Pluto is ridiculously cool. Small body research is at the forefront of getting a handle on the conditions of the early Solar System. Between discoveries made by

Pluto is ridiculously cool. Small body research is at the forefront of getting a handle on the conditions of the early Solar System. Between discoveries made by the Rosetta mission [1], Dawn's visit to Vesta and Ceres [2], and the incredible discovery of rings around Chariklo [3], we are really in a golden age at the moment. New Horizons has a lot more in store, not in the least because we know that there are at least two other moons in the system: Styx [4] and Kerberos [5] (discovered by my advisor Mark Showalter [6]). There's been a concerted effort to search for rings around Pluto too, not in the least to be able to assess the safe passage of New Horizons through the system. All I can say is don't blink, you're not gonna wanna miss this! [1] http://rosetta.esa.int/ http://rosetta.esa.int/ [2] http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/ http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/ [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Chariklo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Chariklo [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Styx_(moon) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Styx_(moon) [5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerberos_(moon) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerberos_(moon) [6] http://www.seti.org/users/mark-showalter http://www.seti.org/users/mark-showalter