:

 

"The data will be flowing in over the next few days, at a glacial rate of no more than 1,000 bits per second. That rate is so low due to the limitations of the spacecraft’s 15-watt transmitter, plus the extreme distances involved.

But eventually the science team expects to get detailed pictures — plus temperature readings, spectral analyses and particle counts — from a world that’s thought to rank among the most primitive types of objects in the solar system. New Horizons sped past Ultima at a speed of 32,000 mph, coming as close as 2,200 miles."

 

https://www.geekwire.com/2019/success-nasas-new-horizons-spacecraft-phones-home-4-billion-miles-away/

[supermike80 1,285]

What happened to Voyager? I thought that was the furthest thing out. Is it dead now?

[nobody 2,031]

I like that the asteroid is called MUA69

[12th Man 884]

NASA = Never A Straight Answer.

[DonS 3,063]

Thule really stepping up their advertising game.

[DonS 3,063]

FFS:

New Horizons Scientists Double Down on 'Ultima Thule' Nickname Despite Nazi Associations

 

This is why we can't have nice things.

[sderk 1,040]

FFS:

New Horizons Scientists Double Down on 'Ultima Thule' Nickname Despite Nazi Associations

 

This is why we can't have nice things.

"I get it: It’s a cool name, and no one wants to be called a Nazi. But it’s a bummer that the New Horizons team is doubling down on the name, despite already knowing about its nefarious second meaning."

 

But just looking at the Wikipedia page for “Thule” reveals that according to far-right German mythology, this place was the original origin of the “Aryan race.”

 

 

What a dope Ryan F. Mandelbaum is. All this amazing science going on and he spends his time writing an article about a "nefarious second meaning" and "far right German mythology".

[DonS 3,063]

"I get it: Its a cool name, and no one wants to be called a Nazi. But its a bummer that the New Horizons team is doubling down on the name, despite already knowing about its nefarious second meaning."

 

But just looking at the Wikipedia page for Thule reveals that according to far-right German mythology, this place was the original origin of the Aryan race.

 

 

What a dope Ryan F. Mandelbaum is. All this amazing science going on and he spends his time writing an article about a "nefarious second meaning" and "far right German mythology".

I made the joke earlier about Thule, the roof rack company. Little did I know that I was complicit in promoting the neo-Nazi agenda. I just needed a good bike rack.

[drobeski 3,061]

"I get it: Its a cool name, and no one wants to be called a Nazi. But its a bummer that the New Horizons team is doubling down on the name, despite already knowing about its nefarious second meaning."

 

But just looking at the Wikipedia page for Thule reveals that according to far-right German mythology, this place was the original origin of the Aryan race.

 

 

What a dope Ryan F. Mandelbaum is. All this amazing science going on and he spends his time writing an article about a "nefarious second meaning" and "far right German mythology".

they are who've we said they are

[Cloaca du jour 2,064]

Kali maaaa chak ti day

[supermike80 1,285]

Just saw the nova episode on this. How utterly awesome and fantastic. Damn

[sderk 1,040]

Just saw the nova episode on this. How utterly awesome and fantastic. Damn

[nobody 2,031]

I'm not sure this is all that awesome. It's a rock in space. It's really, really, really far away. It'll be awesome if they actually learn something.

 

I think most of this is just great marketing by NASA

[sderk 1,040]

I'm not sure this is all that awesome. It's a rock in space. It's really, really, really far away. It'll be awesome if they actually learn something.

 

I think most of this is just great marketing by NASA

Yeah, all that "technology" and learning crap about some weird unfettered stuff in space that could be from the earliest times in our solar system is pure garbage. I don't know why these so-called "scientists" don't think of ways to get us real people better beer for cheap instead of wasting time on exploring the universe.

[fandandy 3,311]

If this is from the earliest time in the universe how could we even get close to it? Wouldn't it be like a gazillion light years away by now?

[nobody 2,031]

If this is from the earliest time in the universe how could we even get close to it? Wouldn't it be like a gazillion light years away by now?

It's been orbiting the sun for millenia. It's supposed to be so cold out there that it's essentially unchanged for billions of years.

[DonS 3,063]

It's supposed to be so cold out there that it's essentially unchanged for billions of years.

For Christ's sake, does *everything* on this bored have to be about Hillary? Or at least her scary vagina?

[wiffleball 4,631]

What happened to Voyager? I thought that was the furthest thing out. Is it dead now?

Never been the same since Spork mind melded with it.

[supermike80 1,285]

I'm not sure this is all that awesome. It's a rock in space. It's really, really, really far away. It'll be awesome if they actually learn something.

