>>> GOOD AFTERNOON. WELCOME TO NASA HEADQUARTERS IN
WASHINGTON. I'M WADE BROWN WITH THE OFFICE
OF COMMUNICATIONS. NASA'S NEW HORIZONS RESEARCH
TEAM IS BACK TO REVEAL EVEN MORE UNPRECEDENTED IMAGES AND SCIENCE
THAT CONTINUE TO BE RETURNED FROM THE NEW HORIZONS SPACECRAFT
FOLLOWING ITS HISTORIC JULY 14th FLY BY PLUTO. LET'S SET THE STAGE FOR TODAY'S
BRIEFING. PLEASE WELCOME TO THE PODIUM
ASTRONAUT AND HEAD OF THE NASA DIRECTORATE WHERE NEW HORIZONS
IS ONE OF ALMOST 100 SCIENCE MISSIONS IN THE PORTFOLIO,
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, DR. JOHN
GRUNGEFELD. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DUANE. AND, YOU KNOW, THIS WEEK HAS
BEEN JUST A PHENOMENAL WEEK. ON MONDAY WE LEASED THE FIRST
IMAGE FROM THE EPIC EARTH POLYCHROMATIC IMAGING PROGRAM ON
THE DISCOVER MISSION, THE BLUE MARVEL. THIS IS OUR FIRST, YOU KNOW,
TRUE BLUE MARVEL OF THE EARTH SINCE 1972 WHEN THE APOLLO 17
ASTRONAUTS TOOK THE FAMOUS BLUE MARVEL IMAGE OF THE EARTH. IT REALLY PAINTS I THINK AN
INCREDIBLE PICTURE OF OUR HOME PLANET AND HOW, YOU KNOW, LUCKY
AND PRECIOUS PLANET EARTH IS. ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU COMPARE IT
TO THE AMAZING VIEWS WE'VE RECENTLY GOTTEN FROM THE DAWN
SPACECRAFT, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS A SOMEWHAT SERIOUS, HOSTILE WORLD
TO EARTH PLANET SERIES. WE'VE JUST ANNOUNCED YESTERDAY A
KEPPLER DISCOVERY OF SORT OF A PARALLEL, A COUSIN OF SOLAR
SYSTEM TO THAT OF OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM WITH A G-TYPE STAR MUCH
LIKE OUR SUN, A LITTLE BIT OLDER, AND AN EXOPLANET THAT'S
ABOUT 60% BIGGER DIAMETER THAN THE EARTH RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF
A HABITABLE ZONE. IT'S TRULY AMAZING THE THINGS
THAT WE'RE DOING. BUT THE IMAGES THAT WE'VE BEEN
GETTING AND THE SCIENCE WE'VE BEEN GETTING FROM PLUTO HAS
REALLY JUST BEEN BEEN, YOU KNOW, MORE THAN AMAZING AND PROVES
DEFINITIVELY A SCIENTIFIC THEORY THAT SCIENCE NEVER SLEEPS. AND IF YOU LOOK AT OUR PANEL
HERE, THEY ACTUALLY LOOK PRETTY CHEERY FOR A GROUP OF SCIENTISTS
THAT HAVE NOT BEEN SLEEPING FOR THE LAST FEW WEEKS. BUT THEY ARE HERE TO TELL US
ABOUT THE MOST RECENT AMAZING RESULTS FROM THE PLUTO NEW
HORIZONS MISSION. AND I'M JUST THRILLED TO BE HERE
TO HEAR THOSE RESULTS. [ APPLAUSE ]
>> SO, WE HAVE -- BEFORE I INTRODUCE OUR PANELISTS FOR THIS
AFTERNOON, OBVIOUSLY THE NASA COUNT SOCIAL MEDIA BUZZ WITH
THIS MISSION AND THE RESULTS AND THE IMAGES FOLLOW THE NASA
ACCOUNTS ON TWITTER. YOUTUBE, FACEBOOK, AND OTHER
NASA COUNTS. SEND IN YOUR QUESTIONS
AT #ASKNASA. A LOT OF QUESTIONS ARE COMING
IN. WE'LL TRY TO ANSWER THOSE AS
QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. KEEP THEM COMING IN. YOU CAN FOLLOW THE CONVERSATION
AND THERE'S STILL A LOT OF CONVERSATION ALL OVER THE WORLD
ON THIS HISTORIC MISSION AT A #PLUTOFLYBY. AGAIN, ONLINE, ALL OF THE
INFORMATION TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE CAN BE OBTAINED BY GOING
TO WWW.NASA.GOV/NEWHORIZONS. FIRST UP YOU WILL HEAR FROM JIM
GREEN, DIRECTOR OF PLANETARY SCIENCE AT NASA HEADQUARTERS. ALAN STERN, NEW HORIZONS
PRINCIPAL INVESTOR AT SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN BOULDER,
COLORADO. MICHAEL SOMERS, NEW HORIZONS
CO-INVESTOR AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY, FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA. KATHY OLKIN, NEW HORIZONS DEPUTY
PROJECT SCIENTIST, ALSO AT THE SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE. AND ROYAL McKINNON, NEW HORIZONS
CO-INVESTIGATOR AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS. WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO
JIM. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DUANE. YOU KNOW, JULY 14th WAS VERY
HISTORIC FOR NASA WITH OUR VERY SUCCESSFUL FLYBY OF THE NEW
HORIZONS SPACECRAFT NEAR THE PLUTO SYSTEM. AND WE'RE JUST TEN DAYS FROM
THAT, AND YET WE'VE ONLY HAD ABOUT AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE
ABOUT 5% OF THE DATA. AS MANY KNOW, WE STORED THAT
DATA ON BOARD AS WE FLEW THROUGH THE SYSTEM AND IT'S JUST NOW
STARTING TO COME BACK. EACH AND EVERY DAY THE SCIENCE
TEAM HAS BEEN HUDDLED LOOKING AT THE DATA AS IT COMES BACK AND
IT'S ALWAYS SURPRISED AND JUST QUITE A PLEASURE TO BE PART OF
THAT TEAM, TO LOOK AT THE DATA WHEN IT COMES IN, AND SEE THE
NEW DISCOVERIES THAT ARE COMING OUT. NOW, TODAY WE'RE GOING TO TALK
ABOUT SOME OF THE LATEST DATA THAT CAME IN WITHIN THE LAST FEW
DAYS. THIS IS A SPECTACULAR SET OF
DATA, BUT IT'S ALSO DATA THAT HAPPENED AND WAS TAKEN ON BOARD,
STORED PRIOR TO THE ENCOUNTER AND ITS POSTENCOUNTER, AFTER THE
SPACECRAFT HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO FLY THROUGH THE PLUTO SYSTEM AND
LOOK BACK TO PLUTO AS IT'S HURTLING AWAY AT MORE THAN 16
KILOMETERS PER SECOND. THESE ARE JUST AMAZING
DISCOVERIES. SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, ALLOW ME
TO TURN IT OVER TO THE PRINCIPAL VOR, ALAN STERN, TO START IT
OFF. ALAN? >> THANK YOU, JIM. AS JIM SAID, LAST WEEK THE
UNITED STATES, THROUGH OUR PROJECT AND NASA, EXPLORED THE
FARTHEST FRONTIER EVER EXPLORED BY HUMANKIND, THE PLUTO SYSTEM. WE CAN'T TELL YOU HOW HAPPY WE
ARE TO BE BACK AS A TEAM AND TELL YOU WHAT WE'VE BEEN
DISCOVERING. WE CAME BACK LAST FRIDAY TO GIVE
A FIRST REPORT ABOUT FIRST REACTIONS TO DATA DOWNLOAD. TEN DAYS OUT, 7.5 MILLION MILES
FROM PLUTO, WE'VE HAD MORE TIME TO THINK ABOUT THE DATA SETS
THAT ARE ON THE GROUND AND EQUALLY IMPORTANTLY, WE HAVE
ABOUT THREE TIMES AS MUCH DATA ON THE GROUND. NOW, IT'S NOT VERY MUCH OF THE
TOTAL DATA LOAD. WE HAVE ABOUT 4% TO 5% OF THE
DATA BACK. 95% OR 96% OF IT IS STILL ON THE
SPACECRAFT SO WE'RE ONLY SCRATCHING THE SURFACE AND WE
HAVE SOME GREAT DISCOVERIES TO TELL YOU ABOUT. ALSO, THE SIZE OF THE DATA SETS,
THERE'S ONE OTHER WAY ON THIS PROJECT TO KNOW THAT WE'VE DONE
THE EXPLORATION ON THE OTHER SIDE OF PLUTO, AND THAT'S THIS
BUMPER STICKER THAT'S INSPIRED BY VAL MALDER, OUR DEPUTY
ASSISTANTS ENGINEER. IT SAYS, "MY OTHER VEHICLE
EXPLORED PLUTO." A NICE PICTURE OF PLUTO MADE BY
NEW HORIZONS IN THE REAR-VIEW MIRROR. THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW. I WANT TO SAY A FEW THINGS AND
I'D LIKE TO CALL UP MY FIRST GRAPHIC, WHICH IS A HAUNTINGLY
IMAGE OF THE DOUBLE PLANET SYSTEM PLUTO SHARING WITH PLUTO
ON THE LEFT AND SHARON ON THE RIGHT. THIS IS MADE A FEW DAYS OUT ON
APPROACH WITH TRUE COLOR ADDED FROM OUR RALPH INSTRUMENT ON TOP
OF THE LURIE IMAGE. AS I TELL YOU ABOUT WHERE WE ARE
IN THE MISSION, JUST FEAST YOUR EYES ON THIS. WE'VE NEVER BEEN TO A DOUBLE
PLANET SYSTEM BEFORE, AND IT'S TURNING OUT TO BE A SCIENTIFIC
WONDERLAND. WE'VE NOW FINISHED THE FIRST
PHASE OF DOWNLINK. THAT WAS AN INTENSIVE TEN-DAY
PERIOD IN WHICH WE SENT DOWN IMAGES AND SPECTRA AND OTHER
DATA SETS JUST TO WHET OUR APPETITES AND TELL US THE BASICS
ABOUT THE PLUTO SYSTEM AND THE DISCOVEIES YOU'LL BE HEARING
ABOUT BY MYSELF AND MIKE, KATHY, AND BILL REPORT ON SOME OF THE
MOST IMPORTANT FINDINGS THAT WE'VE ALREADY MADE IN THESE FEW
DAYS. WE'RE NOW MOVING INTO A SECOND
PHASE OF DOWNLINK. IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, AND
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT EVERYONE UNDERSTAND THAT
DIFFERENCE. WE'LL BE TRANSMITTING HOME NOW A
LOT OF ENGINEERING DATA FROM THE FLYBY AS WELL AS DAY DATA FROM
OUR PLASMA, OUR STUDENT COUNTER AND HEADER DATA TO GO WITH THE
IMAGES AND SPECTER WE'VE ALREADY GOT. SO FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF
