Work in Progress

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've had an ongoing project I decided to dedicate myself to and I've let several Dawn images slip by. Those will get processed in time, including the newly released Occator images.

Nonetheless, this project should interest a good number of you.

Previously, I worked on and released a synthetic animation of Wright Mons on Pluto, transitioning from the global color MVIC image to the MVIC panchromatic crescent. That image has a lot of views and has had a lot of interest. Well, that animation was really just a portion of a must larger, full animation between the global view and the entire crescent. I'm still working on it but I'm happy to share a reduced resolution image of the colorized crescent image.

This is based on the enhanced colorized global view I previously worked on. Further enhancements were made to account for the more oblique view and the higher albedo in many of the features as a result. Finally, the atmospheric glow is based on the color MVIC look-back previously released. It has been enlarged and composited onto the haze layers above the surface.

New Horizons 2015-02-19 release

The New Horizons team released another set of images. They are split into the separate observations. A thumbnail representative of the type of images is at the top of each observation as well. Herobrine has decided to stop providing lists of images in lieu of a great image compounding site that catalogs each release.

O_RING_DEP_LORRI_305B - Ring search, outbound, low-resolution with LORRI

 

2015-11-01 - 19:58:15.770

lor_0308713814_0x633_sci_3.jpg 2015-11-01 - 19:58:15.770, T:'PLUTO', R:131406389.229, E:0.2

New Horizons 2015-02-12 release

The New Horizons team released another set of images. They are split into the separate observations. A thumbnail representative of the type of images is at the top of each observation as well. Thanks goes to Herobrine, of UMSF for always collecting this information into a list for each release.

O_RING_DEP_LORRI_305B - Images of Pluto, Charon, Nix & Hydra w/ LORRI 4x4, 0.4s

2015-11-01 - 19:25:00.770

lor_0308711819_0x633_sci_3.jpg 2015-11-01 - 19:25:00.770, T:'PLUTO', R:131378919.407, E:0.4

lor_0308711820_0x633_sci_4.jpg 2015-11-01 - 19:25:01.770, T:'PLUTO', R:131378933.176, E:0.4

lor_0308711821_0x633_sci_4.jpg 2015-11-01 - 19:25:02.770, T:'PLUTO', R:131378946.944, E:0.4

lor_0308711822_0x633_sci_4.jpg 2015-11-01 - 19:25:03.770, T:'PLUTO', R:131378960.713, E:0.4

lor_0308711823_0x633_sci_4.jpg 2015-11-01 - 19:25:04.770, T:'PLUTO', R:131378974.481, E:0.4

lor_0308711824_0x633_sci_6.jpg 2015-11-01 - 19:25:05.770, T:'PLUTO', R:131378988.250, E:0.4

lor_0308711825_0x633_sci_1.jpg 2015-11-01 - 19:25:06.770, T:'PLUTO', R:131379002.018, E:0.4

lor_0308711826_0x633_sci_1.jpg 2015-11-01 - 19:25:07.770, T:'PLUTO', R:131379015.787, E:0.4

lor_0308711827_0x633_sci_1.jpg 2015-11-01 - 19:25:08.770, T:'PLUTO', R:131379029.555, E:0.4

First Detailed Geologic Map of Pluto Released

Pluto’s informally-named Sputnik Planum region is mapped, with the key 

indicating a wide variety of units or terrains. Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

(context)

I highly enjoy planetary geology and today NASA and the New Horizons team released a fantastic detailed geologic map of the Sputnik Planum region on Pluto. I could seriously sit and analyze the image for hours.

While the variety is obvious to many, its exciting to see a real breakdown of the incredible variety of terrains on Pluto. It truly rivals Mars and even Earth in many ways.

One interesting aspect worth noting is how well the eastern lobe of 'The Heart' feature, is defined as a glacial boundary. It may even be resting on more SP-like terrain, now hidden under hundreds of feet of ices.

Another curiosity is with the distribution of various pitted types of plains and smooth plains. The deepest pitted area is closest to both the southern tip of Sputnik Planum and the cryovolcano, Wright Mons. I would expect a correlation to exist between one of those, but which one isn't necessarily clear.

I will be excitedly awaiting more of these types of products coming from the New Horizons team in the coming months and years. I fully expect a second mission to Pluto to make an appearance in the next decadal survey and I hope it gets the green light. In fact, if I had my way, we'd be shipping a couple Viking-like orbiter/lander reconnaissance and ground research probes by the late 2020s. But if I had my way, we'd also be sending Mariner Mark II (Cassini-like) missions to Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune all in the same time frame. Better a billion spent to learn than a billion to kill.

Drexel: New Horizons & the Exploration of the Pluto System

Short notice on this event but Alan stern will be giving a lecture at Drexel University regarding the New Horizons mission to Pluto. The lecture will be streamed live at 12PM EST.

New Horizons & the Exploration of the Pluto System

P_DEP_SOONEST Partial Mosaic

Below is a quick partial mosaic from an obviously much larger composite of P_DEP_SOONEST, from the latest LORRI release this past Friday. The bright internal reflections from the Sun entering the outer lens of LORRI from a low phase angle can be noticed in each frame as a elliptical error. More time could be spent with these images to generate more proper dark frames to get rid of the inconsistencies but I felt like this version was enjoyable enough for a partial mosaic.

