From: Amara Graps (amara@amara.com)
Date: Thu May 09 2002 - 00:30:36 MDT
>"we have to launch for Pluto now because its not going to
>exist in 2060".
>
>We could make it a big DC project -- PlanetaryDismantlingDesign@Home
Very funny, Robert. Planetary scientists like to keep Pluto around for a bit
though, because it's the best transNeptunian object we have presently.
Let the scientists study it for a bit longer, please.
There is an strong argument for sending a mission to Pluto as soon
as possible though (and why Alan Stern is fighting so hard for the
Pluto/Kuiper Express mission): Pluto's present atmosphere will
freeze out when its orbit moves it further away from the Sun: the
Pluto scientists think that it will freeze out completely in about
2020. The atmosphere holds some key information for understanding
these kinds of objects.
Amara
-- ******************************************************************** Amara Graps, PhD email: amara@amara.com Computational Physics vita: ftp://ftp.amara.com/pub/resume.txt Multiplex Answers URL: http://www.amara.com/ ******************************************************************** "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." --Anais Nin
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