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General => General Discussion => Topic started by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 12, 2013, 02:50:05 PM

Title: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 12, 2013, 02:50:05 PM
I just make this the official space and astronomy thread to make it easier for future posts in similar topic. I hope that's OK?  :)

“The lifetime of a human being is measured by decades, the lifetime of the Sun is a hundred million times longer. Compared to a star, we are like mayflies, fleeting ephemeral creatures who live out their lives in the course of a single day.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos



Quote
An international team of astronomers, led by academics from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), has found the largest known structure in the universe. The large quasar group (LQG) is so large that it would take a vehicle travelling at the speed of light some 4 billion years to cross it. The team publish their results in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

"While it is difficult to fathom the scale of this LQG, we can say quite definitely it is the largest structure ever seen in the entire universe. This is hugely exciting – not least because it runs counter to our current understanding of the scale of the universe.
"Even travelling at the speed of light, it would take 4 billion years to cross. This is significant not just because of its size but also because it challenges the Cosmological Principle, which has been widely accepted since Einstein. Our team has been looking at similar cases which add further weight to this challenge and we will be continuing to investigate these fascinating phenomena."

https://www.ras.org.uk/news-and-press/224-news-2013/2212-astronomers-discover-the-largest-structure-in-the-universe


Holy cow!  :omg:
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Sigz on January 12, 2013, 03:12:55 PM
1) That's incredible.

2)
Quote
This is significant not just because of its size but also because it challenges the Cosmological Principle, which has been widely accepted since Einstein. Our team has been looking at similar cases which add further weight to this challenge and we will be continuing to investigate these fascinating phenomena."

Huh?
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: kári on January 12, 2013, 03:31:31 PM
The cosmological principle states something like the universe is the same in all directions, no matter where you look at or where in the universe you're looking from.
This is of course not really true if there is a structure that is possibly a significant size of the universe itself.

Also you shouldn't look at this as one giant galaxy or anything. I think it's more like a collection of a collection of a collection of galaxies, of which are "bound together" by gravitational force.
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Ħ on January 12, 2013, 03:38:17 PM
The cosmological principle states something like the universe is the same in all directions, no matter where you look at or where in the universe you're looking from.
This is of course not really true if there is a structure that is possibly a significant size of the universe itself.
Could you elaborate on this a little more?
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: kári on January 12, 2013, 03:50:13 PM
Not really, partly because I'm not that familiar with cosmology and partly because that's really all there is to it as you can read here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmological_principle .

What I mean is this: Imagine that the universe is of finite size and there is a hypothetical structure spanning about 1/10 of the total size of the universe. Let's say the structure defines galaxies moving towards each other. In such a universe the cosmological principle does not hold since the universe itself will appear different when you are inside this structure (you will see everything moving towards each other if the structure is larger than the observable universe) than when you are on the outside of it.

I think that's what it means when this big "structure" possibly challenges the cosmological principle.
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: SomeoneLikeHim on January 12, 2013, 03:50:24 PM
This is incredible, stuff like this blows my mind.
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Jirpo on January 12, 2013, 03:56:25 PM
But there could be other quasar groups in other directions beyond our visibility, I guess. I don't know much about astronomy either so I'll keep my mouth shut :p
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Ħ on January 12, 2013, 04:00:51 PM
OK. I wonder what the ramifications would be if Cosmological Principle if it were refuted (although it is only being challenged at this point).
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 12, 2013, 04:09:43 PM
I'm a noob regarding this but using wiki i found this:

"It comprises seventy-three quasars, with a minimum diameter of 1.4 billion light-years, but over four billion light-years at its widest point. According to researcher and author, Roger Clowes, the existence of structures of the magnitude of large quasar clusters was believed theoretically impossible. Cosmological structures had been believed to have a size limit of approximately 1.2 billion light-years."
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Sigz on January 12, 2013, 04:13:31 PM
I know what the cosmological principle is, I just don't see how this violates it. From wikipedia:

Quote
The cosmological principle is usually stated formally as 'Viewed on a sufficiently large scale, the properties of the Universe are the same for all observers.' This amounts to the strongly philosophical statement that the part of the Universe which we can see is a fair sample, and that the same physical laws apply throughout.

This still fits in with the laws of physics, it's size is just unexpected.
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Progmetty on January 12, 2013, 04:19:31 PM
I don't get what "found a structure" means, is this a planet or a star or what? where is it?!
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: kári on January 12, 2013, 04:21:13 PM
I don't get what "found a structure" means, is this a planet or a star or what? where is it?!
It just means it's something coherent. Like clusters of galaxies, but on a much bigger scale. They all move towards or around a common point. But they're still far, far apart. Just like we can say that we are part of the Milky way, even though other stars etc are far away.

Edit: look at this "map" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Earth%27s_Location_in_the_Universe_(JPEG).jpg :)
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Progmetty on January 12, 2013, 04:24:01 PM
That's impressing indeed.
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Ħ on January 12, 2013, 04:38:01 PM
I know what the cosmological principle is, I just don't see how this violates it. From wikipedia:

Quote
The cosmological principle is usually stated formally as 'Viewed on a sufficiently large scale, the properties of the Universe are the same for all observers.' This amounts to the strongly philosophical statement that the part of the Universe which we can see is a fair sample, and that the same physical laws apply throughout.

This still fits in with the laws of physics, it's size is just unexpected.
That's what I was thinking too.


Oh by the way, "its". Not "it's". :P
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 12, 2013, 04:40:49 PM
That picture is just beautiful! It's amazing when you think about the fact that it's less than 100 years since we belived that Cosmos consisted entirely of the Milky Way Galaxy. It wasn't until 1925 when Hubble presented the idea that the nebulae's he observed were much too distant to be part of the Milky Way and were, in fact, entire galaxies outside our own. (Wiki  :heart)

Love this quote:
"The realization that we live in a galaxy, and that there were, in fact, many other galaxies, parallels discoveries that were made about the Milky Way and other nebulae in the night sky."
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Jaq on January 12, 2013, 04:48:20 PM
Four billion light years across. I can't even wrap my mind around how big this is.
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 13, 2013, 05:18:30 AM
I actually missed that they had taken a new Hubble deep field image, anyway fantastic stuff to read:

Quote
The Hubble eXtreme Deep Field (XDF) is an image of a small part of space in the center of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field within the constellation Fornax, showing the deepest optical view in space.
 
Released on September 25, 2012, the XDF image compiled 10 years of previous images and shows galaxies from 13.2 billion years ago. The exposure time was two million seconds, or approximately 23 days. The faintest galaxies are one ten-billionth the brightness of what the human eye can see. Many of the smaller galaxies are very young galaxies that eventually became the major galaxies, like the Milky Way and other galaxies in our galactic neighborhood.
The Hubble eXtreme Deep Field, or XDF, adds another 5,500 galaxies to those discovered in the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Hubble_Extreme_Deep_Field_%28full_resolution%29.png)
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Sketchy on January 13, 2013, 05:31:15 AM
Oooh, that's pretty killer.
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Kotowboy on January 13, 2013, 05:52:18 AM
Quote
Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe


Is it Ricky Gervais' Ego ?


 :hat
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: wasteland on January 13, 2013, 06:02:12 AM
Find the faintest fuzzy dot in the zoomed picture. That object is a cluster of more than 10 billions stars like ours, with planets and lifeforms, with beings looking at a similar photo they took of our region of the universe, and thinking the same of us.
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 13, 2013, 06:13:13 AM
Find the faintest fuzzy dot in the zoomed picture. That object is a cluster of more than 10 billions stars like ours, with planets and lifeforms, with beings looking at a similar photo they took of our region of the universe, and thinking the same of us.
That's mind boggling and it reminded me of Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luAteAz3WQ0)"
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: wasteland on January 13, 2013, 06:25:48 AM
Find the faintest fuzzy dot in the zoomed picture. That object is a cluster of more than 10 billions stars like ours, with planets and lifeforms, with beings looking at a similar photo they took of our region of the universe, and thinking the same of us.
That's mind boggling and it reminded me of Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luAteAz3WQ0)"

I love Carl :heart:

His passing was a great loss for humanity.
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 13, 2013, 08:46:49 AM
Correct me if i'm wrong here, i'm a noob!

But if the observable universe has a diameter of approx. 93 billion light years, this structure/quasar group takes up approx. 4% of all that?
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Sketchy on January 13, 2013, 08:54:56 AM
That's pretty huge if you have mathsed it right.
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 13, 2013, 09:10:56 AM
That's pretty huge if you have mathsed it right.
Actually i had the wrong diameter on the structure, it's 1,4 billion light years in diameter so it shoud be 1.5% instead. Hey but still.....whooping 1.5%! Take that Milky Way!!
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: wasteland on January 13, 2013, 09:20:10 AM

That's pretty huge if you have mathsed it right.
Actually i had the wrong diameter on the structure, it's 1,4 billion light years in diameter so it shoud be 1.5% instead. Hey but still.....whooping 1.5%! Take that Milky Way!!

It's still huge. How far is that thing?
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 13, 2013, 09:47:38 AM

That's pretty huge if you have mathsed it right.
Actually i had the wrong diameter on the structure, it's 1,4 billion light years in diameter so it shoud be 1.5% instead. Hey but still.....whooping 1.5%! Take that Milky Way!!

It's still huge. How far is that thing?
I don't know how far from earth it is but the group itself is 4 billion light years at it's widest point according to wiki.

Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: TioJorge on January 13, 2013, 10:46:13 AM
 :tup
Incomprehensible and awe-inspiring.
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Orbert on January 13, 2013, 10:55:01 AM
Pretty big, too.
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Ħ on January 13, 2013, 10:57:32 AM
Just curious, what qualifies as a "structure" within the universe? On first instinct, that seems like an arbitrary categorical word, but I am open to it having real significant meaning.