 

I think most of this is just great marketing by NASA

Yeah cause trying to locate and track a 20 mile long rock 4 billion miles away, then fly a probe by it and take pictures, is so super easy

[kilroy69 993]

Every time I see this thread I think it says Uma Thurman

[vuduchile 1,940]

I'm not sure this is all that awesome. It's a rock in space. It's really, really, really far away. It'll be awesome if they actually learn something.

 

I think most of this is just great marketing by NASA

Yeah. Wake me up when they discover ETs tomb.

[jerryskids 5,169]

I'm not sure this is all that awesome. It's a rock in space. It's really, really, really far away. It'll be awesome if they actually learn something.

 

I think most of this is just great marketing by NASA

 

I'm surprised that you would have this opinion.

[wiffleball 4,631]

Big deal. The chinks are on the moon.

 

 

Find a way to solve porch pirates.

 

Create booze that doesn't kill yer liver.

 

Do something useful.

 

Why the hell does it still take us approximately the same amount of time to fly from New York to London? What the hell? I don't give a about the far reaches of space. Give me technology that doesn't have me in the air all day to fly from one end of this country to the other.

 

Vucking space rocks. Vocking engineers jerking each other off with make work.

[edjr 5,547]

Wasn't she in Kill Bill?

[fandandy 3,311]

Big deal. The chinks are on the moon.

 

 

Find a way to solve porch pirates.

 

Create booze that doesn't kill yer liver.

 

Do something useful.

 

Why the hell does it still take us approximately the same amount of time to fly from New York to London? What the hell? I don't give a ###### about the far reaches of space. Give me technology that doesn't have me in the air all ###### day to fly from one end of this country to the other.

 

Vucking space rocks. Vocking engineers jerking each other off with make work.

Seriously. We can send a vehicle to Mars but can't figure out a way to watch satellite television when it rains.

[NorthernVike 2,079]

I thought this was going to be about the bottom of oldmaids vajayjay.

[wiffleball 4,631]

I thought this was going to be about the bottom of oldmaids vajayjay.

The last guy to attempt to spelunk those nethers ended up eating the burro he rode to get to the bottom.

[sderk 1,040]

If this is from the earliest time in the universe how could we even get close to it? Wouldn't it be like a gazillion light years away by now?

It's about exploring the roots of this solar system. Not the universe. One step at a time.

[nobody 2,031]

Yeah cause trying to locate and track a 20 mile long rock 4 billion miles away, then fly a probe by it and take pictures, is so super easy

Agree that it's very difficult to the extent that it's a very hard logistics problem. All of the physics are very, very well-defined. They probably just punch in the parameters for the orbit of the asteroid in a piece of software and it spits out what they need to do to get there from Pluto.

 

All they did was use Hubble to find something that was already kind of in the path of the probe.

 

But understand we're not going to learn much from this. NASA's job is to hype this up so they can justify more and more funding.

[sderk 1,040]

Agree that it's very difficult to the extent that it's a very hard logistics problem. All of the physics are very, very well-defined. They probably just punch in the parameters for the orbit of the asteroid in a piece of software and it spits out what they need to do to get there from Pluto.

 

All they did was use Hubble to find something that was already kind of in the path of the probe.

 

But understand we're not going to learn much from this. NASA's job is to hype this up so they can justify more and more funding.

Sure. And the moon landing was a studio set film.

[supermike80 1,285]

Agree that it's very difficult to the extent that it's a very hard logistics problem. All of the physics are very, very well-defined. They probably just punch in the parameters for the orbit of the asteroid in a piece of software and it spits out what they need to do to get there from Pluto.

 

All they did was use Hubble to find something that was already kind of in the path of the probe.

 

But understand we're not going to learn much from this. NASA's job is to hype this up so they can justify more and more funding.

Partially but also not entirely. They had to actually have the mo fo hopefully pass in front of a known star to be able to accurately track the path and get a guess on its shape. And yeah, it may be able for you to do this, I mean just simple physics and what not, but I was damn impressed with how they made that all work

 

 

And I am fine with NASA getting more funding.

 

Killjoy

[sderk 1,040]

Partially but also not entirely. They had to actually have the mo fo hopefully pass in front of a known star to be able to accurately track the path and get a guess on its shape. And yeah, it may be able for you to do this, I mean just simple physics and what not, but I was damn impressed with how they made that all work

 

 

And I am fine with NASA getting more funding.

 

Killjoy

I like that NASA gets funded. I think learning about the solar system and the universe is way cooler than listening to Nancy Pelosi speak.

[nobody 2,031]

We figure out the origins of the universe from pictures of an asteroid yet?

[sderk 1,040]

We figure out the origins of the universe from pictures of an asteroid yet?

I guess it depends on what questions are being asked. But sure, they do find new things all the time.

[supermike80 1,285]

We figure out the origins of the universe from pictures of an asteroid yet?

Is that the goal?

[kutulu 1,542]

Space: the final frontier.