{"id":11,"date":"2013-07-22T04:13:40","date_gmt":"2013-07-22T04:13:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kandrsmith.org\/blog\/?p=11"},"modified":"2016-10-05T06:58:26","modified_gmt":"2016-10-05T06:58:26","slug":"introducing-the-pluto-science-conference-july-22-26-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kandrsmith.org\/KES\/index.php\/2013\/07\/22\/introducing-the-pluto-science-conference-july-22-26-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing the Pluto Science Conference July 22-26, 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reposted from\u00a0 https:\/\/blogs.nasa.gov\/mission-ames\/2013\/07\/22\/introducing-the-pluto-science-conference-jul-22-26-2013\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The mind of a scientist understands, embraces, and executes the scientific method, the process by which an idea is created, then tested by experiment or model, validated or refuted, and then, when validated, culminates in the description of the results to the larger community through a publication. The cycle begins again, sometimes building on previously published work, or in some cases, the birth of new ideas to the scene, most likely inspired by previous knowledge.<\/p>\n

A key component to a scientist\u2019s work is the attendance and interaction with colleagues at scientific conferences. At such gatherings we can see examples of the scientific method in a multitude of stages: the birth of a new idea, the suggestion of methods to carry-out the experiment or computation, a presentation that disproves an approach requiring the scientist to start anew, through the description of the results of the recent experiment or computation.<\/p>\n

~150 people are to gather this week at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, MD to share ideas, debate hypotheses, and explain experiments related to the emissary from our Solar System\u2019s Third Zone, the dwarf planet Pluto and its moons. The timing is crucial to have these conversations because in two years from now, in July 2015, NASA\u2019s New Horizons Spacecraft will do a close fly-by of the Pluto system, a system never before visited by another spacecraft. The forum provides an update of the mission and its measurement capabilities and encourages healthy dialog among theorists who have predictions, laboratory spectroscopists who can build examples of chemistry happening on these icy bodies, and observers who have been monitoring and documenting the changing nature of Pluto and its environment.<\/p>\n

Details about the Pluto Science Conference,\u00a0\u201cThe Pluto System on the Eve of Exploration by New Horizons: Perspectives and Predictions,\u201d can be found here at http:\/\/pluto.jhuapl.edu\/News-Center\/events\/2013-PlutoScienceConference\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can follow the New Horizons mission status at any time by visiting the New Horizons Mission Website at http:\/\/pluto.jhuapl.edu\/<\/a> and http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/newhorizons\/main\/index.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll be providing summaries of the meeting content and discussions through a series of blog posts this week. For now, I\u2019ll leave you with some things we do know about Pluto and its largest moon Charon.<\/p>\n

\"size_pluto_charon_wrtusa\"<\/a>
The diameters of Pluto & Charon shown with respect to the USA for scale.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What do we know about Pluto so far?<\/p>\n