I'm quite excited about this, New Horizons is getting closer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33524589

Yes I noticed this story - they are taking the ashes of the man who discovered it up there I read.

It's looking like late Wednesday for some hi res images.

I've heard Pluto maybe bigger than was expected. Will it become a planet again? Or remain a dwarf planet. Or a new class called Plutoids?

Quote from: Snowcrash on July 14, 2015, 21:49:26 PM
I've heard Pluto maybe bigger than was expected. Will it become a planet again?

I was thinking the same thing.
And I'm no expert but it does seem more than just a dead piece of rock, there are things going on there, volcanic activity or something.   

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33543383

Interesting vid. First of many images we hope.

Quote from: Data on July 14, 2015, 22:28:59 PM

Quote from: Snowcrash on July 14, 2015, 21:49:26 PM
I've heard Pluto maybe bigger than was expected. Will it become a planet again?

I was thinking the same thing.
And I'm no expert but it does seem more than just a dead piece of rock, there are things going on there, volcanic activity or something.   

Actually, I don't think that Pluto's size was the major factor in its demotion. The way I understand it, the main reason was that, with so many other Kuiper Belt objects found that were of similar size (along with the prospect of up to several hundred {or even thousand} more still to be discovered), with each one requiring to be given a name (since it would be a planet), rather than a catalog number or other designation, keeping everything straight would have been a huge mess.

Personally, I think that (and many of the other "excuses" given) is a crap reason for demoting Pluto. I also have a problem with the fact that astronomers (whose major role deals with the entire universe, not the solar system), and not planetary scientists, were the ones who carried out the demotion. What gives here?

BTW, to answer the question posed in the topic's title:

http://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a209c9e34f6a78750f8fe0107ac315fd482768df/0_413_2229_1337/master/2229.jpg?w=1920&q=85&auto=format&sharp=10&s=c1b6f92d9e3d7152f9328cdee5c17327

Getting closer:

Or indeed this... Pluto

Latest vid with hi res image overlaid.
New Horizons site.

It will take another 16 months to get all the images New Horizons has snapped. The downlink is that slow.

Found this on BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34285426

This probe is still sending back data and more analysis is ongoing.

Very cool! Thanks, Snowy!