1471 July 2015

Comment by Philip Riviere on June 23, 2015 at 11:36pm

Just a thought about the July cover's picture. If Pluto is the planet furthest from the sun, where is all this sunlight shining on the planet (and its moon) coming from?                                    

Comment by George Thomas Wilson on June 24, 2015 at 1:54pm

Phil,

Even at that great distance the sun is still much brighter than a full moon.  Plenty of light there for photography.  Just up the exposure time  little.

Just a little over three weeks away.  I can't wait!

Comment by Thierry Lombry on June 26, 2015 at 6:15am

Hi,

Pluto, like all bodies of the solar system till receive the sun light. According scientists, at its surface the light look like a twilight, so brighter that the moonlight. At the distance of Pluto, the Sun visual magnitude is -19 (vs. -26.8 on Earth, the Moon -12.7), so the Sun 1500 times dimmer than on Earth, isolating quite a lot this poor dwarf planet

Comment by George Thomas Wilson on June 26, 2015 at 9:55am

illuminating

Comment by George Thomas Wilson on June 26, 2015 at 11:23am

As Thierry pointed out sunlight at Pluto is about s bright as twilight on earth (between sunlight and full moonlight).  But sunlight a Pluto is not diffuse; instead it is a point source, like sunlight and moonlight on earth.  That means shadows which translates into sharp contrast in the photography.  These pictures are going to be beautiful.

Comment by Philip Riviere on June 26, 2015 at 5:49pm

Thanks guys for the info  on Pluto. Colonist  there won't need their sunscreen......

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