MONTHS, UNTIL WE REACH MID-SEPTEMBER, IT WILL ONLY BE
OCCASIONALLY THAT WE'LL HAVE NEW IMAGES ON THE GROUND AND
AVAILABLE TO RELEASE. BUT STARTING IN SEPTEMBER, THE
SPIGOT OPENS AGAIN, AND THEN FOR ABOUT A YEAR, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT
MORE, THE SKY WILL BE RAINING PRESENTS WITH DATA FROM THE
PLUTO SYSTEM. IT'S GOING TO BE QUITE A RIDE. WE'RE REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THE
AMOUNT OF INTEREST IN THIS MISSION AS A MISSION TEAM. WE'RE EXCITED TO SHARE IT WITH
ALL OF YOU. AND WE'RE GOING TO DO SOME OF
THAT RIGHT NOW. WE'RE GOING GET RIGHT INTO THE
SCIENCE. FOR SOME OF YOU, IF YOU'RE
SEEING A CARDIOLOGIST YOU MAY WANT TO LEAVE THE ROOM. THERE ARE SOME PRETTY MIND
PLEAU -BLOWING DISCOVERIES I'M GOING
TO TALK ABOUT. MY SECOND GRAPHIC, OUR 2 X 2
MOSAIC OF THE PLUTO SYSTEM. THIS HAS TWICE THE RESOLUTION OF
THE PREVIOUS BEST GLOBAL IMAGE OF THE APPROACH HEMISPHERE. AND REALLY IT'S JUST MOUTH
WATERING. THE LEVEL OF DETAIL IS
SPECTACULAR. THIS IMAGE HAS A RESOLUTION OF
ABOUT 2.2 KILOMETERS PER PIXEL, AND I THINK JUST LOOKING AT IT,
YOU CAN TELL AS OUR SCIENCE TEAM CAN, THAT PLUTO HAS A VERY
COMPLICATED STORY TO TELL. PLUTO HAS A VERY INTERESTING
HISTORY, AND THERE IS A LOT OF WORK THAT WE NEED TO DO TO
UNDERSTAND THIS VERY COMPLICATED PLACE. I WANT TO STRESS THAT. I WANT TO DRIVE IT HOME BY
SHOWING YOU THIS IMAGE OF HIGHER MAGNIFICATION. IF I CAN GO TO THE NEXT TIME
STEP, WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT JUST THE NORTHERN HALF OF THAT
IMAGE. WE COULD EASILY BLOW IT UP EVEN
FURTHER. YOU CAN SEE ACROSS THE NORTHERN
TERRAINS HERE WHICH INCLUDE THE NORTH POLE, BY THE WAY, THIS IS
A TRUE COLOR IMAGE, ESSENTIALLY TRUE COLOR AS YOUR EYE MIGHT SEE
IT, A WHOLE RANGE OF GEOLOGIC EXPRESSION. KATHY AND BILL WILL BE TALKING
ABOUT THIS QUITE A BIT MORE SO I WON'T STEAL THEIR THUNDER, BUT
JUST LET YOUR EYES GAZE FROM THE LAST ON THE WESTERN LIMB ACROSS
THE DISK OVER TO THE EAST AND YOU CAN SEE DIFFERENT GEOLOGICAL
UNITS, DIFFERENT KIND OF FEATURES TELLING THAT
COMPLICATED STORY AGAIN, WHICH IS THERE FOR US TO UNRAVEL. AND IF I CAN HAVE THE NEXT TIME
STEP AND WE CAN GO TO THE SOUTH, YOU SEE A STILL MORE COMPLICATED
STORY WITH A GREAT EQUATORIAL DARK REGIONS, WITH TAMBA REGGIO,
AS WE INFORMALLY CALL IT, THE HEART ON PLUTO, AND WHAT LOOKS
LIKE MASSIVE TECTONIC FEATURES, BOTH RADIALLY EMANATING FROM
TAMB ACTION REGGIO AND OTHERS THAT RUN MORE OR LESS
NORTH/SOUTH. I DO WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT ONE
ASPECT OF THE INTERPRETATION THAT WE'VE BEEN MAKING OVER THE
LAST WEEK IN LOOKING MORE CAREFULLY AT THE IMAGERY OF THE
HEART, LIKE A REAL HEART, IT HAS TWO LOBES, ON THE LEFT AND ON
THE RIGHT SIDE. THE LEFT IS THE WESTERN SIDE. I THINK EVE ON THE YOUR EYE YOU
CAN DISTINGUISH A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO. THE RIGHT LOBE LOOKS LIKE A MUCH
THINNER DEPOSIT THAT'S BEEN PAINTED ON TOP OF TOPOGRAPHY. OUR INTERPRETATION OF THAT
MATERIAL IN THE RIGHT LOBE AS WELL AS THE MATERIAL EMANATING
TO THE SOUTH BELOW THE WESTERN LOBE IS THAT IN BOTH CASES WE
BELIEVE THE SOURCE FOR THAT MATERIAL IS THE WESTERN LOBE. IT'S BEING TRANSPORTED OFF THE
WESTERN REGION OF THE WESTERN LOBE, PERHAPS BY SUBLIMATION AND
WINDS AND RECONDENSATION OR PERHAPS BY A PROCESS WE HAVEN'T
THOUGHT ABOUT. IN ANY CASE WE THINK WE'RE
COMING TO UNDERSTAND THIS FEATURE JUST A LITTLE BIT. THIS IS EARLY DAYS. MAY HAVE A LITTLE MORE TO SAY
ABOUT THAT. OUR NEXT TIME STEP IS A FALSE
COLOR IMAGE STRETCHED TO SHOW THE DRAMATIC DIFFERENCES IN
COLOR UNITS ON PLUTO AND HOW THEY CORRELATE WITH THE GEOLOGY. THIS IS PRETTY MIND-BLOWING. KATHY WILL HAVE MORE TO SAY
ABOUT IT AND WHAT IT MEANS IN THE BIGGER PICTURE. BUT THEY HAVE DIFFERENT COLORS. SOON WE'LL HAVE COMPOSITION
SPECK TROS COE PI TO SUPPORT THAT AT VERY HIGH-RESOLUTION. YOU CAN SEE THE POLAR REGIONS
HAVE A DIFFERENT COLOR STILL AND A WE GET INTO THE DARK
EQUATORIAL REGIONS THERE'S MORE INFORMATION. THE GEOLOGY AND THE COLOR,
PROBABLY THE COMPOSITION SEEM TO BE CORRELATED. THIS TELLS US THE PAYLOAD WE
BROUGHT TO BEAR ON THE RECONNAISSANCE OF PLUTO SYSTEM
IS REALLY THE RIGHT PAYLOAD BECAUSE WE HAVE ON BOARD THE
SPACECRAFT NOW TREMENDOUS DATA SETS WITH HIGHER RESOLUTION
COLORS THAN THIS, HIGHER RESOLUTION AND CHROMATIC MAPPING
FOR DOING THE GEOLOGY. AND A SPECTACULAR DATA SET WITH
COMPOSITIONAL INFORMATION WITH MORE THAN 64,000 PIXELS WE'VE
PUT ON THE SURFACE. WE'LL BE ABLE TO TELL THIS STORY
WELL OVER THE NEXT YEAR. LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT. I'M GOING TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT
TIME STEP, TELL YOU A LITTLE ABOUT ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE WHERE
WE'VE ALSO MADE SOME ADVANCES. THIS PARTICULAR GRAPH IS TO
ILLUSTRATE SOMETHING ABOUT OUR ULTRAVIOLET MUTATION. THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT THAT WE DESIGNED AN ATMOSPHERE AROUND
PLUTO'S LARGEST MOON. THERE'S BEEN A PRETTY BIG BODY
OF LITERATURE SPECULATING ABOUT HOW SHARON COULD HAVE AN
ATMOSPHERE. WE GOT THE SUMMARY DATA DOWN IN
THE LAST FEW DAYS. WE DON'T HAVE THE FULL SPECTRAL
DATA SET AND WON'T UNTIL SEPTEMBER. BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THAT STEP,
YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THE YELLOW LINE REPRESENTS THE PATH OF THE
SUN AS SEEN BY THE -- FROM THE SPACECRAFT MOVING BEHIND SHARON. IT CLIPS THE NORTHERN REGION OF
THE MOON.CHARON. IT CLIPS THE NORTHERN REGION OF
THE MOON. JUST AS YOU CLICK ON EITHER SIDE
OF THE BODY, YOU CAN SEE IN THAT RED AND WHITE GRAPH THAT THE
LIGHT-FOOT LEVEL THE SUN PLUMMETS STRAIGHT TO ZERO. DOESN'T LOOK ANYTHING LIKE THE
SOLAR DATA WE SHOWED YOU LAST WEEK FOR PLUTO, WHERE WE COULD
CLEARLY SEE A REFRACTIVE SIGNATURE, A SLOW DECLINE IN THE
LIGHT LEVELS. HERE IT'S JUST BASICALLY A
SQUARE WAY, TELLING US THAT CHARON HAS MUCH LESS ATMOSPHERE
THAN PLUTO IF ANY. WE CAN'T PUT STRICT BOUNDS ON IT
BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE SPECTRA BUT WE'LL BE ABLE TO IN
SEPTEMBER BECAUSE THOSE WILL BE DOWNLINKED. FOR NOW WE CAN ASSAY IT'S A MUCH
MORE RAREFIED ATMOSPHERE AND THAT CONFIRMS OUR PREFLIGHT
NOTIONS, OUR PREENCOUNTER NOTIONS AND WE'RE REALLY LOOKING
FORWARD TO SEE HOW RAREFIED THAT IS. IT MAY BE THERE'S A THIN
NITROGEN LAYER IN THE ATMOSPHERE OR METHANE OR OTHER CONSTITUENT,
BUT IT MUST BE VERY TENUOUS COMPARED TO PLUTO. AGAIN, EMPHASIZING JUST HOW
DIFFERENT THESE TWO OBJECTS ARE DESPITE THEIR CLOSE ASSOCIATION
IN SPACE. ANOTHER PART OF ATMOSPHERIC
SCIENCE IS NOW WE'VE GOT ON THE GROUND SOME OF THE RADIAL
OCCUPATION DATA FOR PLUTO. A DEEP SPACE NETWORK TRANSMITTED
A POWERFUL SIGNAL UP TO PLUTO TIMED TO ARRIVE WHEN THE
SPACECRAFT WAS PASSING BEHIND THE PLANET SO WE COULD MEASURE
THE REFRACTIVE INDEX OF THE ATMOSPHERE. AS YOU'LL HEAR FROM MIKE, WE GOT
THE DATA, IT'S BEAUTIFUL DATA, AND THEY HAVE A WONDERFUL
SCIENTIFIC SURPRISE. THE PRESSURE IN PLUTO'S
ATMOSPHERE MEASURED AT THE BASE OF THE ATMOSPHERE FOR THE FIRST
TIME IN HISTORY IS LOWER, SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER THAN
PREDICTED. AND THAT'S PROBABLY TELLING US A
STORY AND MIKE WILL HAVE MORE TO SAY ABOUT THAT. I'D LIKE TO CLOSE WITH ONE MORE
TIME STEP. THIS IS REALLY A SPECTACULAR IMAGE. THIS IS A SILHOUETTE OF PLUTO
AFTER THE FLYBY. THIS IS OUR EQUIVALENT ON NEW
HORIZONS OF THE APOLLO EARTH RISE PHOTOGRAPH THAT PROVES WE