Worth noting is a fair it of detail along the limb of Pluto. I'm a little unclear of proper orientation but I believe the upper most limb is approximately 90-degrees to the west of Tombaugh Regio which would make the far right limb approximately the far southern tip of Tombaugh Regio.

P_DEP_SOONEST (partial)

New Horizons 2015-02-05 release

The New Horizons team released another set of images today. They are split into the separate observations. A thumbnail representative of the type of images is at the top of each observation as well. Thanks goes to Herobrine, of UMSF for always collecting this information into a list for each release.

C_LORRI_TIMERES_1 - Tight-deadband 2-sigma LORRI mosaic of Charon

2015-07-14 - 05:49:50.806

lor_0299158909_0x636_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-14 - 05:49:50.806, T:'CHARON', R:312598.452520, E:0.1

lor_0299158910_0x636_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-14 - 05:49:51.806, T:'CHARON', R:312584.678835, E:0.1

lor_0299158957_0x636_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-14 - 05:50:38.806, T:'CHARON', R:311937.320095, E:0.1

lor_0299158958_0x636_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-14 - 05:50:39.806, T:'CHARON', R:311923.546599, E:0.1

lor_0299159005_0x636_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-14 - 05:51:26.806, T:'CHARON', R:311276.196803, E:0.1

lor_0299159006_0x636_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-14 - 05:51:27.806, T:'CHARON', R:311262.423498, E:0.1

lor_0299159053_0x636_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-14 - 05:52:14.806, T:'CHARON', R:310615.082728, E:0.1

lor_0299159054_0x636_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-14 - 05:52:15.806, T:'CHARON', R:310601.309616, E:0.1

The Glaciation of Sputnik Planum

NASA and the New Horizons team have just issued a press release and a new image from the New Horizons mission to Pluto. The release doesn't offer much in the way of further insight but provides a wonderful view of the eastern portion of Sputnik Planum, as captured by the LORRI instrument.

Other press releases and blog entries have already been published discussing the nature and possibility for water ice to float on much denser nitrogen ice. However, this new image offers better evidence into how that process may be continuing today on Pluto. Flows of liquid can be seen streaming into the Sputnik Planum region, likely fracturing and uplifting the watery crust much like the glaciation process occurs here on Earth.This has lead to the numerous floating blocks of material littering the coasts around the region.

Growing up, I understood the solar system to be a mostly dead, inactive place, save for the swirling gasses of Venus and the giants, the small moons Io, Triton and possibly Titan, and of course Earth. There is something so spectacularly special here with Pluto to see potentially ongoing daily geologic activity. Who knows if our planet is alone in harboring life in our Solar System, but it can be said with certainty, that our planet is not alone in being alive and active, and I find that extremely satisfying.

Pluto's Hot Wax

Here is a great writeup discussing Sputnik Planum on Pluto, and the apparent glacial flows in the region. The author, Orkan Umurhan, mentions several times the similarity of SP and hot wax. I don't think I fully grasped the similarity and admittedly, I didn't seek any photos to further educate myself to his analogy.

Well, today came and I had a project which required pouring blocks of hot wax. While they were cooling, a very familiar scene appeared.

 

This has a remarkably similar appearance. For comparison, I've linked my version of the Pluto global MVIC image, which makes the convective cells more visible. What seems most interesting to me is for the darker regions to exist in the wax, liquid has to be present very near the surface. Very similarly dark regions are present on Sputnik Planum as well. The linked article above suggests that the 'liquids' present here are quite viscous. While very different substances are at play on Pluto, this simulated Sputnik Planum would suggest much less viscous liquid is necessary for the darker regions to be present. Once the surface cools enough, it becomes a much more homogenous surface in appearance and I think we see that on Sputnik Planum as well. Nonetheless, Orkan Umurhan has dedicated himself to the subject and I respectfully bow out to his much better expertise on the matter.

Wright Mons in Enhanced Color

Today NASA just released a great colorized image of Wright Mons. This was an especially notable feature even in much lower resolutions. A large mound-like feature with a pit in the middle has few possible explanations, leaving the likelihood that Wright Mons is a cryovolcano. As NASA notes in their short article, if the feature is a cryovolcano, it is the largest such structure in the outer Solar System. However, Pluto is not alone in possible cryovolcanism. Both Enceledus and Triton are known to have cryovolcanism and Titan has several features that may be cryovolcanos. It's always exciting when we're reminded that we live in a very active stellar system. While there isn't tremendous evidence that would suggest Wright Mons has been recently active, the large region known as Sputnik Planum suggests there may be ongoing active processes, more than 4,287,000,000 kilometers, from our own little active world.

Lastly, several months ago, I produced a photogrammetry animation of Wright Mons, between an overhead LORRI image and the familiar MVIC crescent image. Later I adapted my super enhanced, colorized full disc Pluto image onto the animation frames to colorize them. As I haven't yet finished working on the New Horizons mission page for this blog, this animation will just be present in this posting for now. Later on, there will be a dedicated section for other animations but for now, please enjoy the animation below.
 

