Alan Stern
Alan Stern
Sol Alan Sternis an American engineer and planetary scientist. He is the principal investigator of the New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Chief Scientist at Moon Express...
history initial states united
The United States is going to go down in history for the initial reconnaissance of the planets.
initial led planets since states united united-states
This is, in a very real sense, the capstone of the initial reconnaissance of the planets that the United States has led for the world since the 1960s.
initial last mission
This is the capstone of the initial reconnaissance of the planets, the first mission to the last planet.
initial led planets since states united united-states
This is in a very real sense the capstone of the initial reconnaissance of the planets that the United States has led for the world since the 1960s.
chihuahua dwarfs ice planetary
Just as a Chihuahua is still a dog, these ice dwarfs are still planetary bodies.
four gas giants inner learned outer planets pluto rocky understand view
We've learned that the view of four inner rocky planets and four outer gas giants and one misfit Pluto is wrong. Now we understand Pluto's context.
belt bodies moon result
Our result suggests that other bodies in the Kuiper Belt may have more than one moon as well,
account belt bodies means modeling planetary pluto result scientists
Our result suggests other bodies in the Kuiper Belt may have more than one moon. It also means planetary scientists will have to take these new moons into account when modeling the formation of the Pluto system.
crude earth finally
Out Earth-based observations are still too crude to tell us much about what we'll see when we finally get there. We still don't know what we don't know about Pluto.
companions fact people pluto visceral
Just on a visceral level, the fact that Pluto has a whole suite of companions will make some people feel better.
belt ice objects planet pluto solar type typical
We know of 17 objects that could be called planets, most of which are ice dwarfs. So Pluto is typical of what is probably the most populous type of planet in our solar system. It probably mimics other Kuiper Belt objects.
moon nine months
It'll be the fastest spacecraft ever to Jupiter...13 months after launch. We pass the Moon in just nine hours.
halloween moon pluto
It's strictly coincidental that Pluto of course was named for the god of the underworld and we're describing these Halloween moons
opportunity space people
Naming celestial objects is usually done by astronomers and professionals. Other people who are interested in space never get the opportunity to do that kind of thing.