WERE THERE. YOU CAN ONLY GET THIS IMAGE BY
GOING TO PLUTO AND CROSSING TO THE FAR SIDE AND LOOKING BACK. NOW AS STRIKING AND SPECTACULAR
AS THIS IMAGE IS EMOTIONALLY, IT ALSO REPRESENTS A HUGE
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. YOU SEE ABOVE THE DARK DISK OF
PLUTO THE BAND OF LIGHT WHICH IS TELLING US THAT PLUTO HAS A HAZE
LAYER IN ITS ATMOSPHERE AND MIKE WILL TELL YOU MORE ABOUT IT. >> THANK YOU, ALAN. I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT TWO NEW
RESULTS THAT ARE BASICALLY CHANGING THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT
PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE. WE'RE STARTING FROM SCRATCH ON
WHAT WE THOUGHT WE KNEW ABOUT THE ATMOSPHERE. MAY I HAVE THE FIRST TIME STEP
PLEASE. THE FIRST GRAPHIC PLEASE. OKAY. THIS IS ONE OF OUR FIRST IMAGES
OF PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE. FOR 25 YEARS WE'VE KNOWN THAT
PLUTO HAS AN ATMOSPHERE BUT IT'S BEEN KNOWN BY NUMBERS. THIS IS OUR FIRST PICTURE, THE
FIRST TIME WE'VE REALLY SEEN IT. THIS WAS THE IMAGE THAT ALMOST
BROUGHT TEARS TO THE EYES OF THE ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE TEAM. COULD I HAVE THE NEXT STEP
PLEASE. I WANT TO TELL YOU WHAT YOU'RE
SEEING HERE. THIS IS THE ATMOSPHERE BACK LIT
BY THE SUN AND IT'S LIVE SUNLIGHT SCATTERED BY SMALL
PARTICLES IN THE ATMOSPHERE. THESE PARTICLES CONSTITUTE A
HAZE LAYER. THE INSET IS A CROSS SECTION OF
THAT HAZE LAYER SHOWING STRUCTURE. THE COLORS HAVE BEEN ENHANCED. THEY'RE NOT REAL COLORS. JUST SO YOU COULD SEE THERE IS
STRUCTURE. THERE IS AN ARGUMENT GOING ON IN
THE TEAM, WHETHER IT'S DYNAMICS OR CHEMISTRY. IT'S PROBABLY BOTH. BUT THE REAL ANSWER IS THAT THIS
IS OUR FIRST PEEK AT WEATHER IN PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE. OKAY. COULD I HAVE THE NEXT TIME STEP
TO ILLUSTRATE THAT MORE? THERE IS A HINT THAT THERE IS
EITHER A LAYER OF HAZE AT 30 MILES, 50 MILES, OR A
COMBINATION OF LAYERS AND WAVES IN THIS REGION. THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THING WES -- THINGS WE'RE GOING TO SORT
OUT IN THE COMING WEEKS AND THOSE WILL TELL US THE DETAILS
OF HOW THE ATMOSPHERE WORKS. HAZE IS EXTENSIVE AND SPINS AT
LEAST 100 MILES ABOVE THE SURFACE. THAT IS A BIG SURPRISE. THAT'S FIVE TERMS FURTHER THAN
OUR MODELS PREDICTED. MODELS PREDICTED THE HAZE
PARTICLES WOULD FORM LOW IN THE ATMOSPHERE WHERE THE
TEMPERATURES ARE COLD, BUT IT'S FORMING HIGH IN THE ATMOSPHERE
WHERE THE TEMPERATURES ARE HOT, HOT FROM PLUTO'S PERSPECTIVE,
WHICH IS NOT HOT TO OUR PERSPECTIVE. NONETHELESS, IT'S A MYSTERY. IT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE'LL
HAVE TO SORT OUT IN THE COMING DAYS. OKAY. THE HAZE IS PRETTY. IT'S A WAY TO SEE THE
ATMOSPHERE. BUT IT'S A PIECE OF A BIG STORY
THAT WE'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND FROM PLUTO. AND THAT IS HOW THE ATMOSPHERE
AND THE SURFACES ARE CONNECTED. SO I HAD A SIMPLE ANIMATION TO
ILLUSTRATE ONE ASPECT OF THAT CONNECTION. COULD I HAVE THE NEXT TIME STEP,
PLEASE? OKAY. THIS SHOWS HOW METHANE IN THE
UPPER ATMOSPHERE IS BROKEN APART BY ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION FROM
THE SUN AND TO CHEMICAL COMBINES, RADICALS, SMALL AT
TOMS AND MOLECULES THAT REACT TRIG ERR SET OF CHEMICAL
REACTIONS THAT FORM COMPLEX HYDROCARBONS LIKE ETHYLENE AND
ACETYLENE, WHICH WERE DETECTED BY NEW HORIZONS. AS TIME GOES ON, THESE BUILD UP,
THEY BECOME SUPER SATURATED AND THEY SHOULD NUCLEATE TO FORM
HAZE PARTICLES WHICH THEN GROW AND EVENTUALLY THEY WILL GET BIG
ENOUGH SO THAT YOU'LL SEE A HAZE LAYER AND IT WILL FALL TO THE
GROUND. AT SOME POINT IN THIS CYCLE,
THOSE HAZE PARTICLES ARE CHEMICALLY PROCESSED TO PRODUCE
WHAT WE CALL THOLENS, CHEMICALLY ALTERED HYDROCARBONS THAT HAVE A
RED COLOR, AND WE THINK THAT IS HOW PLUTO'S SURFACE GOT ITS
REDDISH HUE. IN A MINUTE, KATHY WILL TALK
MORE ABOUT THE COLOR AND KOCH SITUATION OF THE SURFACE. THIS IS JUST ONE PIECE OF THAT
STORY. IT'S NOT A COHERENT PIECE YET. THERE ARE SOME MYSTERIES. AS I SAID, WE DON'T UNDERSTAND
WHY THERE'S A HAZE LAYER UP TO 100 MILES ALTITUDE. IT REALLY IS A MYSTERY. OKAY. THE NEXT STORY REGARDS SURFACE
PRESSURE. JUST GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF
CONTEXT HERE. UNTIL A PLANETARY ATMOSPHERE,
THE SURFACE PRESSURE AT ANY LEVEL IS A MEASURE OF THE WEIGHT
OF THE AIR ABOVE THAT LEVEL. AND WEIGHT IS GRAVITY ACTING ON
MASS. SO IF YOU KNOW THE SURFACE
PRESSURE OF A PLANET'S ATMOSPHERE, YOU CAN GET A PRETTY
GOOD ESTIMATE OF THE TOTAL MASS OF THAT ATMOSPHERE. AND IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE
THAT'S A WAY OF QUANTIFYING THE GLOBAL STATE OF AN ATMOSPHERE. OKAY. SO IF I CAN HAVE THE NEXT
GRAPHIC, PLEASE. OKAY. THIS SHOWS SURFACE PRESSURE ON
PLUTO AS A FUNCTION OF TIME. THE UNITS MIGHT BE A LITTLE
STRANGE TO YOU. THEY'RE IN MICROBARS. A MICROBAR IS ONE MILLIONTH OF
SEA LEVEL PRESSURE ON EARTH. AND THE TIME SCALE IS THERE SO,
1989 UP TO JUST BEFORE THE PRESENT. NOW, WHAT IS INTERESTING HERE IS
THAT 1-IN 1989 PLUTO WAS AT ITS CLOSEST DISTANCE TO THE SUN.
AND NOW PLUTO IS MOVING AWAY FROM THE SUN IN ITS VERY
ELLIPTICAL ORBIT. AS IT MOVES AWAY, IT SHOULD BE
COOLING, THE NITROGEN SHOULD BE CONDENSING ONTO THE SURFACE, AND
THE MASS SHOULD BE DECREASING, BUT WE DON'T SEE THAT. WE SEE THE EXACT OPPOSITE. THAT HAS BEEN VERY INTERESTING,
NONETHELESS. WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE
THIS OUT. WHAT I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU NOW
IS A NEW DATA POINT, SOME MORE INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE TO ADD
TO THIS STORY. IT IS JUST ONE DATA POINT, BUT I
DO WANT TO SAY IT IS SIGNIFICANT AND WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO
FIGURE IT OUT. OKAY. SO THIS IS IT. THIS IS WHAT REX, THE RADIAL
SCIENCE EXPERIMENT, HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS STORY. A NEW DATA POINT SHOWS THE
PRESSURE IS AT MOST 10 MICROBAR, UPPER LIMIT. THE MASS, IF YOU WILL, OF
PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE, HAS CHANGED BY A FACTOR OF TWO, DECREASED BY
A FACTOR OF TWO IN ABOUT TWO YEARS. THAT'S PRETTY ASTONISHING, AT
LEAST TO AN ATMOSPHERIC SCIENTIST. THAT'S TELLING YOU SOMETHING IS
HAPPENING. IT IS JUST ONE DATA POINT. THESE ARE EARLY RETRIEVALS. WE HAVE MORE DATA COMING AS ALAN
SAYS, AND THERE'S MORE TO THE STORY. BUT IT'S ANOTHER MYSTERY THAT
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, MONTHS,
YEARS, AND SO ON. OKAY. NOW I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER
THE KATRINA TY OLKIN, WHO'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE COLOR
AND COMPOSITION OF PLUTO'S SURFACE. >> THANKS, MIKE. I'M GOING TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE
COLOR AND COMPOSITION AND TRY TO TIE THIS TOGETHER SO YOU CAN
UNDERSTAND WHAT WE KNOW FROM THIS COLOR. THE COLOR IS REALLY AN INDICATOR
OF DIFFERENT COMPOSITION NAL UNITS. FIRST TIME STEP, THIS IS THAT
SAME FALSE COLOR IMAGE ALAN SHOWED. I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT WE'RE SEEING
SCIENTIFICALLY AND SOME OF THE THINGS WE KNOW AND UNDERSTAND
FROM LOOKING AT THIS IMAGE. FIRST OF ALL, YOU CAN SEE THE
DARK REGION DOWN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE IMAGE. THAT'S NEAR THE EQUATOR. THAT'S THE DARKEST REGION. IF YOU REMEMBER, THERE'S DARK
REGIONS ALL AROUND THAT AREA, EVEN ON THE OTHER SIDE OF PLUTO. THEN JUST ABOVE IT, IT'S A
LITTLE BIT BRIGHTER AND A LITTLE LESS RED.
AND THEN AT THE NORTH POLE YOU SEE THE BRIGHT -- BRIGHTBRIGHTER. PUTTING THE LONGITUDE AND
LATITUDE ON THE GRID HELPS YOU DRAW YOUR EYE TO THAT PATTERN. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT BECAUSE
IT GOES TO THE COMPLEXITY THAT MIKE WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT,
ABOUT THE ATMOSPHERE AND THE SURFACE AND THE INTERACTION. PLUTO HAS A VERY COMPLICATED
SEASONAL PATTERN OF TRANSPORT OF ICES OVER -- IT TAKES 248 YEARS
FOR PLUTO TO GO AROUND THE SUN. AND PLUTO HAS A VERY ECCENTRIC
ORBIT. SO SOMETIMES IT'S MUCH CLOSER TO
THE SUN THAN AT OTHER TIMES. ADDITIONALLY, PLUTO'S NORTH POLE
IS TILTED OVER AT AN ANGLE OF ABOUT 120 DEGREES RELATIVE TO
THE PLANE IT ORBITS IN. ALL OF THESE FACTORS TOGETHER
CAUSE DIFFERENT PARTS OF PLUTO TO GET DIFFERENT AMOUNTS OF
SUNLIGHT. AND THE SUNLIGHT IS POWERING THE
SUBLIMATION OF THE ISLE ICES FROM THE SURFACE INTO THE ATMOSPHERE. SO SOME PARTS ARE KIND OF BAKED
LIKE NEAR THE EQUATOR, AND OTHER PARTS RECEIVE THESE CONDENSATION
OF THESE ICES AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE NORTH POLE HERE. AND SO WE'VE GOT A DIFFERING
PATTERN THAT YOU CAN SEE MANIFESTED ON PLUTO THAT WE
UNDERSTAND FROM MODELING OF THE SEASONAL TRANSPORT OF THESE
ICES. BUT THERE'S ONE GLARING
DIFFERENCE IN THIS PATTERN THAT I JUST CALLED OUT, AND THAT IS
TOMBO REGGIO. NEXT TIME STEP, PLEASE. TOMBO REGGIO CLEARLY INTERRUPTS
THIS PATTERN OF LATITUDE NAL VARIATION OF COLORS AND
BRIGHTNESSES. ONE THING I SHOULD ATHD IS THOSE
SH -- DARKER REGIONS ARE LIKELY THE THOLENS THAT MIKE WAS
DESCRIBING THAT WERE RAINING OUT FROM THE HAZES OR FALLING FROM
THE ATMOSPHERE AND THE HAZES. WE'RE SEEING METHANE, CARBON
ICES THERE. ON THE NORTHERN PART OF PLUTO WE
SEE METHANE AND NITROGEN BUT NOT CARBON MONOXIDE. SO MAYBE WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN
TOMBO REGGIO IS A SOURCE REGION FOR SOME OF THESE SPECIFIC ICES
THAT COMPLICATES IN ADDITION THE STORY OF THIS SEASONAL TRANSPORT
THAT I WAS TELLING YOU ABOUT. WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT
THAT IN THE FUTURE. AS YOU'VE HEARD, WE HAVE A SMALL
BIT OF OUR COMPOSITIONAL DATA DOWN, AND WE'LL GET A LOT MORE
INFORMATION WHEN WE GET THE REST DOWN. BUT WE'VE GOT SOME GREAT IMAGES
AND BILL McKINNON IS GOING TO TELL US ABOUT THE GEOLOGY OF
THIS TOMBO REGGIO REGION AND NEARBY VICINITY. >> THANKS, KATHY. OKAY. CAN I HAVE MY FIRST GRAPHIC? NEXT, PLEASE. WE'LL BE LOOKING AT OUR FABULOUS
NEAR ENCOUNTER HEMISPHERE. I KNOW YOU CAN SEE IT. YOU CAN START THE ANIMATION. AND WHAT WE HAVE NOW IS A FULL
SEVEN FRAMES OF WHAT WILL ULTIMATELY BE A 12-FRAME MOSAIC
AT HIGHER RESOLUTION BUT NOT EVEN OUR HIGHEST RESOLUTION THAT
WILL COME DOWN LATER. THIS AREA AND THE NEXT SLIDE,
NEXT, THIS AREA COVERS IN ITS ENTIRETY THIS VAST MORE OR LESS
FLAT ICY PLANE. IT'S PRETTY BIG, ABOUT THE SIZE
OF TEXAS. ALL AROUND THE PRIVILEGE FI AND
IN THE INTERIOR ARE GEOLOGICAL WONDERS AND I'D LIKE TO SHARE
SOME OF THOSE WONDERS WITH YOU. COULD I HAVE THE NEXT SLIDE,
PLEASE? SO FIRST I'D LIKE TO LOOK AT
THAT ORANGE BOX, THE RECTANGLE THAT YOU SEE AT THE UPPER LEFT
OF THE MOSAIC. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THIS IS THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY OF
SPLIT NICK PLANA. THERE'S A LITTLE SCALE BAR DOWN
THERE, BUT BASICALLY THIS IS ABOUT 250 MILES ACROSS, ABOUT
THE DISTANCE BETWEEN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, AND ST. LOUIS, A
CITY WHICH I PICKED COMPLETELY AT RANDOM. OKAY. OKAY. NEXT SLIDE. I'VE MARKED SOME THINGS HERE TO
HELP SORT OF GUIDE THIS TOUR. SO MOST OF THE PICTURE YOU SEE
IS SPLITNIK PLANA. YOU CAN SEE THIS REALLY WELL AS
YOU MOVE TO THE LEFT SIDE OF THE IMAGE WHERE THE CONTRAST BETWEEN
THE BRIGHT AND DARK SHOWS UP. BUT AT THE TOP OF THE PICTURE
IT'S REALLY DIFFERENT. THERE'S A RUGGED LANDSCAPE
THERE, A DEGRADED LANDSCAPE, SOMETHING THAT TO A GEOLOGIST'S
EYE LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN DEEPLY AND EXTENSIVELY
ERODED. WE CAN TELL IT'S OLD AS WELL
BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE WITH YOUR OWN EYE VARIOUS IMPACT CRATERS
OF LARGE SIZE. BUT WHAT'S REALLY INTERESTING TO
US IS THE ACTUAL INTERACTION BETWEEN THE SPLITNIK PLANUM AND
THE TERRAIN AT THE TOP. IF YOU LOOK CAREFULLY, YOU CAN
SEE A PATTERN THAT INDICATES THE FLOW OF VISCOUS ICE TOWARDS THE
CLIFF BOUNDARY ON THE RUGGED TERRAIN. WE CALL THESE STREAMLINES. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THESE
STREAMLINES WHICH I'VE MARKED WITH THESE CURVED ARROWS YOU SEE
THERE, THEY LOOK JUST LIKE, AND WE INTERPRET THEM TO BE JUST
LIKE GLACIAL FLOW ON THE EARTH. I DON'T HAVE TO REMIND YOU THAT
GLASHERS ON THE RERT MADE OF ICE LIKE IN ANTARCTIC AND GREENLAND,
AND WON'T MOVE ANYWHERE, IT'S IMMOBILE. ON PLUTO, THE KIND OF ICES WE
THINK MAKE UP THE PLANUM, WHICH KATHY TALKED ABOUT, CARBON
MONOXIDE ICE, NITROGEN ICE, METHANE ICE, THESE ICES ARE
GEOLOGICALLY SOFT AND MALLEABLE EVEN AT PLUTO CONDITION, AND
THEY WILL FLOW LIKE IN THE SAME WAY THAT GLACIERS DO ON THE
EARTH. WE HAVE ACTUAL EVIDENCE FOR
BASICALLY RECENT GEOLOGICAL ACTIVITY. ONE MORE THING, ONE ARROW AT THE
12:00 POSITION, WE CAN PROBABLY SEE A FLOW OF THIS, SOLID
NITROGEN ICE FLOEING THROUGH A BREACH IN AN OLD IMPACT CRATER
AND PARTIALLY FILLING IN THE INTERIOR OF THAT CRATER. LIKE KATHY SAID, WE KNEW THERE
WAS NITROGEN ICE ON PLUTO FROM SPECTRA. WE'VE KNOWN THIS FOR YEARS. WE IMAGINED THAT NITROGEN WAS
SUBLIMATING AND EVAPORAING IN ONE PLACE AND CONDENSING IN
ANOTHER PLACE, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE SEE EVIDENCE FOR RECENT
GEOLOGICAL ACTIVITY IS SIMPLY A DREAM COME TRUE. I WANT TO BACK UP JUST ONE
LITTLE BIT AND SAY WHEN I SAY RECENT I DON'T NECESSARILY MEAN
YESTERDAY. I MEAN GEOLOGICALLY RECENT. BUT THE APPEARANCE OF THIS
TERRAIN, THE UTTER LACK OF IMPACT CRATERS ON THE SPUTNIK
PLANUM TELLS US THAT THIS IS REALLY A YOUNG UNIT AND WE HAVE
MODELS OF WHAT SMALL BELTS WOULD BE ON PLUTO AND THEY GIVE
VARIOUS ANSWERS BUT THE BEST ONES IMPLY THAT THE ICES OF
SPUTNIK PLANUM AND THE FLOW FEATURES WE SEE, I SHOULD POINT
OUT THE CURVED ARROWS AT THE UPPER LEFT, WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE
THEM GOING AROUND WHAT LOOK TO BE BARRIER ISLANDS, REALLY KIND
OF CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE. JUST TO GET BACK TO THE AGE, THE
AGE IS ONLY A FRACTION OF THE TOTAL AGE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM,
PROBABLY NO MORE THAN A FEW TENS OF MILLIONS OF YEARS. WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT NITROGEN ICE,
WHAT WE KNOW OR CAN THEORETICALLY ESTIMATE ABOUT THE
HEAT FLOW COMING FROM THE INTERIOR OF PLUTO, THERE'S NO
REASON WHY THIS CANNOT BE GOING ON TODAY. OKAY. SO LET'S GO TO THE NEXT TIME
STEP. NOW WE'RE GOING TO GO DOWN TO
THE BOTTOM OF SPUTNIK PLANUM THERE, AND LET'S BLOW THAT UP. THIS IS A VERY BUSY SCENE, OKAY,
AND IT'S A BUILT BIGGER THAN THE ONE I JUST SHOWED YOU. THIS ONE'S ABOUT 400 MILES
ACROSS, SO THAT'S LIKE TAKING A DRIVE FROM L.A. TO PHOENIX,
ALTHOUGH IT'S A BIT COLDER. ANYWAY, NEXT TIME STEP, PLEASE. SO HERE ARE SOME THINGS --
ACTUALLY AT THE TOP OF THE IMAGE YOU CAN STILL SEE SPUTNIK
PLANUM. YOU CAN STILL SEE IT'S POLYGON
AND AT THE VERY BOTTOM IS THIS ANCIENT BLACK HEAVILY CRATERED
REGION WHICH WE'VE BEEN INFORMALLY CALLING CAZULU
REGGIO. AT THE 3:00 POSITION ARE A GROUP
OF MOUNTAIN BLOCKS WHICH WE DISCOVERED LAST WEEK AND WE ALL
INFORMALLY NAMED THAT A WELL. IN THIS PICTURE YOU CAN SEE KIND
OF IN THE CENTER, ACTUALLY ABOVE IN THE SENTER AND TOWARDS THE
LEFT ANOTHER RANGE OR ARRANGEMENT OF MOUNTAIN BLOCKS. AND THESE MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS,
TWO OF THEM, ARE ACTUALLY SOMEWHAT SIMILAR. YOU MIGHT THINK THE ONES ON THE
LEFT ARE DIFFERENT, BUT THAT'S JUST BECAUSE THE SUN IS HIGHER
IN THE SKY WHEN THAT PICTURE WAS TAKEN SO YOU DON'T SEE THE
SHADOWS QUITE AS PROMINENTLY. THE ARRANGEMENT AND APPEARANCE
OF THESE MOUNTAINS IS SIMILAR FROM ONE REGION TO THE OTHER. WE'VE GIVE AN INFORMAL NAME TO
THIS MOUNTAIN BLOCK AFTER SIR EDMOND HILLARY, FIRST SUMMITED
EVEREST BACK IN 1953. THE SCIENTIFICALLY INTERESTING
AND FASCINATING THING ABOUT THE PICTURE TO ME IS THAT THE
SPUTNIK PLANUM ICE, MOBILE ICES, SEEM TO HAVE MOVED AND
SURROUNDED AND BATHED THE MOUNTAINS. IN FACT, THEY SEEM TO COVER UP
NOT JUST -- INVADE AROUND THE MOUNTAIN BLOCKS BUT THEY EXTEND
ALL THE WAY DOWN AND THEY SEEM TO FORGET OUT JUST ONTO THE EDGE
OF THE CAZULU REGGIO. WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT IN DETAIL
THERE'S A LOT OF FINE STRUCTURE IN THE ICE BETWEEN THE TWO AND A
LOT OF FINE STRUCTURE THAT IS DIFFERENT THAN THE DIFFERENT
SCALE, FINER SCALE THAN THE POLYGONS WE SEE THROUGHOUT. THAT TELLS US THAT THE ICE IN
THAT INTERVENING REGION BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS AND CAZULU IS
SUBSTANTIALLY THINNER. ONE MORE FUN THING YOU CAN SEE,
JUST AS YOU LOOK AT THE EDGE OF THE DARK UNIT, YOU SEE SORT OF
CIRCLES OF BRIGHT MOBILE ICE. OKAY. SO LET'S PUT THIS ALL TOGETHER
AND TAKE A FLYOVER FROM ONE END OF SPUTNIK PLANUM TO THE OTHER. WE'RE GOING TO START AT THE
NORTH. WE'RE GOING TO CAREEN OVER THE
CLIFFS ON TO SPUTNIK PLANUM. THERE ARE THE ICE FLOES. THEY'RE STILL THERE BUT OBSCURED
BY BRIGHTER ICES AND IT'S OUR APPROACHING THE REGION THAT IS
SUPER RICH IN THE CARBON MONOXIDE THAT KATHY WAS JUST
TALKING ABOUT. ANYWAY, IT'S A LONG FLIGHT ALL
THE WAY TO THE SOUTH SO WE'LL SKIP OVER THAT PART AND WE'LL
REJOIN OUR TOUR HERE COMING UP ON THE HILLARY MONTAY. BIG BLOCKS, SMALL BLOCKS AND
BITS. THE CAZULU REGGIO, DARK ASPHALT
CONE SURFACE. AS WE MOVE OVER THE HILLARY
MONTES, THAT CRATER ITSELF IS ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE D.C. METRO
AREA. AS WE MOVE OFF THE HILLARY
MONTIES, THERE ARE THE NORGAY. THERE'S A WHOLE LOT MORE WE'RE
GOING LEARN ABOUT PLUTO. JUST AS ALAN SAID AND JIM SAID,
MOST OF OUR IMAGES, MOST OF OUR DATA ARE STILL ON THE SPACECRAFT
OUTBOUND FROM PLUTO AND WE'LL BE DOWNLINK THIS IN THE MONTHS
ALMOST A FULL YEAR OR MORE AHEAD. WITH THAT, BACK TO YOU, DUANE. >> THANK YOU. NOW WE'RE GOING TO TRANSITION
INTO QUESTIONS, HIT THE PHONE LINES, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND COME
BACK. I'LL GIVE YOU THE FIRST QUESTION
BECAUSE YOUR EXPRESSION, PRETTY COOL STUFF, RIGHT? >> AVIATION WEEK FOR
DR. McKINNON. I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT A COUPLE
THINGS I SAW IN THE NEW DISK IMAGE. IT LOOKS LIKE A COPYRIGHT OR
JUST TO THE WEST OF THE PLANE. IT'S A BIG CRATER I GUESS WITH
SOME CENTRIC CIRCLES. IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT
MIGHT BE. THEN ALSO JUST TO CONTINUE ON
THE ICE FLOES. DO YOU HAVE ELEVATION DATAS AS
TO WHAT'S MAKING IT FLOW AND IS IT FLOWING DOWN INTO THE
MOUNTAINS, THE PLANE HIGHER THAN THE MOUNTAINS? >> I THINK YOU'RE PROBABLY
TALKING ABOUT THERE ARE SOME CIRCULAR FEATURES I DIDN'T
PARTICULARLY POINT OUT IN THE FULL DISK IMAGE, AND TO THE WEST
AND TO THE NORTH OF SPUTNIK PLANUM AND TOMBAUGH REGGIO
ITSELF, AND THOSE ARE PROBABLY IMPACT CRATERS OF SOME SCALE. MAYBE 150 OR UP TO 250
KILOMETERS WIDE. SO SOME PARTS OF PLUTO ARE
PROBABLY AT LEAST FUNDAMENTALLY ANCIENT. EVEN THOUGH THERE MAY BE ACTIVE
GEOLOGICAL PROCESSES. >> THERE ARE A FEW WITH CENTRAL
PEAKS. >> I THINK THE SCALE -- LOOKING
AT THE BIG PICTURE OF PLUTO YOU'D BE REALLY LOOKING AT VERY
DISTINCT -- >> I THINK HE WAS THINKING OF
THE ONE WE INFORMALLY CALLED ELLIOTT CRATER. YOU CAN SEE IT IN THIS IMAGE
THERE. >> YOU MEAN THE ONE JUST UP AT
THE 10:30 POSITION OFF THE EDGE? IS THAT THE ONE YOU MEAN OR --
>> YEAH. >> YEAH. >> OH, YEAH. THAT'S ANOTHER CRATE DESCH WELL,
IT'S NOT REALLY SHOWING ON MY PARTICULAR GRAPHICS BUT IT'S
ANOTHER ONE OF THESE CRATERS THAT HAS BRIGHT ICE IN IT,
PROBABLY A REMNANT, BUT ALSO A CENTRAL PEAK SO, THE CENTRAL
PEAK IS DARK AND STICKING UP THROUGH A BRIGHT RED.
AND YOUR OTHER QUESTION WAS? ELEVATION, YES. WE HAVE -- YOU KNOW, WE'VE
MEASURED THE ELEVATION OF SOME OF THE MOUNTAINS BY MEASURING
THEIR SHADOW LENGTHS. IF WE DON'T HAVE SHADOW LENGTHS
WE USE ANOTHER TECHNIQUE WHICH DETERMINES THE RELATIVE SLOPE
AND WE INTEGRATE AND DETERMINE -- IT'S CALLED -- WE
GET SOME ESTIMATE OF THE TOPOGRAPHY AND CAN ACTUALLY SEE
ON THE SPUTNIK PLANUM THAT THE INDIVIDUAL POLYGONAL CELLS ARE
HIGHER THAN THE CELLS BY A FEW TENS OF MEET RS. BUT THE PRIMARY TECHNIQUE WE
WANT TO USE IS CALLED STEREO IMAGING. WE DON'T HAVE OUR DATA YET TO DO
THAT STEREO ANALYSIS. BUT WE ARE GOING TO GET MORE
FRAMES OF THAT MOSAIC, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO GET A WHOLE SWEEP
FROM AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT SET OF OBSERVATIONS COVERING THE
WHOLE BASICALLY OF PLUTO AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A BEAUTIFUL
STEREO VIEW OF WHETHER ON THE WHOLE WHETHER SPUTNIK PLANUM IS
HIGH OR LOW WITH RESPECT TO THINGS NEARBY. THE ONE THING YOU CAN CERTAINLY
TELL, THOUGH, JUST BY EYE IS IN THE NORTH THE PLANU SMSHGS LOWER
THAN THE CLIFFS AND IT APPEARS AT THE SOUTH WHERE IT SEEMS TO
ON-RAMP ONTO CAZULU REGGIO SO IT'S KIND OF A GRADATIONAL
VALUE. >> THANK YOU. ANOTHER QUESTION? HERE THEN THE PHONE LINES. >> FROM SCIENCE MAGAZINE. BILL, IF I COULD GET YOU TO
SPECULATE ABOUT WHAT COULD BE DRIVING THESE FLOWS AND ALSO HOW
THIS SOURCE REGION GOT THERE TO BEGIN WITH. THERE'S BEEN DEBATES, YOU KNOW,
WHETHER THIS ICE HAS ACCUMULATED FROM ABOVE, LAYERS OF FROST
TURNING INTO I GUESS GLACIER-LIKE THINGS OVER TIME OR
WHETHER SOMETHING IS ALLOWING ICES TO WELL UP FROM WITHIN. SO CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW THIS
INTRIGUING SPOT RIGHT IN THE BELLY OF THE PLANET GOT TO BE
THERE AND THEN WHAT'S DRIVING IT? >> WELL, YOU'VE SORT OF ANSWERED
YOUR OWN QUESTION, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A REGION, A VAST
REGION THAT SEEMS TO BE TRULY A RESERVOIR. I MEAN, WE TRIBE IT POETICALLY
AS THE BEATING HEART. IT MAY BE THE SUPPLY ZONE -- THE
SUPPLY FOR ENTIRE ATMOSPHERE FAR LOT OF GEOLOGIC ACTIVITY. ULTIMATELY HOW IT WAS FORMED YOU
CAN IMAGINE DIFFERENT THINGS. YOU COULD GO ALL THE WAY BACK IN
TIME AND REALIZE IT WAS IMPACT BASED OR MAYBE IT'S SOMETHING
ELSE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. WE SEE AT THE MARGINS, THERE'S A
JUMBLE OF MOUNTAINS, HIGHLY DEFORMED TOPOGRAPHY. WE KNOW GEOLOGIC ACTIVITY BEYOND
WHAT I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT HAS DEFORMED THE CRUST THERE. WE CAN'T FULLY EXPLAIN WHAT'S
GOING ON BECAUSE WE'VE ONLY SEEN THESE SEVEN IMAGES CLOSE UP.
