Pluto

One of the great things about being a mom is learning new things every day, and then sharing them with my children. Last month, we watched Venus and Jupiter come closer together in the western evening sky. In this part of the world, they didn't appear to get as close as farther north, but we did see them gradually close in on each other night by night. On July 1, we noted them at their closest before moving farther apart. Eris and I studied the characteristics of these two planets during the day as we gazed at them nightly.

Philip is interested in the potential of travel to Mars. Meriel likes to ask, over and over again, if I went to Mars and stayed for when day and returned, how old would I be when I came back? (Answer: almost 12.) We discuss possible challenges that would face settlers on Mars and explain Earth concepts such as atmosphere, gravity, and importance of water. We also entertain questions such as why people might want to try to visit and live on Mars and what sort of rule might have to be put in place.

Next up is some exciting new developments about Pluto. Nine years ago, before Eris was even born, NASA launched a satellite dubbed New Horizon. It has been nearing Pluto and sending back never seen before images of our solar systems farthest planet. On Tuesday evening (our time), the satellite will be at its closest position and sending back real time photos of a side of the planet that has never been seen before by humans. We get to learn about Pluto, space exploration, advanced technology. We are excited to learn new information about our universe at the same time as the experts do.

You can learn more and follow New Horizon:https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/main/index.html