Wright Mons in Enhanced Color

Full resolution is 1603x906 - fullscreen recommended.

New Horizons 2015-01-08 release

The New Horizons team released another set of images today. They are split into the separate observations. A thumbnail representative of the type of images is at the top of each observation as well. Thanks goes to Herobrine, of UMSF for always collecting this information into a list for each release.

P_DEEPIM - Deep 2.4-sigma LORRI mosaic of Pluto nightside, in one frame

2015-07-15 - 01:59:45.706

lor_0299231504_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:59:45.706, T:'PLUTO', E:701888.854299, E:0.3
lor_0299231498_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:59:39.706, T:'PLUTO', R:701806.266727, E:0.3
lor_0299231495_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:59:36.706, T:'PLUTO', R:701764.972939, E:0.3
lor_0299231489_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:59:30.706, T:'PLUTO', R:701682.385368, E:0.3
lor_0299231486_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:59:27.706, T:'PLUTO', R:701641.091581, E:0.3
lor_0299231483_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:59:24.706, T:'PLUTO', R:701599.797796, E:0.3
lor_0299231480_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:59:21.706, T:'PLUTO', R:701558.504011, E:0.3
lor_0299231474_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:59:15.706, T:'PLUTO', R:701475.916441, E:0.3
lor_0299231477_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:59:18.706, T:'PLUTO', R:701517.210228, E:0.3
lor_0299231471_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:59:12.706, T:'PLUTO', R:701434.622657, E:0.3
lor_0299231468_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:59:09.706, T:'PLUTO', R:701393.328874, E:0.3
lor_0299231465_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:59:06.706, T:'PLUTO', R:701352.035087, E:0.3
lor_0299231462_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:59:03.706, T:'PLUTO', R:701310.741305, E:0.3
lor_0299231459_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:59:00.706, T:'PLUTO', R:701269.447523, E:0.3
lor_0299231456_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:58:57.706, T:'PLUTO', R:701228.153737, E:0.3
lor_0299231453_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:58:54.706, T:'PLUTO', R:701186.859954, E:0.3
lor_0299231450_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:58:51.706, T:'PLUTO', R:701145.566174, E:0.3
lor_0299231447_0x639_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-15 - 01:58:48.706, T:'PLUTO', R:701104.272389, E:0.3

P_DEP_SOONEST - 2-sigma LORRI Pluto crescent

2015-07-14 - 15:05:17.781

lor_0299192236_0x636_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-14 - 15:05:17.781, T:'PLUTO', R:161647.579777, E:0.15
lor_0299192235_0x636_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-14 - 15:05:16.781, T:'PLUTO', R:161633.857648, E:0.15
lor_0299192234_0x636_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-14 - 15:05:15.781, T:'PLUTO', R:161620.135526, E:0.15
lor_0299192233_0x636_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-14 - 15:05:14.781, T:'PLUTO', R:161606.413413, E:0.15
lor_0299192183_0x636_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-14 - 15:04:24.781, T:'PLUTO', R:160920.318409, E:0.15
lor_0299192182_0x636_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-14 - 15:04:23.781, T:'PLUTO', R:160906.596724, E:0.15
lor_0299192181_0x636_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-14 - 15:04:22.781, T:'PLUTO', R:160892.875045, E:0.15
lor_0299192180_0x636_sci_1.jpg - 2015-07-14 - 15:04:21.781, T:'PLUTO', R:160879.153376, E:0.15

Just a short update today (for now). I've downloaded all of the raw Hubble data targeting Pluto, from the FOC (Faint Object Camera) and ACS/HRC (Advanced Cameras for Surveys/High Resolution Channel). I am in the process of converting these images to more usable products and will create a gallery for these for anyone interested in the data.

For more raw Hubble data, I recommend this particular archive search engine. When looking for objects such as Pluto, be sure to spell it in ALL CAPS and change the 'Resolver' setting to 'Don't Resolve'

I haven't updated this blog in over a year. Currently I have focused my efforts on planetary science and image processing. I will be slowly adding those products to several galleries that will turn up here in an organized manner eventually. The one I've just added features images processed from the Dawn mission, currently orbiting (1) Ceres, the largest object in the Asteroid Belt. Their team currently releases a single image every day. I've made it a goal to locate and place an outline of the regions these images cover and provide that product to the public in the hopes of spurring further interest in an incredible world that may only seem simple, bleak and grey to most.


The Pluto-Charon system has been of great interest to me as well and I've also released a multitude of products covering the New Horizons mission as well. However, lately my focus has been on developing my own algorithms to better process the data to bring further clarity of the images. Recently an image I released was featured on the front cover of the Planetary Report, for which I'm very proud and grateful to see my work can be enjoyed by so many. Look for these images to be uploaded soon as well.


In the future, I also plan to do some more reblogging of stories I've found interesting. This will hopefully become another feature with the ones I outlined previously. The previous features will also receive more attention in the future, but I must say, they will likely be more of a novelty bit rather than the proposed weekly addition.