AND SO WHEN ALL OF THE REST OF THAT STUFF COMES DOWN AND WHEN
WE GET SOME OF THIS STUFF UNCOMPRESSED ON THE GROUND,
WE'LL HAVE A MUCH MORE COMPLETE STORY. BUT YOU CAN IMAGINE AS I USE THE
WORD RESERVOIR, YOU CAN IMAGINE WITH ANY RESERVOIR, IT CAN BE
FILLED IN FROM THE SIDE WITH GLACIERS FLOWING INTO IT, IT CAN
BE FILLED IN FROM BELOW. YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT INSIDE THE
ICY CRUST OF PLUTO THERE'S ENOUGH SPACE WHERE NITROGEN
WOULD ACTUALLY NEED A LIQUID, BECAUSE IT WOULD BE WARMER
INSIDE PLUTO AS IT IS INSIDE ALL PLANETS WITH RESPECT TO THEIR
SURFACES. AND THIS RESERVOIR OF LIQUID
NITROGEN COULD ACTUALLY SUPPLY THE PLANET. THESE ARE ALL INTERESTING IDEAS,
AS MICHAEL WAS SAYING, VERY EARLY DAYS AND WE'RE HAVING --
WE'RE ENJOYING A GREAT DEAL OF ANIMATED DISCUSSION. >> I JUST WOULD LIKE TO ADD ONE
THING, WHICH IS THAT THESE IMAGES, NOTHING LIKE THESE
IMAGES EXISTED JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. WE'RE SORT OF REACTING TO IT IN
ALMOST REAL TIME. BUT WHAT WE'RE LEARNING AND VERY
FUNDAMENTALLY IS THAT ON PLUTO WE HAVE A MUCH MORE INTIMATE AND
INTRICATE INTERACTION BETWEEN GEOLOGY AND THE TRANSPORT AND
SEASONAL CLIMATE CYCLES, THOSE KIND OF THINGS. THEY'RE FORCING ONE ANOTHER AND
FEEDING ONE ANOTHER AND CREATING A VERY COMPLICATED AND LAYERED
STORY ABOUT THE PLANET'S HISTORY. AND IT'S RARE IN THE PANTHEON OF
OBJECTS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE SEEN THIS KIND OF A
COMPLICATED STORY. I'M REMINDED IN SOME WAYS OF
TITAN, FOR EXAMPLE, BUT FEW OTHER EXAMPLES THAT ARE SO
DRAMATIC. IT'S BRAND NEW. >> YEAH. JUST YOU WAIT TILL THE REST OF
THOSE IMAGES COME IN. I KNOW THERE'S GOING TO BE GREAT
STUFF THERE. >> OKAY. LET'S GO TO THE PHONE LINES THEN
WE'LL COME BACK HERE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AND ANY OTHER QUESTIONS IN
THE AUDIENCE FOR A WRAP-UP. PHONE LINES, FIRST UP IS KEN
SHANK FROM "THE NEW YORK TIMES." >> REMIND ME OF THE
TEMPERATURES, WHAT THE TEMPERATURES ARE THAT ALLOW
THESE GLACIAL FLOES, HIGHER UP WITH THE HAZES. >> THE TEMPERATURE AT THE
SURFACE IS ABOUT 38 DEGREES CALVIN, WHICH IS 380 DEGREES
BELOW ZERO FAHRENHEIT. SO THAT'S INCREDIBLY COLD. IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE
ICES, I MEAN ICE TEMPERATURE -- >> YEAH, AND WELL, BUT IN
CASE -- EVEN AT 38 KELVIN, THOUGH, SOLID NITROGEN CAN
CREEP. BELOW GROUND, THAT NITROGEN WILL
WARM UP A LITTLE BIT AND IT'S VERY SENSITIVE TO TEMPERATURE. NOTHING SCIENTIFICALLY --
>> NOT AT ALL. EVEN IF THERE'S A MODESTLY DEEP
LAYER IN SPUTNIK PLANUM, YOU GET DOWN TENS OF METERS AND IT MAY
BE MUCH DEEPER THAN THAT, THE PRESSURE FROM THE OVERBURDEN OF
ICE CAN ACTUALLY CHANGE THE PROPERTIES OF THE NITROGEN
BECAUSE IT'S GETTING WARM SORE THAT IT'S LESS VISCOUS AND MUCH
MORE ABLE TO FLOW. THERE MAY BE EVEN CONTINUES
WHERE YOU CAN GET LIQUID NITROGEN FLOWING BELOW A DEEP
LAYER OF ICE OF TENS OR HUNDREDS OF METERS. THAT MAY BE PART OF THIS STORY,
AS WELL, BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO TO BE ABLE TO SAY
THAT WITH ANY CONFIDENCE. >> NEXT UP. REUTERS. IRENE? >> THANKS, DUANE. I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS. FIRST I THINK IT'S FOR MICHAEL
SOMERS. I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY THAT THE
SURFACE PRESSURE MEASUREMENTS SHOW THAT THE PLUTO ATMOSPHERE
HAD DECREASED BY A FACTOR OF TWO IN TWO YEARS. COULD YOU JUST TELL US WHAT THAT
2-YEAR-OLD DATA SET IS AND HOW ACCURATE THAT IS COMPARED TO
WHAT YOU'RE GETTING WITH NEW HORIZONS? >> YES. THE DATA THAT I SHOWED THAT TIME
PLOT FOR PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE IS BASED UPON STELLAR -- WHERE WE
FOLLOW THE SUNLIGHT BEHIND PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE AND LOOK AT
THE EXTINCTION OF THAT SUNLIGHT TO GET A MEASURE OF HOW MUCH GAS
IS THERE. SO WE HAVE USED THOSE TO
EXTRAPOLATE DOWN TO THE SURFACE TO GET A SURFACE PRESSURE. AND THAT'S WHAT WAS DONE FOR
EACH OF THOSE BLUE DATA POINTS THAT YOU SAW. AS FAR AS WE COULD TELL, THOSE
ARE ACCURATE MEASUREMENTS OF THE ATMOSPHERE WHERE THE STELLAR OK
ULATION OCCURS. THE THING THAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT
REX IS WITH RADIO WAVES YOU CAN GO RIGHT DOWN TO THE SURFACE. THE REX DATA WAS EXTREMELY GOOD. THIS SHOULD BE OUR BEST
MEASUREMENT OF THE SURFACE PRESSURE OF PLUTO. AGAIN, THIS IS EARLY, OUR FIRST
DATA, OUR FIRST RETRIEVAL, MORE STUDIES TO DO ON THIS. TAKING IT AT FACE VALUE, IT
APPEAR AS IF THE ATMOSPHERE HAS CHANGED IN MASS BY QUITE A BIT. >> IRENE, IN CONTEXT, ALL THOSE
STELLAR OCCULTATIONS ARE OBTAINED FROM EARTH. ONLY THE RED DATA POINTS ARE
OBTAINED FROM NEW HORIZONS. WE'RE DETECTING WHAT MAY BE A
REALLY SIGNIFICANT SHORT-TERM VARIATION IN THAT ATMOSPHERE. MIGHT BE A TURNAROUND. WE'LL HAVE TO SEE. >> WHAT WILL REALLY SHEP THE
MOST RECENT OBSERVATIONS FROM SOPHIA, WHICH OF COURSE IS ONE
OF OUR 747s THAT HAS A FABULOUS TELESCOPE THAT MOST RECENTLY IN
THE END OF JUNE RACED DOWN TO NEW ZEALAND AND CHASED PLUTO'S
SHADOW AS IT ALSO WAS OCCULTED BY ANOTHER STAR AND GOT A VERY
BEAUTIFUL OCCULTATION, A VERY RECENT ONE THAT COULD EASILY BE
COMPARED WITH PLUTO DATA FOR WHICH HAD BEEN MY HELP IN
INTERPRETATION OF PREVIOUS OBSERVATIONS. >> REALLY GOOD POINT. >> IRENE, DID YOU HAVE A
FOLLOW-UP? >> THE REDDISH HUE AND THE
THEORY THAT PERHAPS IT'S THESE CHEMICALLY ALTERED METHANE THAT
ARE RAINING DOWN THESE THINGS. WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE IF YOU
WERE ON THE SURFACE OF PLUTO? WOULD THE PARTICLES BE BIG
ENOUGH TO SEE LIKE SNOW OR ICE OR FROST? AND ALSO WHY WOULD THEY NOT BE
OR ARE THEY UNIVERSALLY DISTRIBUTED, DO YOU THINK? AND THEN SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENS
ON THE SURFACE? AND I KNOW THIS IS PUTTING
TOGETHER A PUZZLE WHERE YOU DON'T HAVE ALL THE PIECES BUT
JUST KIND OF CURIOUS WHAT YOUR THINKING ON THAT IS NOW. >> SEVERAL QUESTIONS THERE. ONE, IN TERMS OF WHAT IT WOULD
LOOK LIKE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A VERY, VERY THIN HAZE. IF YOU WERE ON THE SURFACE OF
PLUTO LOOKING UP YOU PROBABLY WOULD NOT SEE IT. ONLY THROUGH A LONG SHANT IN THE
ATMOSPHERE AND EVEN THEN ONLY OFF SUNLIGHT SCATTERED THROUGH
THESE PARTICLES IS HOW WE GET THAT IMAGE. SO A VERY THIN HAZE BUT
DISTRIBUTED OVER A VERY LARGE REGION. IT APPEARS TO BE LIKE 100 MILES
OR SO HIGH. IN TERMS OF THE CONVERSION OF
THOSE PARTICLES TO THOLENS, WE DON'T KNOW THE DETAILS IN THAT. THOSE APPEAR TO BE ALTERED
HYDROGEN COME POUNDS IRRADIATED AND GONE THROUGH A CHEMICAL
PROCESS WHERE THE HYDROGEN'S BEEN KICKED OFF. IT'S NOT A PARTICULAR CHEMICAL
SUBSTANCE. WITHOUT HAVING MORE DETAIL, WE
CAN'T REALLY TEST THE FACT MECHANISM, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT
THESE SUBSTANCES ARE AROUND. WE SEE THEM TIGHTENING FOR
INSTANCE. AND THE REDDISH COLOR IS FAIRLY
DISTINCTIVE. SO, YEAH, IT'S A PUZZLE WITH
LOTS AND LOMTS OF PIECES AND THE CHEMISTRY IS CERTAINLY ONE OF
THOSE PIECES. >> I CAN ADD TO ADDRESS ONE PART
OF THAT QUESTION THAT THE PERSON WAS ASKING IS THAT I BELIEVE
THERE WAS ALSO A QUESTION ABOUT THE HAZES FALLING, YOU KNOW,
UNIFORMLY ON THE SURFACE OF PLUTO. AND THAT PROBABLY DOES HAPPEN. SO WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO
TO FIGURE OUT THE RATE OF THAT DEPOSITION, BUT THE STORY OF
SEASONAL TRANSPORT WAS THE ONE THAT I THINK REVEALS WHY WE SEE
A DISTINCT DIFFERENT PATTERN WITH THESE LATITUDINAL BANDS AND
THAT HAD TO DO WITH THOSE THOLENS, THEY'RE DARKER, THEY'RE
GOING TO ABSORB MORE LIGHT, AND SO THE ICES WILL BECOME
VOLATILIZED, THEY'LL GO FROM A SOLID INTO A GASEOUS PHASE AND
THEN BE DEPOSITED ON THE POLES AND SO COVER UP, PERHAPS, THE
THOLENS THAT HAVE BEEN DEPOSITED ON THE NORTHERN POLE. SO ALL THESE PIECES OF THIS
PUZZLE THAT WE PUT TOGETHER TO UNDERSTAND THE RATE OF
PRODUCTION OF THOLENS AND THE DEPOSITION OF IT. >> IRENE, DID YOU HAVE ANOTHER
