EARTHLINGS ENCOUNTER PLANET PLUTO!
It was an overwhelming moment for all mankind as NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) surmounted a feat that is arguably the most remarkable one this year; the first ever coverage of the cold planet Pluto. It was a mission like none, mission #PlutoFlyBy.
Since its inception 85 years ago, Pluto has remained untouched and never been traversed by any space organisation until July 14th 2015 (Tuesday) when the American spacecraft New Horizons captured some really authentic mind boggling pictures of the planet that was a mystery.
Albert Einstein once said, “It is enough for me to contemplate the mystery of conscious life perpetuating itself through all eternity, to reflect upon the marvellous structure of the universe which we can dimly perceive and to try humbly to comprehend even an infinitesimal part of the intelligence manifested in nature.” Well, there’s no denying the fact that NASA has brought great admiration and delight by covering the whole planet family revolving around the mighty Sun.
The data gathered by the astronauts was clearly not what was being anticipated by NASA, said Alan Stern, Principle Investigator, New Horizons. According to Stern, information about the surprisingly large size, presence of nitrogen and methane caps around the surface was revealed within 48 hours of the spacecraft touching the dwarf planet.
The PlutoFlyBy hashtag has been raging all over the internet and especially twitter where not just images of Planet Pluto but also images of the proud, enthusiastic and startled New Horizons team were uploaded. Not just that, pictures of Pluto’s moon ‘Charon’ were also made public for everyone to witness and enjoy the beauty in the newly discovered adorable planet.
NASA had to get there. It was as if all the continuous efforts boiled down to this day and age for the coming generations to look back, be astonished and smile with pride. Thanks to science and engineering, we now are step closer to discovering the gigantic Universe.