After all, wouldn't the universe itself be the largest structure in the universe?
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 13, 2013, 11:31:03 AM
Just curious, what qualifies as a "structure" within the universe? On first instinct, that seems like an arbitrary categorical word, but I am open to it having real significant meaning.
I'll quote someone else that i think sounds like a decent answer:

"I think by 'structure' they mean 'gravitationally bound object' - that is, each of these quasars exerts a non-trivial gravitational force on another quasar. So they can therefore claim it's a single structure, a single unit.
Similarly to how a galaxy is made of billions of gravitationally bound stars."
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Ħ on January 13, 2013, 01:32:26 PM
That sounds correct. Thanks, Mr. Boom. :tup
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: theseoafs on January 13, 2013, 01:49:41 PM
This is pretty incredible.  Love it when stuff like this happens -- it allows science to refine itself.
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Azyiu on January 14, 2013, 07:03:39 PM
Awesome news and thread!  :tup
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: gmillerdrake on January 14, 2013, 09:20:05 PM
What makes this find even more amazing to me is the fact that I can't even comprehend how we as humans...with very rudimentary and limited technology (universally speaking) can even find and measure such a thing. When they come out every other month saying they've found such and such planet, or measured the nitrogen on a planet orbiting a star 14 million light years away....how they heck is that possible? It's amazing actually.

Makes me wonder if there just aren't some really drunk or stoned geeks with physics degrees somewhere in a basement making this stuff up.....I'd never know. But the pictures on APOD are cool!
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 15, 2013, 05:03:02 AM
It's amazing yea but what's sad is that it's only these really big discoveries that get some attention and as you said they come up every month with new discoveries but most of those are often just ignored or get in the limelight for other news. And the fact that about 90% of the earths population will never fully understand discoveries like these (including me sadly) or they don't really care. We're too obtained with our daily life, career and everything that we don't have time anymore or we don't care too look up at the sky and ask those questions that we all share and have in common.

Sry for my rant.  :)
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: kári on January 15, 2013, 08:23:55 AM
What makes this find even more amazing to me is the fact that I can't even comprehend how we as humans...with very rudimentary and limited technology (universally speaking) can even find and measure such a thing. When they come out every other month saying they've found such and such planet, or measured the nitrogen on a planet orbiting a star 14 million light years away....how they heck is that possible? It's amazing actually.
Finding out what kind of atoms and/or molecules are on a star far away is actually very easy.... :) If you really want to know I can try to explain it to you as best as I can :)
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: hefdaddy42 on January 15, 2013, 09:36:20 AM
And it's deep, too.
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: AngelBack on January 15, 2013, 09:51:10 AM
And it's deep, too.


Are you referencing Richard Pryor ?  If so,  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 20, 2013, 05:17:59 AM
1 billion pixel mosaic of the Milky Way center region:

https://sguisard.astrosurf.com/Pagim/GC.html

Pretty cool!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on January 20, 2013, 05:48:38 AM
1 billion pixel mosaic of the Milky Way center region:

https://sguisard.astrosurf.com/Pagim/GC.html

Pretty cool!

One of my top 5 astronomy pictures ever!

Anyway, thanks for making this thread official. I will be a regular here, as I have loved astronomy/astrophysics since early childhood, and I am currently studying it for an university exam! :)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Ben_Jamin on January 20, 2013, 06:25:20 AM
These astronomical events (https://divinecosmos.com/start-here/davids-blog/1099-2012romancereality) are what interest me
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 20, 2013, 07:28:26 AM
1 billion pixel mosaic of the Milky Way center region:

https://sguisard.astrosurf.com/Pagim/GC.html

Pretty cool!

One of my top 5 astronomy pictures ever!

Anyway, thanks for making this thread official. I will be a regular here, as I have loved astronomy/astrophysics since early childhood, and I am currently studying it for an university exam! :)
:tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 22, 2013, 01:54:48 AM
"A new asteroid-mining company launches Tuesday with the goal of helping humanity expand across the solar system by tapping the vast riches of space rocks."

https://www.space.com/19368-asteroid-mining-deep-space-industries.html

Quote
"The MicroGravity Foundry is the first 3D printer that creates high-density, high-strength metal components even in zero gravity," company co-founder and MicroGravity Foundry inventor Stephen Covey said in a statement. "Other metal 3D printers sinter powdered metal, which requires a gravity field and leaves a porous structure, or they use low-melting point metals with less strength."
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 22, 2013, 07:59:43 AM
I made a thread about this a while, didn't get a single response. I forgot this thread existed.

SpaceX's Grasshopper test video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz-NYeH-CEY
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 22, 2013, 09:37:42 AM
That is cool! "Closed loop thrust vector" don't know exactly what that is? I enjoy the enthusiasm all this private companies have and it seems like a new project/company pops up every week although alot may not succeed with their plans, it's still awesome that there are driven people how wants to push the technology forward instead of expect that NASA will do everything. Those small steps can be equally important than big budget space missions.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 22, 2013, 09:49:58 AM
The point of that is to be able to recycle a 52 million dollar rocket. Instead of ruining one by having it crash in the ocean, you could deliver a payload to space and have the boosters land back on launch the launch pad. The more launches you get out of one rocket, the more money you save. They only cost $300k to refill vs. needing a whole new rocket plus fuel.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 22, 2013, 10:02:16 AM
Thanks!  :tup I knew about their plans for the project but i was interested in that piece of technology called "Closed loop thrust vector" but i guess i will not fully understand it anyway!  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 22, 2013, 10:11:18 AM
Thanks!  :tup I knew about their plans for the project but i was interested in that piece of technology called "Closed loop thrust vector" but i guess i will not fully understand it anyway!  :lol

I think the closed loop has something to do with the engine's programming. Instead of just firing on or shutting off, it is constantly reassessing (looping in the code) what it's doing. That's how they compensate for the tilt of the rocket and it guide it back to the pad.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 22, 2013, 11:06:24 AM
Thanks!  :tup I knew about their plans for the project but i was interested in that piece of technology called "Closed loop thrust vector" but i guess i will not fully understand it anyway!  :lol

I think the closed loop has something to do with the engine's programming. Instead of just firing on or shutting off, it is constantly reassessing (looping in the code) what it's doing. That's how they compensate for the tilt of the rocket and it guide it back to the pad.
Yea that sounds about right. Kind of like how a gyroscope works and in a way like this?:
Quote
In astrodynamics orbital station-keeping is the orbital manoeuvres made by thruster burns that are needed to keep a spacecraft in a particular assigned orbit.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 22, 2013, 11:10:46 AM
I believe so
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on January 23, 2013, 01:52:10 AM
I made a thread about this a while, didn't get a single response. I forgot this thread existed.

SpaceX's Grasshopper test video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz-NYeH-CEY

Ok, I don't want to be a buzzkill, but didn't NASA already tried this concept back in the late 90's, with the failed Delta Clipper test? The rocket actually failed to land, crashed and exploded.  :hat
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk-gGtC7xZ4
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 23, 2013, 05:23:20 AM
I made a thread about this a while, didn't get a single response. I forgot this thread existed.

SpaceX's Grasshopper test video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz-NYeH-CEY

Ok, I don't want to be a buzzkill, but didn't NASA already tried this concept back in the late 90's, with the failed Delta Clipper test? The rocket actually failed to land, crashed and exploded.  :hat
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk-gGtC7xZ4

So did the space shuttle.... twice. Technology has advance so much in those 15 years, I think it'd be foolish not to try again.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on January 23, 2013, 06:39:05 AM
So did the space shuttle.... twice. Technology has advance so much in those 15 years, I think it'd be foolish not to try again.

True, and I am fine with that idea. Guess what I was really wanted to know is, how is this new gen of rocket better than the Delta Clipper idea? What made the NASA officials think (new or better technology? More payload?) this time around it is safer, and more reliable?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 23, 2013, 06:49:41 AM
So did the space shuttle.... twice. Technology has advance so much in those 15 years, I think it'd be foolish not to try again.

True, and I am fine with that idea. Guess what I was really wanted to know is, how is this new gen of rocket better than the Delta Clipper idea? What made the NASA officials think (new or better technology? More payload?) this time around it is safer, and more reliable?

This time around it isn't NASA designing and building it. Everything is being done in house by SpaceX, the company who has now been hired by the government to deliver payloads to and from the ISS. The founder of the company, who is also the founder of Tesla Motors and Pay Pal, is a very ambitious man with the determination, the wallet, and the resources to make rockets like these a reality. Many of NASA's rockets were heavily reliant on technology and methods dating into the early 90s and late 80s in some cases... SpaceX is truly new from the ground up, using nothing but top of the line everything.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 23, 2013, 03:09:18 PM
whoa...

https://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/jan/22/space-mining-gold-asteroids

(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/36499_535266993160983_588299292_n.jpg)

"The asteroid mining firm Deep Space Industries, Inc. launched today with an ambitious plan to build an entire fleet of spacecraft by 2015 and deploy them to harvest resources from asteroids near the Earth."
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on January 23, 2013, 03:10:58 PM
Dead Space, here we come!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 23, 2013, 03:14:26 PM
That's sounds really cool yea! Btw i posted that a couple of days ago.  :P
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on January 23, 2013, 08:43:16 PM
Dead Space, here we come!!