FOLLOW-UP. >> I DO HAVE ONE KIND OF
BIG-PICTURE QUESTION THAT MAY BE TOO EARLY TO ANSWER. ALnd, BASED ON THE DATA SO FAR,
CAN YOU SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE EXACT MASS OF PLUTO AND ANY
CHANGES IN THE MODELS OF WHAT THE SUPERIOR MAY HAVE? THANKS. >> THANKS, IRENE. I'M GOING TO START THAT AND ASK
BILL TO CHIP IN AS WELL BECAUSE THIS IS A PARTICULAR AREA OF HIS
RESEARCH INTEREST. WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO OBTAIN
A NEW MAP ESTIMATE OF PLUTO, BUT BEFORE THE FLYBY GROUND BASE
DATA ALREADY GAVE US A VERY ACCURATE MASS. AND IN ORDER TO CONSTRAIN THE
INTERIOR PROPERTIES, THE PRIMARY UNCERTAINTY WAS IN KNOWING THE
RADIUS THAT WE CAN GET THE VOLUME AND CONVERT TO A DENLS
TI. WHAT NEW HORIZONS WAS ABLE TO
REALLY CONTRIBUTE, EVEN AS WE WERE APPROACHING THE PLANET, WAS
TO DISCOVER WHAT THE TRUE RADIUS IS. IT'S 1185 OR 186 OR MAYBE 1187
KILOMETERS. WE'VE COLLAPSED IT TO PLUS OR
MINUS TWO AND CENTERED AROUND 1,186. THAT WILL LOWER THE DENSITY AND
HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE INTERIOR PROPERTIES WHICH BILL
CAN SPEAK TO. >> YEAH. BASICALLY EVERYTHING ALAN SAID
IS PRETTY MUCH THE CASE. WE HAVE DECENT MASSES FOR PLUTO
AND COMPANION CHARON AND GOOD SIZES FOR BOTH. IN THE YEARS PAST WE THOUGHT
THAT CHARON WAS VERY ICY AND PLUTO WAS -- HAD MUCH MORE ROCK
IN COMPARISON. NOW THE BODIES ARE, IN EFFECT,
MORE SIMILAR, BUT PLUTO SEEMS TO BE THE ROCKIER WORLD OF THE TWO. THIS WILL GO INTO BUILDING NEW
MODELS AND TESTING NEW MODELS OF THE EVOLUTION OF THE SYSTEM. IN TERMS OF WHAT THE INSIDE OF
PLUTO IS, WITHOUT GRAVITY DATA, IT'S HARD TO BE ABSOLUTELY
DEFINITIVE. THAT'S KIND OF ONE WAY WE TEST
OUR MODELS OF PLANETS WHEN WE FLY BY THEM OR ORBIT THEM. BUT EVERYTHING WE SEE, ALL THE
ACTIVITY WE SEE ON PLUTO IS CONSISTENT WITH THE IDEA THAT IT
DOES HAVE A MASSIVE ROCK CORE SURROUNDED BY A HUGE ICY SHELL. AND THAT ICY SHELL THEN BY BEING
A MORE ICY PLANET IS PROBABLY A LITTLE THICKER. ALL OTHER THINGS BEING EQUAL IT
RAISES THE -- IT INCREASES THE PROBABILITY THAT THERE MAY STILL
BE AN OCEAN WAY DOWN UNDERNEATH A VERY THICK LAYER OF ICE. THAT'S A THEORETICAL INFERENCE
RIGHT NOW, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE KEEPING IN MIND AS WE
EXPLORE PLUTO. ONE OF THE THINGS WE ALSO
LEARNED, NOT JUST THE SIZE OF PLUTO BUT WE ALSO LEARNED THAT
IT WAS VERY, VERY CLOSE TO SPHERICAL. WE ACTUALLY CAN'T DETECT ANY
OBLIQUENESS OR ROUNDNESS IN THE BODY. SOMETIMES YOU RUN AROUND THE
SOLAR SYSTEM AND LOOK AT THIS SATELLITE OR THAT SATELLITE AND
THEY'RE VERY DISTORTED. THIS TELLS YOU ABOUT THEIR
HISTORY. PLUTO PROBABLY WAS SPINNING
VERY, VERY FAST AFTER WHAT WE BELIEVE TO BE A GIANT IMPACT
THAT LED TO THE FORMATION OF ITS SATELLITE. SO AFTER THIS FORMATION, PLUTO
AND CHARON ARE VERY CLOSE TOGETHER, MUCH LIKE THE EARTH
AND THE MOON, AND TIES BETWEEN THE TWO CAUSE THE ORBITS TO
EXPAND AND THE BODIES SLOW DOWN, AND THEN THEY ARE NOW LOCKED UP
THE WAY THEY ARE. BUT PLUTO DOESN'T SHOW ANY
EVIDENCE IN ITS SHAPE FROM THIS EARLY FAST ROTATION. SO WE THINK IT MUST HAVE BEEN
REALLY WARM ENOUGH THAT NO RESIDUAL SHAPE COULD BE
SUPPORTED. SO IT'S STILL TOO EARLY TO SAY
EXACTLY, YOU KNOW, HOW HOT, OKAY, THAT KIND OF THING, BUT
THAT'S THE KIND OF THING THAT WE'LL BE APPLYING OUR RESEARCH
TOOLS, APPLYING OUR THEORETICAL MODELS AND GOING TO SCIENTIFIC
CONFERENCES AND WRITING SCIENTIFIC PAPERS AND EITHER
COMING TO CONCLUSIONS OR NOT. THAT'S HOW IT GOES AT TIMES. BUT THINGS ARE LOOKING GOOD FOR
PLUTO. >> KELLY BEATTIE? >> THANKS VERY MUCH. I WANTED TO ASK, BECAUSE THE
ATMOSPHERIC DENSITY IS HIGHER THAN YOU'VE EXPECTED IT TO BE,
I'M WONDERING, I THINK THIS IS FOR MICHAEL PROBABLY, CAN YOU
TELL US ANYTHING ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY THAT ARGON IS
PLAYING A ROLE IN THE COMPOSITION? >> THE REST MEASUREMENTS SUGGEST
THE PRESSURE IS ABOUT A FACTOR OF TWO LESS THAN PREVIOUS
MEASUREMENTS. SO IT'S GONE THE OTHER
DIRECTION. WE BELIEVE THAT THE ATMOSPHERE
HAS SHRUNK, TO PUT IT CRUDELY. THAT BY ITSELF I'M NOT SURE SAYS
ANYTHING ABOUT ARGON. I DON'T BELIEVE AT THIS POINT WE
HAVE ANYTHING THAT WE CAN SAY ABOUT ARGON. >> NEXT? JASON, SPACE FLIGHT INSIDER. >> THIS ONE GOES OUT TO ALAN. YOU CALLED PLUTO A COUPLE TIMES
DURING THIS CONVERSATION A DOUBLE PLANET. CONSIDERING THAT PLUTO IS
LARGER, A LOT MORE DYNAMIC THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT, WHAT IS NEW
HORIZONS FINDING, SAY, IN TERMS OF HOW WE DEFINE WHAT THE PLANET
ACTUALLY IS? THIS HAS BEEN KIND OF A BONE OF
CONTENTION WITH THOSE WHO FOLLOWED PLUTO FOR SOME TIME
NOW. SO IF YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT
ABOUT THAT, AND THANKS FOR DOING THIS. >> SURE, JASON. NOT SO SIDE TRACK THE
CONVERSATION BUT, YOU KNOW, WE CALL THE PLUTO SYSTEM A DOUBLE
PLANET FOR A VERY SPECIFIC TECHNICAL REASON, BECAUSE THE
TWO OBJECTS ARE CLOSE ENOUGH TOGETHER AND THEIR MASS RATIO IS
SUFFICIENT TO DRAW THE BALANCE POINT BETWEEN THEM OUT OF THE
PRIMARY, OUT OF PLUTO, INTO FREE SPACE BETWEEN. THAT'S EXACTLY ANALOGOUS TO THE
WAY WE DEFINE A DOUBLE-STAR SYSTEM, WHEN THE BALANCE POINT,
THE CENTER, IS BETWEEN THE TWO BODIES AND NOT IN THE MORE
MASSIVE OF THE TWO. THE EARTH/MOON SYSTEM IS ON THE
BORDER. IT'S NOT QUITE THERE. IN FACT, BALANCE POINT FOR THE
EARTH/MOON IS DEEP IN THE EARTH'S MANTLE BUT NOT AT THE
CENTER OF THE EARTH SO IT'S NOT YET MOVED OUT OF THE PLANET BUT
CLOSE. SO I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY CONTROVERSY AT ALL ABOUT THE
DOUBLE-PLANET MONIKER. THERE'S BEEN THIS CONTROVERSY
WHERE ASTRONOMERS AND PLANETARY SCIENTISTS HAVE LARGELY BEEN ON
DIFFERENT SIDES OF IT. I THINK THAT YOU AND THE PUBLIC,
JUST LIKE WE ON THE SCIENCE TEAM, CAN PRETTY WELL TELL WHAT
WE'RE DEALING WITH. IT'S VERY HARD NOT TO CALL AN
OBJECT LIKE THIS AT THIS LEVEL OF COMPLEXITY AND ATMOSPHERE
WITH POTENTIALLY AN INTERNAL OCEAN CERTAINLY WITH COMPLICATED
SEASONAL CYCLES AND CERTAINLY BIG COMPLICATED SYSTEM OF MOONS
A PLANET. AND, YOU KNOW, THE WAY SCIENCE
WORKS IS INDIVIDUAL SCIENTISTS MAKE THEIR DECISIONS ONE AT A
TIME AND EVENTUALLY CONSENSUS IS REACHED. AND BUT A WE'VE MADE SO MANY
DISCOVERIES BOTH WITH MISSIONS LIKE KEPPLER THAT DR. GRUNGEFELD
REFERRED TO OF DIFFERENT KIND OF PLANETS AROUND THE GALAXY AND
NOW A NEW CLASS OF PLAN NET OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM, WE'RE GOING
THROUGH A PERIOD OF TRANSITION. DEFINITIONS ARE IN TRANSITION AS
WELL. IT WILL SHAKE ITSELF OUT, BUT
ONE SCIENTIST AT A TIME UNTIL WE REACH CONSENSUS. >> OKAY. LEO ENRIGHT WILL HAVE THE LAST
PHONE QUESTION AND THEN SOCIAL MEDIA'S CHOMPING AT THE BIT SO
WE'RE GOING TO GET TO THE PUBLIC AROUND THE WORLD WATCHING THIS
PROGRAM. LEO? >> OKAY, DUANE. THANKS VERY MUCH. AS DR. McKINNON MENTIONED AN
OCEAN, I WAS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW THAT MIGHT FIT
INTO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING. TO PUT IT CRUDELY, COULD YOU SAY
THE NITROGEN GLACIERS COULD BE EXPLAINED QUITE EASILY WITHOUT A
LIQUID OCEAN UNDERNEATH AS OTHER MECHANISMS COULD ACHIEVE THIS,
IS THAT NORGAY AND HILLARY CANNOT BE EXPLAINED WITHOUT
SOMETHING LIKE THAT? >> I SHOULD BE VERY EXPLICIT. WE DON'T HAVE ANY DIRECT
EVIDENCE FOR AN INTERIOR LIQUID WATER OCEAN FROM THOSE IMAGES. WHAT I WAS TRYING TO IMPLY IS
THAT OUR PICTURE OF PLUTO AS A COMPLEXACTIVE WORLD PLUS ANY
ACTIVE ICE MANTLE ON PLUTO WILL PROBABLY BE DEEPER ON PREVIOUS
MODELS BASICALLY INCREASES THE THEE RHETT CLAL LIKELIHOOD THERE
MIGHT STILL BE AN OCEAN DOWN THERE. >> OKAY. SO LET'S SEE WHAT THE SOCIAL
MEDIA CONVERSATION AND QUESTIONS ARE. EMILY? >> SURE. THIS FIRST QUESTION IS FROM
DERRICK. AND HE ASKS WHAT INFORMATION IS
USED TO CREATE THESE FALSE COLOR IMAGES? >> YES. THE INFORMATION COMES FROM OUR
RALPH INSTRUMENT, AND RALPH IS TWO PARTS. IT HAS A COLOR CAMERA AND
INVERTED EQUALS SIGN FROM RED SPECTROMETER. THE COLOR IMAGES COME FROM THE
