Flying Past Pluto

The high resolution data keeps on coming in from New Horizons, now far beyond the dwarf planet Pluto.  Using some of the images as the craft flew by, mission scientists were able to create a fantastic video that gives you some perspective as if you were flying along yourself.   We can see Charon and other moons during the early and later stages of the fly-by, with the orbits overlaid, giving perspective on how the Plutonian system’s mechanics work.  As the craft approaches Pluto, time slows down to appreciate the closest approach and see the stunning detail revealed in the...

A Shot so Amazing, it Looks Fake

The Deep Space Climate Observatory (DISCOVR) was launched back in February of this year. Although its goal is to measure solar wind particles from the Sun as a space weather predictor, DISCOVR passes the orbit plane of the Earth and the Moon twice per year.  In its first pass, it snapped an amazing series of frames of the Moon passing in front of the Earth.  The images show the dark side of the Moon, as well as the stark contrast between the darker lunar surface and the bright Earth. The camera that took the shots, the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera...