Who else is excited about Pluto?

[Jimmy Doug]

One of the things that as a kid I decided I wanted to see before I die is about to happen: we're only weeks away from Pluto. I remember as a child imagining what it looked like, flicking through all the astronomy books I could get my hands on to look for clues. Then, when I was a teenager, the Hubble telescope went up and I waited impatiently for it to turn its eye on the thing that had fascinated me for so long. I remember seeing the first photo on the shelves of a newsagents on the cover of an astronomy magazine - with its disproportionately sized moon, Charon. I can't find that exact photo now, but it was something like this:

But I had to be patient for a long, long time before anything of the surface could be revealed. And for years, these were the best pictures we had, the only ones that gave even a clue about the face of this mysterious object so far away it takes light 5 hours to get there:

In 2006 New Horizons was launched. What amazed me at the time, and still amazes me to this day, was how little media coverage this revolutionary probe received. We're talking about one of the most sophisticated spacecraft ever to have been built and the fastest madmade object ever, journeying to the last planet yet to be seen. Of course, a few months afterwards, following the discovery of other large, spherical bodies that lie beyond Pluto (including Eris, which could actually be bigger than Pluto), in their wisdom the IAU decided that as Pluto doesn't clear its own path through space it should be demoted to a new category of object they called dwarf planet. I didn't understand this at the time, and still don't.
As a kid I'd always felt there was something special about Pluto, that if we could somehow see it we'd sit up and gasp, 'Wow - this is more than just a cold, grey piece of rock in space!' And now that the first photos that better those taken by Hubble are at last arriving, it does indeed seem that this world is far, far more than just a cold lump of rock. What's more (as has been known for a few years now) it isn't grey at all, but red - in fact, it could be redder even than Mars, it could be the reddest object in the solar system.

It has not just one moon but five (and possibly more), an atmosphere, weather, ice geysers, something called spider patterns that have only ever been seen on Mars, a very large polar cap ... it might even have rings. This boring piece of rock could well be one of the most extraordinary objects so far seen in the solar system.
So, here I am every day scouring the news for the latest titbits of information, waiting for my childhood dream to at last come true.
Is anyone else as excited as I am about this?

 

[Markymark]

I've lost track, is it still a planet these days?

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

So, here I am every day scouring the news for the latest titbits of information, waiting for my childhood dream to at last come true.
Is anyone else as excited as I am about this?

No. I have learned more about planets from reading your post than in over 40 years of being on this planet.

Your enthusiasm does, however, provide a sense of wonder that made me smile.

 

[mick1836]

Er NO

 

[byegad]

Pluto got downgraded from a recognised planet to something less a few years back. Hope that didn't upset the OP too much.

 

[Deleted member 23692]

Even though I find deep space exploration fascinating, it holds no real excitement for me and I can't get past feeling that the vast sums of money involved could be better spent here on this planet

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I feel sorry for Pluto, I think it's been treated unfairly, this looks like it could restore some pride.

 

[Drago]

Pluto is good. I can't wait until probes are sent to the likes of Sedna.

 

[Jimmy Doug]

Pluto got downgraded from a recognised planet to something less a few years back. Hope that didn't upset the OP too much.

It didn't upset me at all - I was confused about it, that's all. Whether we humans decide to call the large, spherical objects that accompany our journey around the sun 'planets', 'dwarf planets' or whatever else, makes no difference at the end of the day. They're still up there, they're sill worlds, and some are alive in the geological sense.
Take Io, for example, or Titan. These spherical objects are called 'moons' - but they are truly alive. In fact, in my opinion both are more interesting than the planets they go round. All right, Titan is a moon of Jupiter, the largest object in the solar system outside of the sun - so it easily makes the grade 'planet'. But what is Jupiter? Nothing more than a big ball of swirling gas. Titan, however, has an atmosphere, lakes, seas and mountains. In fact, it's more like Earth than any other object known in the Solar System. And Io orbits Saturn, which is similar to Jupiter except that it's more visually stunning on account of its rings. And how about Europa? This 'moon' is almost certain to have water and could (that's Could with a capital C) have life.
So, all in all, whether a spherical object is considered a planet or not doesn't make the slightest difference as, outside our own planet, the most interesting objects in the Solar System are now turning out not to be planets at all.

Edit: There's a typo. Titan is a moon of Saturn and Io of Jupiter.

 

[numbnuts]

.........and still the question remains “are we alone”

 

[gavroche]

.........and still the question remains “are we alone”

We may be alone in our own galaxy but I am certain that there are other beings in other galaxies. Distance is the problem.

 

[Drago]

It was almost called Shpincteris.

 

[Tim Hall]

Er NO

From the deep recesses of my memory, I recall an episode of Mork and Mindy.
Mork: "Don't go to Pluto. It's a Mickey Mouse planet."

 

[Slioch]

I understand that Pluto is now officially classified as a PSO (Planet Shaped Object).

 

[sidevalve]

Even though I find deep space exploration fascinating, it holds no real excitement for me and I can't get past feeling that the vast sums of money involved could be better spent here on this planet

If more were spent on space exploration [and I mean real exploration - not just sending yet another probe up to have a look and gather even more information that we will never really use] then perhaps people might just have something to focus on other than killing each other. Kids might have aspirations higher than joining the local gang and finally literally thousands of people would find jobs in the space research industries and all the spin offs. Space exploration does not begin and end in an isolated bubble with sending a tin can into space but involves the whole infrastructure of society both on a national and even international level. Pride - a spirit of adventure - and overcoming challenges are not things to be sneered at. To alter an old saying - give a man a fish and he will eat today - give him pride and a goal and he will find his own fish so that he can achieve it.