Good one!  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 24, 2013, 03:25:04 PM
A wonderful little documentary about the "overview effect" many astronauts feel after seeing the earth from space.

https://vimeo.com/55073825

This is a film i wished more people would see and reflect over the fact that you actually don't have to be an astrounat to understand that we all have more in common with each other than we may think no matter where you live on the planet. Cheesy but sadly most people ignore that simple fact.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Unlegit on January 24, 2013, 05:36:40 PM
I think the link was typed incorrectly.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 25, 2013, 01:05:54 AM
I think the link was typed incorrectly.
Thanks! That site stoped working for some reason so i found another link.  :)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 01, 2013, 02:18:01 AM
I just wanna recommend this site on YT:

SpaceRip (https://www.youtube.com/user/SpaceRip?feature=watch)

They have alot of cool videos about space and astronomy that is comprehensible for everyone.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Unlegit on February 01, 2013, 07:36:11 PM
Just watched a ton of their videos. Thanks for recommending this!  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 01, 2013, 07:43:19 PM
Nice!  :)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 02, 2013, 01:48:00 PM
Are you already excited for comet ISON? I've recently found a very cool blog run by an astrophile/astronomer and exclusively dealing with the comet. They guy took the time to create a few images of what he thinks and hopes the comet would be like. Of course it's impossible to predict a comet's appearence, but those are educated guesses:

(https://waitingforison.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/dec-2nd-sunset-kendal-bb.jpg)

(https://waitingforison.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/dec-5th-sunset-kendal-2.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on February 02, 2013, 03:01:11 PM
I can't wait!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 02, 2013, 03:17:36 PM
I'm sorry for Blob, but this one is completely ours. He had McNaught, or at least he might have had, if he managed to stick his nose in the great outdoors for the occasion  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 03, 2013, 04:44:00 AM
Ohh that last picture is sweet! Haven't heard about this but it seems it's not gonna be visible until october 2013 - januarly 2014.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on February 03, 2013, 04:55:56 AM
I'm sorry for Blob, but this one is completely ours. He had McNaught, or at least he might have had, if he managed to stick his nose in the great outdoors for the occasion  :lol

You can keep it. I know which one I'd rather have. :lol

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on February 03, 2013, 05:01:25 AM
Ah, U1.27. That has been the center of my attention for the last weeks. I missed out on the start of this thread so I'm commenting on this rather late. U1.27 has spawned an interest in quasars in me and I now think that they are among the most fascinating objects in the universe.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 13, 2013, 04:38:13 PM
Baby ISON and adult PANSTARRS captured on film a couple of days ago!

(https://waitingforison.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/ronaldo-crop.jpg)

(https://waitingforison.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/lovejoy-panstarrs-feb-9.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 13, 2013, 04:43:25 PM
 :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 19, 2013, 05:16:42 AM
(https://img841.imageshack.us/img841/980/neutron.png)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 19, 2013, 05:43:22 AM
Mother Of God!  :omg:

Ok had to convert to grasp it: 6920179.2 km/h (or roughly 0.000000731 light year) from 1 meter!  I still don't grasp it though other than that's one helluva freefall!  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on February 19, 2013, 08:29:55 AM
Strong gravity like that is very fascinating. It can even be a source of energy faaar greater than fision or even fusion.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 19, 2013, 09:09:53 AM
You're moving through the universe at something like 2.7 million mph and you don't even feel it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on February 19, 2013, 10:54:50 AM
You're moving through the universe at something like 2.7 million mph and you don't even feel it.

Relative to what? On an astronomical scale measuring speed isn't at all as simple as here on earth.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 19, 2013, 05:00:34 PM
You're moving through the universe at something like 2.7 million mph and you don't even feel it.

Relative to what? On an astronomical scale measuring speed isn't at all as simple as here on earth.

Judging from the order of magnitude it must be the motion towards the great attractor. Of course you can hardly feel it, as the Local Group of Galaxies is as much of a good aprroximation an inertial system as you can get.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on February 20, 2013, 01:26:33 AM
Judging from the order of magnitude it must be the motion towards the great attractor

I thought we were recieding away from that? Considering the redshift and all.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 20, 2013, 10:34:45 AM
Judging from the order of magnitude it must be the motion towards the great attractor

I thought we were recieding away from that? Considering the redshift and all.

I think it's from the center from which all galaxies are traveling away.



Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 20, 2013, 10:35:19 AM
A little old but cool.

(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/17530_554000214620994_551044430_n.jpg)


With the combined power of NASA’s Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes, as well as a cosmic magnification effect, astronomers have spotted what could be the most distant galaxy ever seen. Light from the primordial galaxy traveled approximately 13.2 billion light-years before reaching NASA’s telescopes, shining forth from the so-called cosmic dark ages when the universe was just 3.6 percent of its present age.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: kári on February 20, 2013, 11:16:59 AM
You're moving through the universe at something like 2.7 million mph and you don't even feel it.
.... So? Are you implying you wouldn't "feel" it if you were close to a neutron star?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 20, 2013, 11:30:38 AM
You're moving through the universe at something like 2.7 million mph and you don't even feel it.
.... So? Are you implying you wouldn't "feel" it if you were close to a neutron star?

Not at all, lol. I'm just fascinated by the fact that my body is screaming through space at a ridiculous speed and I don't even notice. It's breathtaking.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 20, 2013, 11:42:06 AM
You don't see the effects because there is no tangible (by immediate senses) frame of reference with respect of which you are moving at that speed.

And you don't feel any effect on your skin because there is no percieveble force acting on you. I just quickly computed the acceleration acting on you resulting from the revolution of the Earth around the Sun (which takes place with a linear average speed of about 30km/s): it's about 0.006 m/s^2. Compare it with the 9.81m/s2 due to Earth's gravity! Absolutely negligible! And you will guess that the centripetal acceleration due to our solar system's motion around the galaxy can be neglected without any second thought as far as our every day dynamics go.

I won't speak about the matter of our expanding universe because I don't know enough of it to avoit talking out of my ass  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: kári on February 20, 2013, 11:56:12 AM
You're moving through the universe at something like 2.7 million mph and you don't even feel it.
.... So? Are you implying you wouldn't "feel" it if you were close to a neutron star?

Not at all, lol. I'm just fascinated by the fact that my body is screaming through space at a ridiculous speed and I don't even notice. It's breathtaking.
Ok. :lol
I find the fact that we are moving fascinating, but the fact that you don't notice is just basic physics. :P
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 20, 2013, 12:14:00 PM
You're moving through the universe at something like 2.7 million mph and you don't even feel it.
.... So? Are you implying you wouldn't "feel" it if you were close to a neutron star?

Not at all, lol. I'm just fascinated by the fact that my body is screaming through space at a ridiculous speed and I don't even notice. It's breathtaking.
Ok. :lol
I find the fact that we are moving fascinating, but the fact that you don't notice is just basic physics. :P

Oh I know. That's why it's so fascinating to me. I love it. The overall size, speed, and power of the cosmos is the most heartwarming thought... at least to my brain. The last time our solar system was in this position relative to the center of the Milky Way, dinosaurs were just starting to evolve.  That thought blows my mind, and the fact that I can understand it makes me smile.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 22, 2013, 12:52:34 PM
https://io9.com/5985923/dennis-tito-wants-to-send-humans-to-mars-and-back-by-2020-can-he-do-it
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on February 22, 2013, 10:39:12 PM
I kinda have to agree with the article. You can't cramp a human being for 2 years into a compact car-sized volume.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on February 25, 2013, 10:57:56 PM
Radiation... hmm, maybe the crew comes back, and they all become X-men or something.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on February 25, 2013, 11:09:47 PM
It would be great to see something so ambitious go ahead, but I don't think there's any chance of it happening. Is it really worth the trouble and risk for a flyby?
Man first landed on the moon long before my time, and I'd love to see humans top that in my lifetime, or even just to do it again. I know it's much more practical to just send a robot, and we learn just as much (if not more) from it, but it's just not as inspiring to witness. Given the technology they achieved it with back in the 60s/70s, you'd think it should be a piece of cake to fly to the moon and back in 2013.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on February 25, 2013, 11:37:50 PM
It would be great to see something so ambitious go ahead, but I don't think there's any chance of it happening. Is it really worth the trouble and risk for a flyby?
Man first landed on the moon long before my time, and I'd love to see humans top that in my lifetime, or even just to do it again. I know it's much more practical to just send a robot, and we learn just as much (if not more) from it, but it's just not as inspiring to witness. Given the technology they achieved it with back in the 60s/70s, you'd think it should be a piece of cake to fly to the moon and back in 2013.

Mostly agreed with you there. And per Arthur C Clarke and Stanley Kubrick's visions, we should've been travelled to at least Jupiter by now. On a side note, if not for politics and other world events, that might have been a reality.  :hat
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on February 25, 2013, 11:45:33 PM
You guys are absolutely right, if not for the fact that the moon landing was staged.  :neverusethis:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on February 25, 2013, 11:55:07 PM
You guys are absolutely right, if not for the fact that the moon landing was staged.  :neverusethis:

In which case, they should have no trouble staging a Mars mission with today's technology. :neverusethis:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on February 26, 2013, 12:40:59 AM
 :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on February 26, 2013, 03:26:29 AM
I would love to see something huge like this happen. A manned mision to Mars would be insanely awesome. I have also heard rumours of China setting up a base on the moon sometime and while that is probably bullshit, it would be really cool.

With the technology we have today, sending some people to Mars or even Jupiter wouldn't really be a problem. Just that it's damn expensive and money always ruins the chance for the coolest things to happen.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 26, 2013, 04:34:24 AM
I would love to see something huge like this happen. A manned mision to Mars would be insanely awesome. I have also heard rumours of China setting up a base on the moon sometime and while that is probably bullshit, it would be really cool.

With the technology we have today, sending some people to Mars or even Jupiter wouldn't really be a problem. Just that it's damn expensive and money always ruins the chance for the coolest things to happen.

If we're not through the ice of Europa by the time I'm on my deathbed... I'm going to die pretty unhappy.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 26, 2013, 05:14:38 AM
I'm don't to die pretty unhappy.

Is my English failing or there's something wrong here? ???

New Panstarrs pic:

(https://blog.focus.it/una-finestra-sull-universo/files/2013/02/130220-coslog-panstarrs-1130a.photoblog600.jpg)

And the encouraging (updated) light curve. Initially it seemed that the comet was about to fizzle, but now the brightening has sped up quite steeply, which is, indeed, encouraging.

(https://blog.focus.it/una-finestra-sull-universo/files/2013/02/PanSTARRS-Brightness-Graph.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on February 26, 2013, 05:41:58 AM
I'm don't to die pretty unhappy.

 :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 26, 2013, 06:34:54 AM
I literally just woke up and was still in bed. Eyes were blurry and brain at 1/4 throttle. You guys are hurting my feelings.  :sadpanda:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 26, 2013, 06:49:08 AM
Don't worry, we all have the occasional brain fart.   :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 26, 2013, 06:59:42 AM
As for Chino's actual post: who cares for Europa? It's not like we don't know already what's there, most likely! I want to see a fucking nearby supernova!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 26, 2013, 08:19:40 AM
As for Chino's actual post: who cares for Europa? It's not like we don't know already what's there, most likely! I want to see a fucking nearby supernova!

I want to die knowing that life has been sustained outside of Earth. Even if they were just single celled organisms, I could die very happy.

