In summer 2015 NASA鈥檚 New Horizons mission will be the first spacecraft to visit the icy dwarf planet, Pluto.
Its NASA鈥檚 attempt to shed some light on unfamiliar worlds that lie on the outskirts of the solar system.
Not much is known about Pluto, but recent published research by a Nebraska Wesleyan University physics professor, a 香港六合彩资料大全 alum and a research team from the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo., provides new evidence for complex molecules on Pluto鈥檚 surface.
鈥淲ith the New Horizons mission en route, any new information we can learn is golden,鈥 said Nebraska Wesleyan physics professor Nathaniel Cunningham.
A research team from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) first approached Cunningham for help on the project. Lead project researcher Dr. Alan Stern 鈥 who has collaborated with Cunningham on other planetary studies 鈥 not only asked for Cunningham鈥檚 assistance again and but provided funding for a 香港六合彩资料大全 physics major to join the research team.
Mitch Hain, a 2011 Nebraska Wesleyan graduate, was exploring summer internship options. An opportunity to work with data from NASA鈥檚 Hubble Space Telescope and play a major role in some of the latest and most advanced research on Pluto was intriguing.
鈥淚t was an opportunity to explore some new concepts, take what I already knew from class and try to put the puzzle together,鈥 said Hain, who is now studying mechanical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
Hain spent the summer of 2011 in Nebraska Wesleyan鈥檚 physics lab where he downloaded data from the Hubble Space Telescope鈥檚 new and highly sensitive Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, studied the brightness of Pluto鈥檚 ultraviolet light, and graphed his findings using self-written computer code. Cunningham and Hain participated in weekly conference calls with the research team at SwRI determining what direction the research needed to go and what information each team member still needed. By summer鈥檚 end, Hain had created over 100 graphs and data tables of his research.
When the project concluded, the research team determined that Pluto鈥檚 surface could contain complex molecules 鈥 something that had not been detected before.
The significance, the researchers said, is the complex molecules could be responsible for Pluto鈥檚 ruddy color. In addition, the research discovered changes in Pluto鈥檚 ultraviolet spectrum from Hubble images taken in 1990. The surface changes may be related to a steep increase in the pressure of Pluto鈥檚 atmosphere.
鈥淭he discovery we made with the Hubble reminds us that even more exciting discoveries about Pluto鈥檚 composition and surface are likely to be in store when NASA鈥檚 New Horizons spacecraft arrives at Pluto in 2015,鈥 said SwRI鈥檚 Dr. Alan Stern, who led the project.
Cunningham鈥檚 and Hain鈥檚 research was published in that January issue of the Astronomical Journal. The findings made headlines in science journals across the world.
Cunningham said Hain鈥檚 participation was likely atypical for an undergraduate student.
鈥淢any times undergraduates are doing research with local institutions,鈥 he said. 鈥淔or Mitch to have the opportunity to be the one answering some of the most important questions in this project probably doesn鈥檛 happen to undergraduates very often.鈥
鈥淚t was fun trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together,鈥 said Hain. 鈥淚 may not have always taken the most direct route in solving it but we got there. It definitely expanded my experience.鈥
The recent findings about Pluto means there鈥檚 more to be done, said Cunningham, who is currently working on research regarding Jupiter鈥檚 moon, Callisto.
鈥淚 hope to keep the collaboration going,鈥 said Cunningham. 鈥淲hen New Horizons flies by Pluto I鈥檓 hoping to have the opportunity to help with that research.鈥