Nigel Goes to Space
Join Nigel as he takes you on his journey to the stars and beyond!
Subscribe to Naked Science –
New Horizons Mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt
Future Virgin Galactic Astronaut Nigel Henbest talks about the astonishing “New Horizons” mission to the edge of our solar system, an interplanetary space probe that was launched as part of NASA’s New Frontiers program. Nigel is an internationally acclaimed science populariser and author, specialising in astronomy and space.
He discusses Plutonian geography and geology as revealed in the fascinating images sent back from the spacecraft’s flyby of Pluto and its intriguing moon Charon. Pluto is an ice dwarf located in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond Neptune. In 2006 it was reclassified by the International Astronomical Union as a dwarf planet, specifically a plutoid.
Also mentioned are the Perseids, a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle. The peak of the next spectacular shower expected on 12th August 2015.
Credits: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute
