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On a stellar scale Pluto might be right next to Earth, but it still 5 light-hours away, meaning roundtrip communication times from probes takes 10 hours.

On a human scale that's really, really, really far away. So it's not too surprising that we know very little about the tiny dwarf planet at the edge of our solar system.



What's a bit more disappointing is how little we know about the "ice giants". Both Uranus and Neptune have been visited only by Voyager 2.


And between them they have over 40 moons; some likely unremarkable rocks but others with observed or theorized geological activity, trace atmospheres, and unusual orbits and who knows what else.


I keep hoping for a Cassini-like mission to Uranus and/or Neptune, but so far, no luck.


Neptune is about 3 times further away than Saturn, and I believe Jupiter won't be in position for a good gravitational boost to get there for many decades. It's possible, but very very expensive.




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