COLOR CAMERA. WE HAVE FOUR DIFFERENT COLOR
FILTERS THAT BROADLY A BLUE CHANNEL, A RED CHANNEL, AN ERI
CHANNEL AND A METHANE CHANNEL. THEY COVER WAVELENGTHS FROM 0.4
TO 0.9 MICRONS, CHARGE A COUPLE DEVICES ARE TYPICALLY SENSITIVE. AND SO THOSE IMAGES ARE A
COMBINATION OF THOSE DIFFERENT FILTERS COMBINED AND SOMETIMES
WE'LL COMBINE THEM TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE NATURAL COLOR AND
OTHER TIMES WE CREATE FALSE COLOR IMAGE SO THAT YOU CAN PULL
OUT THOSE WAVELENGTHS LIKE THE NEAR INFRARED THAT'S CLOSER TO.8
OR.9 MICRONS THAT OUR EYE IS NOT SENSE TOICH SO THAT WE CAN
UNDERSTAND THESE COMPOSITIONAL UNITS IN THE DETAIL THAT WE
COULDN'T WITH JUST OUR EYE. >> GREAT. THANK YOU. THIS NEXT QUESTION IS FROM
LINDA. AND SHE ASKS, THE RING AROUND
PLUTO IS FROM ITS ATMOSPHERE. WOULD IMAGES OF PLANETS WITHOUT
ATMOSPHERES BE ABLE TO CAPTURED LIKE THIS? I THINK SHE'S REFERRING TO THE
BLACK IMAGE. >> I'M SORRY. COULD YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION? >> SURE. THE RING AROUND PLUTO IS FROM
ITS ATMOSPHERE. WOULD IMAGES OF PLANETS WITHOUT
ATMOSPHERES BE ABLE TO CAPTURED LIKE THIS? >> IMAGES WITHOUT -- YOU WANT TO
TAKE THAT? >> YEAH. SURE. WE'VE TAKEN SILHOUETTED IMAGES
OF OTHER OBJECTS THAT DON'T HAVE ATMOSPHERES AND THEN YOU DON'T
SEE THE RINGS EXTENDING ABOVE THE SURFACE. IN FACT, WE HAVE A VERY NICE
IMAGE THAT JUST CAME TO THE GROUND, HASN'T BEEN RELEASED
YET. THERE ARE SOME OPTICAL ARTIFACTS
BECAUSE WE'RE LOOKING BACK INTO THE GLARE OF THE SUN. ACTUALLY IT WAS TAKEN ABOUT THE
SAME TIME, SAME DAY ON THE APPROACH DAY THAT SHOWED THE
CRESCENT OF PLUTO'S BIG MOON, CHARON. AND THERE'S NO EVIDENCE OF AN
ATMOSPHERE THERE WHATSOEVER. YOU JUST SEE SORT OF LIKE A
BRAND-NEW MOON, JUST A THIN CRESCENT OF LIGHT. IT'S QUITE A HAUNTING IMAGE. AND ONCE WE CLEAN IT UP, WE'RE
GOING TO MAKE SURE IT'S RELEASED. >> LET'S TAKE TWO MORE AND WE'LL
CLOSE OUT HERE. >> GREAT. THIS QUESTION IS FROM SIMON, AND
HE SAID IS THERE A THEORY OF WHAT IS DRIVING THE NICE RHO
GENERAL ICE FLOE AND COULD THE SUN'S LIGHT BE RESPONSIBLE EVEN
THOUGH IT'S SO FAR AWAY? >> I GUESS THAT'S FOR ME. IT'S NOT SUNLIGHT. IT'S INTERNAL HEAT. IF YOU HAVE A THICK ENOUGH, A
MASSIVE ENOUGH LAYER OF THESE KIND OF ICES, WHETHER IT BE
NITROGEN OR CARBON MONOXIDE OR METHANE, IT THIS MOVE. IF THERE'S A SUFFICIENT SLOPE,
LIT MOVE. IN FACT, WE'VE DONE SOME
THEORETICAL CALCULATIONS, WHICH OF COURSE WE NEED TO DO BETTER
ONES, BUT WE BELIEVE ACTUALLY -- I'LL PUT IT THIS WAY. OUR LEADING MODELS FOR THE
FORMATION OF THE POLYGONS AT THIS MOMENT IS INTERNAL
CONVECTIVE MOTION RISING AND FALLING AT A SLOW RATE OF THE
NITROGEN ICE WITHIN THE SPUTNIK PLANUM. AS LONG AS THAT ICE IS AT LEAST
A HALF A MILE DEEP, WE THINK THIS PROCESS CAN OPERATE. I'LL SAY IT'S DRIVEN FROM THE
HEAT THAT IT'S LEAKING OUT OF THE INTERIOR OF PLUTO. >> ONE MORE AND GIVE YOU THE
FINAL ONE, THEN WE CLOSE OUT. >> SURE. THIS LAST QUESTION, WHEN WILL WE
SEE THE SURFACE OF THE OTHER SIDE OF PLUTO IN RELATIVELY HIGH
RES? >> WE'VE GOT ABOUT THE BEST
IMAGES ON THE GROUND ALREADY OF THE OPPOSITE APPROACH
HEMISPHERE. THE NATURE OF NEW HORIZONS
EXPLORER SHIP PLUTO DEMANDED THAT WE -- OR WAS CONSEQUENCE
THAT WE WERE GOING TO OBSERVE ONE HEMISPHERE IN EXQUISITE
DETAIL AND THE OTHER SIDE IN MUCH LESS DETAIL. THAT'S THE COMBINATION OF OUR
VERY FAST SPEED COMBINED WITH PLUTO'S SLOW ROTATION RATE OF
ABOUT 6.4 DAYS. SO THE LAST TIME THAT WE SAW THE
FAR HEMISPHERE, WE WERE 3.2 DAYS OUT, HALF THAT 6.4 DAYS, AND
THAT KOR RESPONDED TO ALMOST 3 MILLION MILE ACE WAY. AS OPPOSED TO THE IMAGES YOU'RE
SEEING WHEN WE'RE ALMOST TEN TIMES CLOSER. NET IS WE HAVE A DICHOTOMY IN
OUR MAPS. THE FAR SIDE IS NOT IMED AS
WELL, WE GET THE BASIC PATTERNED AND CAN DETECT POSSIBLY THE
LARGEST CRATERS ON THE SURFACE AND THE LARGEST UNITS BUT NOT
NEARLY AS MUCH ON THE CLOSE APPROACH HEMISPHERE. THAT SAID, WE HAVE A GOOD BIT OF
IMAGERY IN THE SPACECRAFT THAT WILL HELP US IMPROVE FAR SIDE
MAP A LITTLE MORE. IN THE FALL WHEN THOSE DATA
START TO COME TO THE GROUND, WE'LL BE ABLE TO PRODUCE A
BETTER MAP OF THAT FAR SIDE THAN WE HAVE NOW. >> THANKS. >> ERIC, "SCIENCE" MAGAZINE
AGAIN. ATMOSPHERIC QUESTION FOR ALAN OR
MIKE. THIS SHRINKING ATMOSPHERE, THIS
PLUMMETING PRESSURE, ASSUMING THAT IF IT GOT TO ZERO THAT
MEANS THAT THE ATMOSPHERE FROZE OUT, DOES THIS MEAN THAT YOU GOT
THERE IN THE NICK OF TIME AND THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHERE
PLUTO IS HEADING, TOWARD THE FREEZEOUT? AS A FOLLOW-UP TO THAT, HOW CAN
YOU RECONCILE A SHRINKING ATMOSPHERE WITH DETECTING HAZE
MUCH HIGHER THAN WAS EXPECTED? SEEMS A LITTLE CONTRADICTORY. A SHRINKING ATMOSPHERE WITH A
HIGHER HAZE. >> I'LL TALK ABOUT THE HAZE
FIRST. THE HAZE PARTICLES ARE EXTREMELY
SMALL. AND THEY'RE VERY BUOYANT. THEY CAN STAY UP IN AN
ATMOSPHERE. THEY CAN STAY SUSPENDED IN AN
ATMOSPHERE THAT'S VERY, VERY DENSE. BUT YOU COULD HAVE THE -- JUST
PULLING NUMBERS OUT OF THE AIR RIGHT HERE, BUT YOU COULD HAVE
THE ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE DECREASED BY A FACTOR OF TEN AND
YOU COULD STILL HAVE A HAZE PRESENT IN THE ATMOSPHERE. YOU COULD SUSPEND LESS BUT IT
COULD STILL BE THERE. IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THE OTHER
PART, I'LL LET YOU. >> SURE. SURE. WELL, YOU KNOW, FOR A LONG TIME
THERE HAVE BEEN ATMOSPHERIC MODELS AND CLIMATE MODELS FOR
PLUTO THAT SUGGESTED THAT AS PLUTO DRAWS AWAY FROM THE SUN
THAT THE ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE COULD PRECIPITOUSLY DROP. AND IN FACT DURING THE TIME WHEN
THE NATIONAL ACADEMY AND OTHER COMMITTEES WERE LOOKING AT
FLYING A PLUTO MISSION AND IT RELATIVE PRIORITY, THERE WAS A
REAL INTEREST IN TRYING TO GET TO PLUTO WHILE IT STILL HAD A
SUBSTANTIAL ATMOSPHERE. THAT HELPED MOTIVATE THE CASE
FOR WHY TO GET A MISSION LAUNCHED IN THE 2000s VERSUS
WAITING BECAUSE WE WANTED TO GET THERE WHILE THERE WAS STILL AN
ATMOSPHERE TO STUDY. EVENTUALLY THERE CAME TO BE SORT
OF A BELIEF THAT IT'S BEEN 25 OR MORE YEARS SINCE PLUTO
APPROACHED THE SUN. MAYBE THERE WON'T BE ANY
ATMOSPHERE. WHAT REX SEEMS TO HAVE DETECTED
IS A POTENTIAL FOR THE FIRST STAGES OF THAT COLLAPSE JUST AS
NEW HORIZONS ARRIVED. IT WOULD BE AN AMAZING
COINCIDENCE, BUT THERE ARE SOME ON OUR TEAM THAT WOULD SAY I
TOLD YOU SO. SO WE'LL SEE IF THIS IS, IN
FACT, WHAT'S HAPPENING OR FIT'S A MORE COMPLICATED STORY PERHAPS
NOT RELATED, MAYBE SOME OTHER POSSIBILITIES. AS MIKE SAID, IT'S EARLY DAYS. WE HAVE SEVERAL MORE REX DATA
SETS TO COME TO THE GROUND THAT WILL HELP INFORM THIS QUESTION
BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY GOT DATA FROM TWO DIFFERENT STATIONS AT
INGRESS AND TWO DIFFERENT STATIONS AT EGRESS, AND WE ONLY
HAVE ONE OF THOSE FOUR AND ONLY PART OF THAT DATA SET. SO THIS IS AN UNFOLDING STORY. >> SO THAT'S GOING TO DO IT
HERE. AS YOU HEARD TODAY, PLUTO IS
VERY COMPLEX WORLD. AS DR. STERN MENTIONED, THE DATA
IS RAINING DOWN, AND WE WILL BE BRINGING YOU MORE IN THE FUTURE. STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES ON THE
CADENCE OF HOW WE WILL PRESENT THAT AND SHARE WIT THE MEDIA AND
THE PUBLIC AND THE WORLD. AND, AGAIN, FOLLOW US ON THE
NASA SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE. SEND IN THOSE QUESTIONS, KEEP
THEM COMING IN. WE'LL GET THEM ANSWERED WITH THE
SCIENCE TEAM AT #ASKNASA. AND FOLLOW THE CONVERSATION,
THIS CONVERSATION WILL GO ON FOR A LONG TIME. #PLUTOFLYBY. AGAIN, UPDATES AND ANY OTHER
TYPE OF INFORMATION COMING DOWN IN THE FUTURE,
WWW.NASA.GOV/NEWHORIZONS. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TEAM. HAVE A GREAT, GREAT WEEKEND. AND THIS TEAM IS NOT REWRITING
TEXTBOOKS. THEY ARE WRITING TEXTBOOKS. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
I'm still watching, but this may be the most spectacular set of pictures and data.
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