I would also settle for an underground cave mission on Mars.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on February 26, 2013, 09:27:00 AM
Europa is very fascinating because of the water. But I'm pretty sure there is no life there.

I want to see a fucking nearby supernova!

That'd be the last thing you ever see ;)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 26, 2013, 09:44:57 AM
Europa is very fascinating because of the water. But I'm pretty sure there is no life there.


What makes you say that? How do you explain the red coloring that emerges through all the crevasses? The Earth has lakes that are similar in color due to decaying organisms and lack of oxygen flow. There is extreme heat at its core that would be more than enough to provide organisms with an energy source.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 26, 2013, 10:20:16 AM
Europa is very fascinating because of the water. But I'm pretty sure there is no life there.

I want to see a fucking nearby supernova!

That'd be the last thing you ever see ;)

Nah, that won't be the case. Unless we stand in the line of the gamma ray burst (assuming there will be one). We had nearby (~1000ly) supernovas in 1054, 1106, 1572, 1604 and yet we are still here :D
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on February 26, 2013, 10:27:22 AM
What makes you say that? How do you explain the red coloring that emerges through all the crevasses? The Earth has lakes that are similar in color due to decaying organisms and lack of oxygen flow. There is extreme heat at its core that would be more than enough to provide organisms with an energy source.

I guess.. I just think there are astronomically low chances. I haven't really read much about Europa in a few years so maybe I should.

Nah, that won't be the case. Unless we stand in the line of the gamma ray burst (assuming there will be one). We had nearby (~1000ly) supernovas in 1054, 1106, 1572, 1604 and yet we are still here :D

Well yeah, if a 1000 lightyears is close by. But I guess it is when compared to the rest of... space x)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 26, 2013, 10:32:34 AM
Europa is very fascinating because of the water. But I'm pretty sure there is no life there.

I want to see a fucking nearby supernova!

That'd be the last thing you ever see ;)

Nah, that won't be the case. Unless we stand in the line of the gamma ray burst (assuming there will be one). We had nearby (~1000ly) supernovas in 1054, 1106, 1572, 1604 and yet we are still here :D

Our sun isn't large enough to go supernova. Sadly it will just engulf the Earth in its red giant phase :(

As weird as this sounds, I think it would be awesome to be on the planet when a cosmic event destroys Earth. Getting caught in the gamma ray burst from a near by star would be lame though. I'd rather be hear to watch the Andromeda inch it's way closer to the Milky Way!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 26, 2013, 10:45:08 AM
Getting a GRB in the face would indeed suck very very hard. Our death would be surely painful, and maybe not instantaneous. What I know is that the shower of gamma photons would ionize the entire ozone layer and IIRC even break the ozone bonds, depleting the layer and exposing us to high energy photons from the sun or from the cosmic rays vs. atmosphere collision. Which would kill us.

And if the GRB is long enough (that is more than a few seconds, I remember some lasting up to a couple of minutes) then it would likely reach sea level, triggering a mass extinction (there is a candidate GRB-triggered mass extinction somewhere in the past, I know).

Fortunately, there is no indication that a supernova within the danger radius will happen in the near future, and it seems that those farther have their axis positioned in a way that would prevent the gamma jets to hit the earth.


As for the Andromeda collision, it will hardly affect life or the gravitational dynamics of the solar system. The chances of the sun being expelled from the galaxy are slim, and the chances of collision or disruptive stellar interaction are practically zero. This picture is an artist's rendition of what we could see, if life were still possible at the time of the collision. I think it has already been posted, but nonetheless:

(https://www.nasa.gov/images/content/654291main_p1220bk.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 26, 2013, 10:57:06 AM
But while our solar system may not be hit or directly affected by Andromeda, isn't our solar system held together to some degree by the other celestial bodies in the Milky Way? Wouldn't our sun be ejected from it's current orbit (not the Milky Way itself) and bring the planets with it? While our orbits around the now rouge sun may stay the same, couldn't it put our entire solar system on a collision path with other stuff in the Milky Way? If the two galaxies were to merge (that might not happen), wouldn't that fuck everything up? I understand the the vast distances between stars is so great in makes it unlikely, but I can't help but think that the energy contained in two approaching galaxies wouldn't cause mass devastation upon their collision. I would imagine all solar systems would be in a shooting gallery of space debris for millions of years.

I'm not challenging you. I am genuinely curious and like to learn about as much of this stuff as I can.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 26, 2013, 11:36:24 AM
But while our solar system may not be hit or directly affected by Andromeda, isn't our solar system held together to some degree by the other celestial bodies in the Milky Way? Wouldn't our sun be ejected from it's current orbit (not the Milky Way itself) and bring the planets with it? While our orbits around the now rouge sun may stay the same, couldn't it put our entire solar system on a collision path with other stuff in the Milky Way? If the two galaxies were to merge (that might not happen), wouldn't that fuck everything up? I understand the the vast distances between stars is so great in makes it unlikely, but I can't help but think that the energy contained in two approaching galaxies wouldn't cause mass devastation upon their collision. I would imagine all solar systems would be in a shooting gallery of space debris for millions of years.

I'm not challenging you. I am genuinely curious and like to learn about as much of this stuff as I can.

The fact is that there would be no collisions, not even in the dense core of the galaxies. Just think of this: the inner solar system is a couple of light hours across. Let's say one light day, to be optimistic. The volume would then be proportional to this lenght cubed. Now we do know that there are 45 stars within a radius of 17 light years, which means that the free volume between two stars in our galactic neighborhood is about 5.3 billions of light days. This means that the ratio between the volume of our solar system and the average volume between stars is 1 on 5 billions! Now, since we know that the merging of the galaxies will involve a number of grazing collision before the eventual merging of the black holes, it's clear that our little place will interact with the outer regions of the Andromeda disk, which sport similar values of stellar density. This being said, the chances of impact are about the same of two flies (1 cm across) flying on a reasonably straight line in a room that's 20 meters across.

And by the way, I read now (after writing all that's above) the "I'm not challanging you". I didn't feel challanged at all, it's a huge pleasure for me to be able to speak of this with other people! And to be able to have the chance of doing such interesting calculations on the fly to give a rough reason of plausibility to the refined theories that have been or are being produced by astrophysics and whose results and implication we can accept but still wish to comprehend on a deeper level.

Oh, by the way: the only possible negative consequence of the gravitational perturbation of a passing star is a wave of comets being pushed towards the inner solar system. Which would be quite nasty, but in the end minimally concerning for a simple reason: by the time the Andromeda collision happens, the sun's power output, that is nothing but its luminosity, will have increased because of the increase of the core temperature due to the enhancement of the mean particle-to-hydrogen mass ratio (if you take hydrogen and add helium, which is what happens every second in our star, the mean mass of the particles in the core increases, as the mass of a helium nucleum is 4 times that of a hydrogen's). Basically the augmented luminosity will have made at least multicellular life impossible on the earth barring any human intervention, that would be "shipping" the earth to a wider orbit to keep the incoming light flux (the so called solar constant) within the tolerable range. You understand that displacing a whole planet (and the moon too, as doing without the moon would require further eingineering to stabilize the true pole wander) would require a much greater endeavour and technological level than preventing a swarm of oversized iceballs to hit out planet. And by the way, another star passing close enough to influence the *still theoretical* Oort Cloud (the main repository of comets) is an event that would likely have happened naturally another couple of times, or maybe more than a couple, before the galactic event begins.

ETA: I think I may have failed to address your main point: yes, there's a reasonably high (literature says 12%) probability that the sun will be ejected during one of the grazing encounters, and it is also said that it's almost a certainty that the sun will be swept farther from the nucleus of our galaxy (and stay there until the new galaxy is born). This would bear no ill consequences for our solar system. The gravitational force is what keeps our system together, and it decays with the square of distance. Twice as far, one fourth as intense. The effects of the change of inner structure of our galaxy would be dramatic in terms of galactic dynamics of our system, as I said, but I'm quite positive that they will hardly be noticble considering only the planetary dynamics within the system :)

So that being said, my post was definitely too longm, but I hope not uniteresting enough to earn a tl;dr. Let's keep this thread running, it's amazing! :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on February 26, 2013, 11:53:48 AM
Yeah, what I was going to say was that there would be very few or no collisions at all in a galaxy merge. But I think wasteland covered pretty much everything. And I'm way to lazy to write all that so that's good!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 26, 2013, 12:18:25 PM
I feel so much smarter after reading that  :lol. I think that would be one hell of a spectacle to the humans alive in that time (that is if we still exist).
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 26, 2013, 12:48:06 PM
Well it would ideed be, but what you can see in the frames spans almost a billion years. No man, assuming we don't ascend to a state of apparent immortality which is something that I don't label as impossible, would ever be able to notice any change in a stunning but still scape of colliding strems of stars.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on February 26, 2013, 01:11:52 PM
It would have been awesome though to see a galaxy in the sky that clearly, even if you don't notice any change in distance.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 26, 2013, 01:37:06 PM
I heard from an astronomer once that the show wouldn't be as impressive as those pics might suggest. I don't recall the explaination, it had to do with the flux per unity of emitting apparent angular surface, that is essentially how bright we see a sky body, remaining the same as the apparent size increase compensates exactly the flux increase due to the reduced distance. Essentially, we get more light, but that's smeared over a larger area.

Right now the Andromeda galaxy has a visual magnitude of about 3.5, meaning that it's easily visibile with unaided eye, but not in light polluted surroundings. It's going to be the same, and appear extremely dim due to the spread. So, I'm afraid, no breathtaking show unless you are blessed with very clear skies. And even then it won't get as bright as the current milky way until the very final stages  :(

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on February 26, 2013, 03:33:53 PM
Would that mean that we wouldn't be able to tell that the large bright thing in the night-sky was a galaxy? I just want to see that second or third image when walking outside a clear night and looking up:

(https://www.nasa.gov/images/content/654291main_p1220bk.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 26, 2013, 03:50:10 PM
Well, you are not going to see it. After all, did you ever seen something comparable to the first, which is supposed to be an actual photograph? Getting colors visually with our eyes is very difficult, and surely not on such big scales.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: PuffyPat on February 26, 2013, 04:16:50 PM
Just took my first exam in my Astronomy class. I'd say the over/under is a 75.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 26, 2013, 04:19:59 PM
Just took my first exam in my Astronomy class. I'd say the over/under is a 75.

