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I fear that won't work. The speed relative to Pluto during closest approach was 13.78 meters every millisecond, I can't imagine that anything larger than a grai

by danbruc 11y ago

I fear that won't work. The speed relative to Pluto during closest approach was 13.78 meters every millisecond, I can't imagine that anything larger than a grain of sand will not behave like a liquid upon impact.

idlewords 11y ago
Even a grain of sand will go boom. Here's what a particle of similar size did to the space shuttle windshield, traveling at half the speed of New Horizons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Space_debris_impact_on_Space_Shuttle_window.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Space_debris_impact_...
- socceroos 11y ago
  wow.
- blazespin 11y ago
  How does new horizons survive? Space must be pretty empty.
  - idlewords 11y ago
    That's why they call it space! More seriously, there's a dust counter on the probe whose entire job is to be hit with stuff. But it's much tinier than a sand grain.