Posted on 07/26/2017 6:38:26 AM PDT by MtnClimber
NASA successfully observed the Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69 as it passed in front of a star — for two seconds.
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft changed our view of the outer solar system forever when it flew by Pluto in 2015. Now, it’s on its way to the next destination: a Kuiper Belt object (KBO) known only as 2014 MU69. Although the spacecraft won’t reach its target until New Year’s Day in 2019, NASA is already looking ahead to learn as much about 2014 MU69 as possible, thanks to a convenient temporary alignment that recently allowed the object to pass in front of a background star.
The passage, called an occultation, occurs when objects “line up” in the sky as viewed from Earth. When an object, such as an asteroid, planet, dwarf planet, or KBO, passes in front of a distant star, astronomers can watch the way the starlight dims and returns to gain information about the object passing in front of it. This information can include size, shape, and even whether the object possesses rings, moons, or an atmosphere.
(Excerpt) Read more at astronomy.com ...
That probe is a long way away!
Yep, out in the woods for sure...
It is 4 billion miles away and is travelling 9 miles per second. The radio waves take 5 hours and 15 minutes to travel to Earth.
“When an object, such as an asteroid, planet, dwarf planet, or KBO, passes in front of a distant star, astronomers can watch the way the starlight dims and returns to gain information about the object passing in front of it. This information can include size, shape, and even whether the object possesses rings, moons, or an atmosphere.”
Not only can they tell if the object has an atmosphere, they can tell what the atmosphere is made of, via spectroscopy.
The Earth, in its orbit round the Sun, is traveling precisely twice that speed. 18 miles per sec, or ~66,000 miles per hr.
in all of the different directions we are moving through the universe i wonder how fast we are moving from a set point in space not counting for expansion.
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