Pardon?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: PuffyPat on February 26, 2013, 04:28:12 PM
Just took my first exam in my Astronomy class. I'd say the over/under is a 75.

Pardon?

I'm using my terrible knowledge of betting to say that I think I got around a 75% on the exam.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on February 26, 2013, 06:38:17 PM
I just need to say I keep reading this thread as "The Office Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird" and it's really fuckin' with me.

Did you get the moon memo?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on February 26, 2013, 06:40:16 PM
Just took my first exam in my Astronomy class. I'd say the over/under is a 75.

Pardon?

I'm using my terrible knowledge of betting to say that I think I got around a 75% on the exam.

**insert drum rolls here**  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on February 26, 2013, 07:09:35 PM
Thought I'd share with this thread being that it's all astronomy lovers in here....my boys...especially my 5 year old, are/have been infatuated with anything space the past few months. I went and bought some real interesting and great introductory books concerning space, our solar system and the descriptions thereof.
  They aren't rudimentary by any means...they are perfect for a 5 and 6 year old. It's just neat teaching them this stuff...the fact that they already know our solar system and the order of the planets. I mean tonight, I was explaining how our solar system fits in our galaxy...and then how there are countless galaxies and so on. And you'd think that'd put most young kids to sleep but they were right there in it. And my 5 year old insists that he will be traveling to all the planets, so that's kind of cool.
  Anyway....just wanted to share that...carry on with mind blowing facts about the cosmos...

Oh which reminds me, one of the cool ways one of these books explains how big the Sun is to a child is to show them a marble...tell them that is Earth, walk 100 steps away from an adult. That is how far away the Earth is from the Sun and the Adult is the 'size' of the sun. Kind of interesting.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Super Dude on February 26, 2013, 07:22:14 PM
I would also settle for an underground cave mission on Mars.

Wasn't there something recently about a proposed TV drama of actual people trying to make a life on Mars, and they were looking for volunteers?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 27, 2013, 08:37:20 AM
I'm listening to Cosmos in the library right now and just heard something that I never noticed before. In episode 12, Carl Sagan is explaining the Drake equation. He says something like "assuming every sun has an average of 10 planets like ours does"... We thought there were 10 planets 40 years ago?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 27, 2013, 09:07:10 AM
I'm listening to Cosmos in the library right now and just heard something that I never noticed before. In episode 12, Carl Sagan is explaining the Drake equation. He says something like "assuming every sun has an average of 10 planets like ours does"... We thought there were 10 planets 40 years ago?

I can answer this: when physicists make estimates, and more so when they estimate parameters of equations made of extremely little known parameters such as with Drake's, what really matters is the order of magnitude. At the times there were 9 planets known, I think, but 9=10 for all the purposes of evaluations. It's clear that our poor (maybe chronically so) knowledge of the other moltiplicative factors of Drake's equation will prevent us to get an accurate number, hence no need to be precise with what we know.

This kind of estimates are known as Fermi's problems, after the Italian physicist that excelled in them and made them famous and scientifically relevant. The most famous of those, which I was given on my first day of Univeristy, is: "How many piano tuners are there in Chicago?". Wikipedia provides the solution:

Quote
There are approximately 5,000,000 people living in Chicago.
1. On average, there are two persons in each household in Chicago.
2. Roughly one household in twenty has a piano that is tuned regularly.
3. Pianos that are tuned regularly are tuned on average about once per year.
4. It takes a piano tuner about two hours to tune a piano, including travel time.
5. Each piano tuner works eight hours in a day, five days in a week, and 50 weeks in a year.

From these assumptions, we can compute that the number of piano tunings in a single year in Chicago is
(5,000,000 persons in Chicago) / (2 persons/household) × (1 piano/20 households) × (1 piano tuning per piano per year) = 125,000 piano tunings per year in Chicago.
We can similarly calculate that the average piano tuner performs
(50 weeks/year)×(5 days/week)×(8 hours/day)/(2 hours to tune a piano) = 1000 piano tunings per year per piano tuner.
Dividing gives
(125,000 piano tunings per year in Chicago) / (1000 piano tunings per year per piano tuner) = 125 piano tuners in Chicago.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on February 27, 2013, 09:20:22 AM
Well, you are not going to see it. After all, did you ever seen something comparable to the first, which is supposed to be an actual photograph? Getting colors visually with our eyes is very difficult, and surely not on such big scales.

Maybe not in that much detail. But I just thought since the disc of the milky way is clearly visable when looked at "horizontally", that a galaxy that close would at least be visable on a clear night since it's a pretty large source of light. Of course those extreme colors and details won't be there but it must be noticable.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 27, 2013, 09:40:16 AM
Well I'm sure you could see it. As for the colors, I'm skeptical. Look at the stars: Betelgeuze is one of the reddest stars know and still appears a faint orange. Our eyes are not really suited for perceiving colors from sources that dim.

Have you ever tried to look at the Orion Nebula? You can do it tonight, then come here and tell me if you can see any colors. I never could and I'm pretty sure it's not my eyes to be faulty :)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 27, 2013, 09:49:21 AM
..and that leads me to the fact that i rarely see the stars where i live unless i drive outside the city which i rarely do sadly...well i do but not to look at the sky. Light pollution is a very low priority problem these days.

 :tup for keeping the thread alive!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 27, 2013, 10:26:50 AM
I live out in the boonies on top of a pretty good sized mountain. I have next to no light pollution (relatively speaking) and have a great view of the stars. Whenever I come home at night, I stop in my driveway, look up, and do a couple of slow spins while taking it all in. I seriously have one of the best views in town. When most of CT lost power for a week in October of 2011, I never saw a sky so clear and bright. I was blown away. I stood outside in the freezing cold for about 20 minutes just looking up in awe.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 27, 2013, 10:41:02 AM
Yea i had one of those jaw moment too a couple of years ago. I was on a trip with my class at the time in north of sweden in "nowhereland" and i remember one night when we were outside and looking up at the sky in awe because i had never in my life seen so many stars in the sky, i could even see very clearly the milky way arm stretching across the sky and that made a big impact on me, no photo could ever stun me as the real thing. After that i went into a deep fasination about astronomy and space which lasted pretty long until i touched the one area i seriously lacked in: Math!  :lol

So yea that experience made a big impact on me and still do.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 27, 2013, 10:56:47 AM
Dung Beetles use the Milky Way light to navigate.

https://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/24/dung-beetles-navigate-via-the-milky-way-an-animal-kingdom-first/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on February 27, 2013, 10:57:39 AM
From my place I can see up to magnitude 4, if I know where to look. I can see 6 pleiades out of 7 (but I think no one can see the seventh under normal conditions), but no milky way, by any chances. I've seen our galaxy a couple of times, though. Always stunning, especially under a lightouse on the westernmost promontory of an island :)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 27, 2013, 12:23:04 PM
Dung Beetles use the Milky Way light to navigate.

https://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/24/dung-beetles-navigate-via-the-milky-way-an-animal-kingdom-first/
That is pretty damn cool.

Quote
He added that this discovery reveals another potential negative impact of light pollution, a global phenomenon that blocks out stars.

“If artificial light—from cities, houses, roadways, etc.—drowns out the visibility of the night sky, it could have the potential to impact effective orientation and navigation of dung beetles in the same way as an overcast sky,” Whipple said.
It's sad when you think about all the people in the cities and other parts of the world that are impacted by light pollution and how most of them live their whole life completly disconnected to the sky above us even though that's the one big mystery we as humans have in common.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 28, 2013, 12:23:22 PM
Blast Off! Musk's View from SpaceX Mission Control
https://www.bloomberg.com/video/blast-off-inside-spacex-s-mission-control-nwyyO5u0QO2EuU5ABszElA.html

Elon Musk is such a cool guy. My buddy is a software engineer for SpaceX. He gave me a private tour of the facility when I visited him last summer. The facility was closed for the day, but mission control was filled seeing as the dragon capsule had just made its first successful dock with the ISS two days earlier. I had the pleasure of being introduced to Elon. He's such a nice down to Earth guy. If I didn't know who he was and just happened to bump into him on the street, I'd never suspect he was a billionaire.

This has some gems in it.

www.shitelonsays.com

Some of my favorites:

"I think it would be great to be born on Earth and to die on Mars. Just hopefully not at the point of impact. "

" I went to Russia three times to negotiate purchasing an ICBM. "

"If one set a standard that you couldn't have loss of life, then there would be no transport. You wouldn't even be allowed to walk. "

" At the beginning of starting SpaceX I thought that the most likely outcome was failure. "
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on February 28, 2013, 09:20:04 PM
Guys, in my dream last night Neil Armstrong was still alive, and he went on a mission to the moon to raise interest in more moon missions. I was thinking that a guy his age wouldn't qualify to go to the moon, but that's apparently why he went. He was basically taunting the space program and saying it was now so easy that even an old man could do it safely these days.

:blob:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on March 01, 2013, 12:58:55 AM
Funny fact: unlike many space/astronomy lovers, I never wanted to become an astronaut. Too dangerous, I was afraid of any of the 76483995 deadly incidents that ca happen (and happened) in space.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on March 01, 2013, 08:00:58 AM
Same here.  It's amazing to see the pictures and mind-boggling to think about what's out there, and on what scale.  But I'm fine sitting at home letting others do the exploring and take the risks.  If your car breaks down, you call for help, or start walking.  There are options.  Something goes wrong with your rocket ship, there's a meter keeping track of how much oxygen you have left.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 01, 2013, 08:07:40 AM
Space X launch in three minutes.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 01, 2013, 10:51:54 AM
I just got a few texts from my buddy at SpaceX. He's having a shitty day over there. Apparently the Dragon Capsule is having a little trouble and they have "minimal thruster control". He said that four of them were not responding properly and that prevented them from opening the solar panels. They got two back online and the solar panels have since been opened. He and his team are working frantically to try and find the problem. According to him, Dragon can still dock successfully with the ISS even if all thrusters are not at 100%.

This was SpaceX this morning. I got an exclusive tour of this facility when it was filled with minimum staff. It was pretty cool. I think that it's awesome how mission control is right on site and in the middle of everything.

(These are all employees)
(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/387540_10152606002790131_2004843430_n.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on March 01, 2013, 11:47:08 AM
Looks like you are extremely well connected, Mr. Chino  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 01, 2013, 12:04:36 PM
I am  :lol. This guy has been so lucky in how his career turned out. Granted he worked his ass off, but an unplanned series of events lead him down a path he didn't expect.  He's always been really into/awesome at computer programming, but he went to the Florida Institute of Technology to study electrical engineering. He wanted to build automated robots that were used in car manufacturing facilities and stuff like that. He was selected (among a select few students) to do a week long student program at the Kennedy Space Center (which I also got an exclusive tour of). He made a really good connection there and landed an internship at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. He took time off from school and went there for six months. A connection there lead him to another internship back at NASA in Florida. It was there where he decided to go into Software. He ended up getting a job there writing test code for the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. They were already on Mars at this point, but he worked with the mock vehicles back on Earth. Whenever a rover got stuck, he was part of the team that would recreate the scenario in their giant sandboxes and work on the getting unstuck procedures. Really awesome stuff if you ask me. He loved California when he was out there working at JPL and wanted to return. With the help of a connection back at JPL, he left NASA in late 2011 and got a job at SpaceX. He doesn't actually write the initial code himself. He works in the "test beds" (basically all the computer systems laid out on a table) and puts all the code through its paces. It's his job to try and make the systems fail or malfunction, and when he manages to do so he advises what needs to be done to correct the errors and will some times modify the code if it's a simple enough problem. On the first Dragon mission, two of the engines were being under-powered and the rocket started to yaw. The rocket eventually recognized there was a problem and automatically made changes to compensate in order to get it on course again. That's due to the work he does. He has to simulate literally thousands of potential errors, basically anything that could could wrong, and try to prevent them from happening. I'm super jealous. He's 22 and puts stuff in space.   
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on March 01, 2013, 01:41:46 PM
He is 22? :o Did he start working for NASA at 16? From what you wrote it sounds like he has alread two decades of career behind him!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 01, 2013, 01:50:50 PM
He is 22? :o Did he start working for NASA at 16? From what you wrote it sounds like he has alread two decades of career behind him!

Nah, I think he was 19 or in his early 20's at the time. He's always been above average in terms of technological capabilities. I was on the high school robotics team with him. His freshman year, the robotics kit included a vision camera for the first time. It could be used to find game pieces and scoring zones on the play floor. One of the rules of the game that year was (this probably wont make any sense) "if you score a tetra on the center goal during the 15 second autonomous period, you receive a X amount of bonus points.". The only way to do this was with the camera. Long story short.. It was very difficult. He programmed about 95% of the robotics overall functionality and we were one of five teams in the country to accomplish this out of hundreds of rounds played over dozens of regional competitions. Being on the robotics team really helped him. Tech schools and employers love that stuff on resumes and applications. I still volunteer as a mentor during the build season, and everywhere I have looked for internships eats that shit up.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on March 01, 2013, 02:58:08 PM
I was once able to simulate what happens to a non-existent material when it is heated to 7 Kelvin (call it hot!). The results were at best very very imprecise. I was given the highest mark, then forgot about programming. :blush
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 07, 2013, 12:25:48 PM
No new life on other planets yet but something similar:

https://phys.org/news/2013-03-russia-bacteria-antarctic-lake.html

Quote
"After putting aside all possible elements of contamination, DNA was found that did not coincide with any of the well-known types in the global database," he said. "We are calling this life form unclassified and unidentified," he added.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on March 07, 2013, 07:07:47 PM
He's 22 and puts stuff in space.

OMG, I think I was useless, and was doing nothing but jamming, partying and getting laid when I was 22... your friend is awesome!  :hat
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 08, 2013, 08:29:42 AM
Some seriously awesome photos here:

https://thechive.com/2013/03/08/vintage-nasa-56-photos/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 08, 2013, 08:33:01 AM
 :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on March 10, 2013, 01:20:19 PM
So, I went out today with a friend to try and see a glimpse of comet Panstarrs on its perihelion day.

This is what I should have seen and that I obviously didn't see at all  :laugh:

(https://spaceweather.com/submissions/pics/s/Steve-Cullen-Comet-PANSTARRS-from-Mauna-Kea-030813-Annotated-small_1362859971_lg.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on March 10, 2013, 03:01:21 PM
^ Speaking of comets, the comet Ison has my curiosity at the moment. A comet that will, provided it stays intact, be visable to the naked eye for a few months towards the end of 2013. It is believed that it at some point will be brighter than the full moon.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Zeltar on March 10, 2013, 03:03:26 PM
Does anyone else that views this thread have a love for the mathematical side of astronomy? I'm studying to be an astrophysicist and I'd be thrilled if there were other people here that share that same passion. I'll read through the thread eventually to see for myself, but my lazy ass is asking NOW.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on March 11, 2013, 12:30:48 AM
^ Speaking of comets, the comet Ison has my curiosity at the moment. A comet that will, provided it stays intact, be visable to the naked eye for a few months towards the end of 2013. It is believed that it at some point will be brighter than the full moon.

The problem is that at that point it will be so close to the sun to be invisible.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on March 11, 2013, 01:28:51 AM
Yeah, and that's a damn shame... But it will at least be visable (even if it's less) earlier when it's farther away from it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on March 11, 2013, 02:40:01 PM
Yeah, and that's a damn shame... But it will at least be visable (even if it's less) earlier when it's farther away from it.

The hope is that it survives the fly by the Sun to emerge in the northern skies. Comets are always much more spectacular after the closest approach.

https://i.space.com/images/i/000/002/177/original/070105_mcnaught_pic_02.jpg?1292265185  (pre perihelion)
https://astronomyonline.org/aoblog/uploads/2007/01/mcnaught_jan_20_2007.JPG (after)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 12, 2013, 02:07:21 PM
Coooooooool.


NASA Rover Finds Conditions Once Suited for Ancient Life on Mars


https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-092
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 12, 2013, 07:16:54 PM
Yea that is really cool.

Quote
"A fundamental question for this mission is whether Mars could have supported a habitable environment," said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program at the agency's headquarters in Washington. "From what we know now, the answer is yes."

Awesome stuff but as usual news media and general public let it pass like a tiny fart.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 12, 2013, 07:38:37 PM
Yea that is really cool.

Quote
"A fundamental question for this mission is whether Mars could have supported a habitable environment," said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program at the agency's headquarters in Washington. "From what we know now, the answer is yes."

Awesome stuff but as usual news media and general public let it pass like a tiny fart.

I saw it mentioned in a 10 second clip on CNN just before the 6 minute segment on twinkies.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on March 12, 2013, 08:04:13 PM
Yea that is really cool.

Quote
"A fundamental question for this mission is whether Mars could have supported a habitable environment," said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program at the agency's headquarters in Washington. "From what we know now, the answer is yes."

Awesome stuff but as usual news media and general public let it pass like a tiny fart.

I saw it mentioned in a 10 second clip on CNN just before the 6 minute segment on twinkies.

I know this is big news...that it is 'confirmed'....but has it really ever been a question that there used to be life on Mars? I guess I always just assumed from everything that has been written and all the programs I've watched about Mars that it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Mars once has thriving life? Or is this 'big' news because it's official now?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on March 12, 2013, 08:16:46 PM
I am about %293827394871343399999999999 positive that an on-air 'tiny fart' would get so much more airtime than this.

P.S. AwesomeIwannadieonMars
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on March 12, 2013, 09:41:16 PM
That is awesome. Just in this one solar system, there are at least 2 bodies that were at one point able to sustain life. Where is everyone else?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 13, 2013, 03:34:14 AM
I am about %293827394871343399999999999 positive that an on-air 'tiny fart' would get so much more airtime than this.

P.S. AwesomeIwannadieonMars
:facepalm: Yea you're absolutly right, a tiny fart on air would infact make more noise than some crappy story about life on mars.  :|
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on March 13, 2013, 04:43:27 AM
My astrophysics book introduces black holes as: "The Dracula of stellar corpses, it lies in wait hoping to ensnare more matter to share its fate. This would represent an ultimate victory for self-gravity."
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 13, 2013, 05:12:42 AM
That is awesome. Just in this one solar system, there are at least 2 bodies that were at one point able to sustain life. Where is everyone else?

And if there's life on Europa and Titan, then the universe gets really interesting.

I am about %293827394871343399999999999 positive that an on-air 'tiny fart' would get so much more airtime than this.

P.S. AwesomeIwannadieonMars

"It would be great to be born on Earth and die on Mars. Just not at the point of impact" - Elon Musk
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on March 13, 2013, 07:03:10 AM
For some reason I'm not overly psyched about thise whole life on Mars thing..
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on March 13, 2013, 07:14:07 AM
For some reason I'm not overly psyched about thise whole life on Mars thing..

I almost never get excited for space exploration. I'm all about observation and comprehension, and I vastly prefer deep space astronomy to our tiny Solar System matters. :)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 13, 2013, 07:43:13 AM
For some reason I'm not overly psyched about thise whole life on Mars thing..

I think it's because the scientific community has been pretty certain about it for a decade+ now.

For some reason I'm not overly psyched about thise whole life on Mars thing..

I almost never get excited for space exploration. I'm all about observation and comprehension, and I vastly prefer deep space astronomy to our tiny Solar System matters. :)

You have to admit though, if fossilized life were to be found on Mars (or better yet living life in the caves), that would strongly impact everyone on this planet in one way or another.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on March 13, 2013, 11:27:43 AM
I almost never get excited for space exploration. I'm all about observation and comprehension, and I vastly prefer deep space astronomy to our tiny Solar System matters. :)

Solar System stuff can be cool too though. I'd be very excited for a manned mision to Mars and I was even a little excited when I heard the rediculous rumours that the chines or something were planning on setting up a base on the moon.

But otherwise I pretty much agree with you.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 13, 2013, 11:40:05 AM
I almost never get excited for space exploration. I'm all about observation and comprehension, and I vastly prefer deep space astronomy to our tiny Solar System matters. :)

But otherwise I pretty much agree with you.

I think a manned Mars mission is necessary. Granted we might not get a lot a return from the planet itself, but I think it's definitely needed if humans ever really want to do deep space exploration. The amount of new technologies that will be needed to pull that off will be the foundation for all future exploration. The 8-9 month trip will be a true test of astronaut isolation in psychological realm. A manned Mars mission will require new technologies such as force fields (or shields) that help living organisms survive the solar radiation that will be bombarding the passengers aboard. The Mars rovers have returned great finding, but more importantly, they have given us great insight into what rovers are capable of.

There is also the whole genetics element. I think it would be great if we could learn to engineer plants, and maybe even organisms, that could survive on Mars. Not necessarily for the sake of creating an ecosystem on Mars (which would be awesome as hell), but for the sake of deep understanding of the genome as well as the ability to manipulate it. There are many scientists that believe we could engineer species of that could survive and thrive on Mars, and over tens of thousands of years without human intervention, be completely self sustaining on the Red Planet. 

I'm completely on board with deep space observation. I reach a state of euphoria whenever I look at images from Hubble and the James Webb telescope, but human exploration (to me) is just as important.

I think the main reason why I support the exploration of Mars to be so important is because I have a finite time on this Earth. While there is no doubt in my mind that life exists all over the cosmos, I don't think were are going to find it outside of our solar system in my lifetime. I strongly believe there was once (and still could be) life on Mars, and I'd love to die knowing that it's there. We have organisms that live in our polar icecaps. They secrete a natural antifreeze that keeps them in water bubbles within the ice, and use the water as energy. If life took hold on Mars while it was wet, life may have been able to evolve in time to make it to the ice. It could have also retreated underground where it could hide from the radiation that roasts the planet. The lack of geologic activity and the presence of seasonal methane plumes is really intriguing. I would love to know what is causing that.

Quote
Solar System stuff can be cool too though. I'd be very excited for a manned mision to Mars and I was even a little excited when I heard the rediculous rumours that the chines or something were planning on setting up a base on the moon.

I hope the Chinese pull it off. The more countries exploring space the better. If they were to plant a Chinese flag right next to the American's flag, think of the attention it would generate. I think people would be furious and suddenly have that interest in space travel reignited.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 17, 2013, 06:46:52 AM
I think most people doubt this project will ever happen but if it really does I for one will be watching. I hate reality shows in general but goddamn, if I had the opportunity to choose a reality format that i would like to watch this would be the one.

Mars One introduction film (https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=n4tgkyUBkbY#!)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MajorMatt on March 21, 2013, 11:06:09 AM
This is pretty mind blowing:

https://htwins.net/scale2/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on March 21, 2013, 11:25:37 AM
This is pretty mind blowing:

https://htwins.net/scale2/

That is really cool, but I have always found this one to be better:

https://www.numbersleuth.org/universe/ (https://www.numbersleuth.org/universe/)

No flashy music in this one though..  ;)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on March 21, 2013, 01:12:56 PM
It's stunning, isn't it? :)

Seeing those scales is really a humbling experience. I'm sure most if not all of you know this already, but I want to post the Pale Blue Dot speech by Carl Sagan:

Quote from: Carl Sagan
From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it's different. Consider again that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity – in all this vastness – there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known, so far, to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment, the Earth is where we make our stand. It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 03, 2013, 03:03:13 AM
^^Yea i love that.

Ever wondered what the Big Bang would sound like? Well here you go.....in a way:

https://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2013/04/02/new-sound-recording-of-the-big-bang
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on April 03, 2013, 04:25:23 AM
^ That was actually cool, not what I expected.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 03, 2013, 05:26:18 PM
Pretty cool stuff:

https://www.space.com/20490-dark-matter-discovery-space-experiment.html?cmpid=514630


and speaking of space this is pretty cool to:

https://workshop.chromeexperiments.com/stars/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews%3Athinking
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on April 10, 2013, 02:14:19 AM
Hmm... Giant planet tastes so yummy!  :lol

A black hole is caught chowing down on what may be a giant rogue planet.

https://www.space.com/20580-black-hole-eats-giant-planet.html

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 10, 2013, 08:43:57 AM
Hmm... Giant planet tastes so yummy!  :lol

A black hole is caught chowing down on what may be a giant rogue planet.

https://www.space.com/20580-black-hole-eats-giant-planet.html

That's pretty wild.

A lot of computers have simulated the creation of our solar system and shown that we once had another gas giant that was ejected shortly after its formation.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on April 10, 2013, 10:44:59 AM
That's pretty wild.

A lot of computer have simulated the creation of our solar system and shown that we once had another gas giant that was ejected shortly after its formation.

You are correct. Apparently rogue planets, especially those gas giants, are very common.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Tanatra on April 10, 2013, 11:32:31 AM
That's pretty wild.

A lot of computer have simulated the creation of our solar system and shown that we once had another gas giant that was ejected shortly after its formation.

You are correct. Apparently rogue planets, especially those gas giants, are very common.

I've always found the concept of rogue planets fascinating, maybe because it originally came about in science fiction, unless I'm mistaken. Though in a way, I suppose a rogue planet is nothing more than an asteroid or comet with adequate mass to assume a spherical shape.

On that note, I wonder what it is about rogue bodies that prevents them from being captured by the gravity of another celestial body. For instance, the majority of the moons in the solar system are just captured asteroids, but how can asteroids of similar size zip right by a planet in very close proximity without becoming trapped by its gravity? Maybe it's the super slow moving asteroids that become moons?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 10, 2013, 11:54:02 AM
That's pretty wild.

A lot of computer have simulated the creation of our solar system and shown that we once had another gas giant that was ejected shortly after its formation.

You are correct. Apparently rogue planets, especially those gas giants, are very common.

I've always found the concept of rogue planets fascinating, maybe because it originally came about in science fiction, unless I'm mistaken. Though in a way, I suppose a rogue planet is nothing more than an asteroid or comet with adequate mass to assume a spherical shape.

On that note, I wonder what it is about rogue bodies that prevents them from being captured by the gravity of another celestial body. For instance, the majority of the moons in the solar system are just captured asteroids, but how can asteroids of similar size zip right by a planet in very close proximity without becoming trapped by its gravity? Maybe it's the super slow moving asteroids that become moons?

A rogue planet is different than an asteroid in the sense that it was formed as a planet and left orbit whereas a comet is the unused debris of a planet's formation.

As for moons, I think very few are actually captured asteroids. For example, our own moon is believed to have been formed due to a huge impact on our planet. The debris was caught in the Earth's gravity and it eventually coalesced into a new celestial body. The moon is made of Earth. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on April 10, 2013, 12:45:03 PM
For something to be actually caught in a sustainable orbit there are a couple of things that was to be right. Speed, if it's too slow it will be drawn in and crash on the planet and if it's too fast it will just pass by. Mass, if it's too massive the planet can't hold on to it and if it's to light it will be drawn in and crash.

It isn't this simple of course since either of these two variables changes if the other one does. So everything that comes close isn't caught in a gravitational orbit.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Phoenix87x on April 15, 2013, 06:21:41 PM
How astronauts sleep in space. Pretty cool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UyFYgeE32f0
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on April 15, 2013, 06:56:51 PM
For something to be actually caught in a sustainable orbit there are a couple of things that was to be right. Speed, if it's too slow it will be drawn in and crash on the planet and if it's too fast it will just pass by. Mass, if it's too massive the planet can't hold on to it and if it's to light it will be drawn in and crash.

It isn't this simple of course since either of these two variables changes if the other one does. So everything that comes close isn't caught in a gravitational orbit.

That.  The odds of the speed matching the corresponding orbit level are tiny. 

For instance, all satellites have to be launched at a specific orbital speed and distance from the Earth, accounting for the mass of the satellite.  It also allows us to setup our own "planetary system" of satellites, grouped in different orbits.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 23, 2013, 02:15:19 PM
SpaceX's Grasshopper successfully hovers at 820 feet... triple that of it's March 7th debut!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xUvbh-Z8Abk
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 23, 2013, 02:25:15 PM
That's pretty cool!  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on April 24, 2013, 07:09:33 AM
Baby comet growing strong! (Hubble Picture)

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/66025_584514174902931_409635001_n.jpg)
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Dublagent66 on April 24, 2013, 03:56:31 PM
It's amazing yea but what's sad is that it's only these really big discoveries that get some attention and as you said they come up every month with new discoveries but most of those are often just ignored or get in the limelight for other news. And the fact that about 90% of the earths population will never fully understand discoveries like these (including me sadly) or they don't really care. We're too obtained with our daily life, career and everything that we don't have time anymore or we don't care too look up at the sky and ask those questions that we all share and have in common.

Sry for my rant.  :)

Don't feel bad.  Having the interest and imagination is enough.  Most of us can't grasp the vastness of the universe or the mathematics involved.  That's part of what makes it so interesting.  I've been fascinated with astronomy since I was a kid.  I watch the latest shows on the Science Channel and History II whenever I get a chance.  I know people's lives are busy but they should never be too busy to look up at the bigger picture once in a while.  Life's too short not to... ;)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on April 24, 2013, 11:47:05 PM
SpaceX's Grasshopper successfully hovers at 820 feet... triple that of it's March 7th debut!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xUvbh-Z8Abk

Ok, this is off topic, but the Grasshopper reminds me of this rocket  :lol :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vzVgX1BtBY
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 25, 2013, 04:44:26 PM
Quote
LED streetlamp aims to improve public's view of stars.

Researchers believe they have come up with a new type of LED-powered streetlamp that could radically reduce light pollution.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22292129

Very interesting.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on April 26, 2013, 05:23:36 AM
^ Indeed
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Sketchy on April 27, 2013, 01:31:44 AM
Quote
LED streetlamp aims to improve public's view of stars.

Researchers believe they have come up with a new type of LED-powered streetlamp that could radically reduce light pollution.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22292129

Very interesting.

