New Year's Eve is going to be a very fun night for discovery.
Here's your science thread on why it's going to be exciting:
Here's your science thread on why it's going to be exciting:
Extra bonus fun: Barring any catastrophes* in the next few days, this will be the first time the people who discovered a new world will be alive when we explore it.
*(seriously New Horizons peeps, look both ways twice before crossing the road!)
*(seriously New Horizons peeps, look both ways twice before crossing the road!)
I wasn't counting comet 67P as a world since I consider them a bit overly-dynamic with the ice & outgassing, but I'll accept @chrislintott & @markmccaughrean's addendum:
Hmm... Do we count the worlds where discovery is attributed to automated sky survey LINEAR? If so, do we count based on if the PI was alive, the processors, or...?
@Super_Grover points out LINEAR-spotted asteroids Itokawa, Ryugu, & Bennu were all explored within 7-19yrs.
@Super_Grover points out LINEAR-spotted asteroids Itokawa, Ryugu, & Bennu were all explored within 7-19yrs.
Another possible exception:Saturn's moons that were discovered by Cassini, then targeted for flybys by Cassini.
(I'm loving the addendum of short-gap discovery/exploration worlds. Please keep 'em coming!)
Another thought: Voyager had a lot of discover-during-flyby moons (as did New Horizons, which spotted 2 Pluto moons during approach), & some moons retroactively identified way later.
Another thought: Voyager had a lot of discover-during-flyby moons (as did New Horizons, which spotted 2 Pluto moons during approach), & some moons retroactively identified way later.
Nice! James Christy is still alive, and Charon is most definitely a world.
(I should've remembered this one, considering I wrote a freaking Ode to Charon with a whole section on discovery back during the flyby... gizmodo.com/charon-you-are…)
(I should've remembered this one, considering I wrote a freaking Ode to Charon with a whole section on discovery back during the flyby... gizmodo.com/charon-you-are…)
