I actually like this animation less for its cuteness and more for how it shows scale. Too bad it doesn’t include 486958 Arrokoth (aka Ultima Thule), the second and final target of the New Horizons probe.
Warp speeds to scale because why not
Also hey @startrekcbs @jonathansfrakes @Brentspiner, Star Trek was one of the sci fi that made me want to do space science, and here I am! 🖖 pic.twitter.com/VbVBTmsgJn— Dr James O'Donoghue (@physicsJ) February 11, 2020
As noted above, Pluto’s semi-major axis is roughly 39.5 Astronomical Units (AU), where 1 AU is the average distance from Earth to the Sun. Yeah, I’m not exactly sure how to characterize the semi-major axis – average distance won’t be quite right, but close enough for us civilian-types. 486958 Arrokoth? 44.581 AU. I suppose the animation would get a little too squeeze.
I always wonder why the actors of the show, any hit show, are referenced, but hardly ever the scriptwriters – the storytellers who provide the backbone memorable tale. Without them, the actors would simply be flailing about.