Not just that, but LEDs are horrifyingly efficient too. I remember a physics teacher of mine, back during my A-Levels, saying that a 150W LED would be somewhat akin to a lighthouse.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 27, 2013, 02:09:21 AM
I have said it before and i say it again, light pollution is a very low priority problem in society today so it's nice to see people trying to do something about it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Sketchy on April 27, 2013, 03:20:32 AM
Yar, and when you go out to the countryside and look up, you can see the bulge of the galaxy (in the northern hemisphere at certain times of the year). It's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen, and I've seen some pretty awesome stuff.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on April 27, 2013, 03:45:33 AM
Yes. The Scorpius-Saggitarius region is stunning. Imagine how would it look like if there wasn't the galactic dust extinction!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Sketchy on April 27, 2013, 01:55:26 PM
Brighter and bluer.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on April 27, 2013, 02:00:14 PM
Brighter and bluer.

We would never be able to distinguish the increase in the blue, I think. I would dare anyone to tell that the orion belt's stars are blu and not white.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Sketchy on April 27, 2013, 02:27:44 PM
Dust extinction does increase the redness of the total light passing through it, it's non-constant for wavelength. It does mean that the apparent age of some objects is higher than it actually is.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on April 27, 2013, 03:44:29 PM
Age identification should not be a problem if you manage to have a decent absorption spectrum. It's not like you can mistake an extremely reddened A star with an M star :D
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Sketchy on April 28, 2013, 05:25:32 AM
Aye, but it would still appear bluer if there were no dust extinction, at least to the human eye.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 29, 2013, 05:57:07 PM
Just got a new piece of desk swag!

(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/600835_10152790092655111_1184493341_n.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Heretic on April 30, 2013, 12:54:24 PM
That's awesome.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 06, 2013, 05:05:47 AM
Space Jam! (https://music.cbc.ca/#/blogs/2013/2/Space-jam-watch-the-premiere-of-ISS-Is-Somebody-Singing)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 06, 2013, 06:12:45 AM
 :metal

That's awesome. I follow Chris on FB. He posts so much awesome stuff from the ISS.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 17, 2013, 08:38:02 AM
Speaking of Chris, this is pretty cool: Chris + Mythbusters about eating and cooking in microgravity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49TkVLRWKoc
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on June 20, 2013, 05:11:52 PM
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/q84/s720x720/946487_674744159218427_751075303_n.jpg)

I love this pic! ISS making a pass.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on June 20, 2013, 05:17:25 PM
Looks like Prometheus.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on June 20, 2013, 05:42:55 PM
^ Haha yeah it actually does.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 21, 2013, 02:24:40 AM
That's really cool!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: chknptpie on June 21, 2013, 07:36:46 AM
Well this looks like a fun thread!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Sketchy on June 21, 2013, 02:32:41 PM
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/q84/s720x720/946487_674744159218427_751075303_n.jpg)

I love this pic! ISS making a pass.

That's brillcakes right there.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 21, 2013, 03:01:33 PM
Well this looks like a fun thread!
Yes, welcome to the "µg" part of DTF!

(https://ak.imgfarm.com/images/cursormania/files/4/2316a.gif)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on June 21, 2013, 03:06:24 PM
This is one of my favorite images.  To me, it looks like a bubble which has just popped, caught by a high-speed camera.  Just a regular bubble, like the kind you blow with soap solution, except it's out in space and billions and billions of miles across, so "high speed" is relative.

(https://astrobites.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/fig3.jpg)

It's actually the remnants of supernova Cassiopeia A. (https://astrobites.org/2011/02/11/light-echoes-cosmic-records-of-historical-supernovae/)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 21, 2013, 04:23:46 PM
That's a nice one!  :tup I've have always been obsessed with galaxies and nebulas. I'm just amazed by the fact that it's not even 100 years ago when Hubble discovered that those nebulas he observed were infact other galaxies outside of our own. That's a pretty mind-boggling thing to realize.

"The realization that we live in a galaxy, and that there were, in fact, many other galaxies, parallels discoveries that were made about the Milky Way and other nebulae in the night sky."

One of my favourite galaxy, M104 or Sombrero Galaxy:
(https://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/files/2013/05/M104b_peris2048.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on June 21, 2013, 05:00:43 PM
One of mine :)

(https://i.imgur.com/ccuetOM.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on June 25, 2013, 01:05:41 PM
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1016621_617733291581019_1685881868_n.jpg)

This is actually fairly easy :D
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 28, 2013, 03:29:45 AM
^^Being pretty much a math n00b i'm not even gonna try solve that.  :lol

Voyager 1 Discovers Bizarre and Baffling Region at Edge of Solar System

https://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/06/voyager-unexpected-region/

Interesting read even though i'm struggling to really grasp what they're saying.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on June 28, 2013, 11:06:26 AM
Bizarre and Baffling indeed.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on June 28, 2013, 11:22:20 AM
I love the voyager probes. It never ceases to amaze me that they can still provide such useful data with 30+ year old technology.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on June 28, 2013, 11:29:50 AM
True, but sometimes I get a bit concerned when I read stuff like "Voyager 1’s instruments indicated at (sic) the solar wind suddenly dropped by a factor of 1,000, to the point where it was virtually undetectable. This transition happened extremely fast, taking roughly a few days."

It always crosses my mind that it could just be the instruments screwing up.  Maybe they're not reading any solar wind because the sensor that measures solar wind has finally died.  It took a few days, but now it's barely picking up anything.

I don't think that's the case here, since they go on to point out some other things that are consistent with this inconsistency (?) but you never know...
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: chknptpie on June 28, 2013, 12:17:06 PM
How are the instruments still working? What kind of battery life do they have?!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Big Hath on June 28, 2013, 12:32:30 PM
How are the instruments still working? What kind of battery life do they have?!

pretty sure they use plutonium


here we go (wikipedia):

Most RTGs (Radioisotope thermoelectric generator) use 238Pu, which decays with a half-life of 87.7 years. RTGs using this material will therefore diminish in power output by 0.787% of their capacity per year. 23 years after production, such an RTG will have decreased in power by 16.6%, i.e. providing 83.4% of its initial output. Thus, with a starting capacity of 470 W, after 23 years it would have a capacity of 392 W. However, the bi-metallic thermocouples used to convert thermal energy into electrical energy degrade as well; at the beginning of 2001, the power generated by the Voyager RTGs had dropped to 315 W for Voyager 1 and to 319 W for Voyager 2. Therefore in early 2001, the RTGs were working at about 67% of their original capacity instead of the expected 83.4%
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: chknptpie on June 28, 2013, 12:41:02 PM
Very interesting! Thanks for posting that info
Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Chino on July 08, 2013, 06:46:32 PM
What makes this find even more amazing to me is the fact that I can't even comprehend how we as humans...with very rudimentary and limited technology (universally speaking) can even find and measure such a thing. When they come out every other month saying they've found such and such planet, or measured the nitrogen on a planet orbiting a star 14 million light years away....how they heck is that possible? It's amazing actually.

Makes me wonder if there just aren't some really drunk or stoned geeks with physics degrees somewhere in a basement making this stuff up.....I'd never know. But the pictures on APOD are cool!

A buddy of mine is in school for physics. He gets stoned and plays with the particle accelerator on campus all the time  :lol



Side bar.

Radio Bursts Discovered From Beyond our Galaxy

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-216&cid=release_2013-216

Highly unlikely it's aliens, but we don't know for sure!!


Title: Re: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
Post by: Azyiu on July 09, 2013, 12:37:01 AM
Side bar.

Radio Bursts Discovered From Beyond our Galaxy

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-216&cid=release_2013-216

Highly unlikely it's aliens, but we don't know for sure!!

Read about it on Space.com too... it is pretty amazing to know these bursts came from as far away as 10 billion light years away!

https://www.space.com/21861-deep-space-radio-explosions-mystery.html
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Xanthul on July 09, 2013, 11:19:13 AM
I just read the whole thread and found it very entertaining, I'm not a physicist but I've always been interested in the field.

By the way, I've read a couple of books by Stephen Hawking and Brian Greene... can you guys recommend me similar books that are aimed towards the general public and not experts?

Thanks!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 09, 2013, 02:10:32 PM
I just read the whole thread and found it very entertaining, I'm not a physicist but I've always been interested in the field.

By the way, I've read a couple of books by Stephen Hawking and Brian Greene... can you guys recommend me similar books that are aimed towards the general public and not experts?

Thanks!

This
(https://www.wired.com/images_blogs/geekdad/images/2009/03/24/cosmos_2.jpg)

This
(https://www.wired.com/images_blogs/geekdad/images/2009/03/24/cosmos_2.jpg)

And this
(https://www.wired.com/images_blogs/geekdad/images/2009/03/24/cosmos_2.jpg)

If you get the hardcover anniversary edition you get awesome visuals to go along with everything! I HIGHLY recommend this book.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 20, 2013, 09:27:45 AM
44 years today!  :metal

(https://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e105/ATM28/dumb-and-dumber-man-walks-on-moon.png)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Zook on July 20, 2013, 09:45:54 AM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM CARREY!



:neverusethis:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Phoenix87x on July 20, 2013, 10:01:19 AM
I just read the whole thread and found it very entertaining, I'm not a physicist but I've always been interested in the field.

By the way, I've read a couple of books by Stephen Hawking and Brian Greene... can you guys recommend me similar books that are aimed towards the general public and not experts?

Thanks!

Cosmos is definitely awesome, but Pale blue dot is really decent too

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/70/SaganPaleBlueDot.jpg/200px-SaganPaleBlueDot.jpg)

Can't go wrong with Sagan.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 20, 2013, 10:12:08 AM
Yeah... just buy both of them.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on July 20, 2013, 10:17:40 AM
Yes. Cosmos definitely. A broadening and enlightening experience.  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 20, 2013, 11:44:25 AM
If you don't feel like reading it, the 13 part mini series is on Netflix.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on July 20, 2013, 03:18:17 PM
I have been more and more impressed with the moon lately. Absolutely amazing, we have a planet orbiting our own. We look at those sci-fi images with moons and planets in the day- and night sky and wish we had something like that but we already do. We're just so used to it we don't always fully appreciate it.

Respect to our moon, that is all.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 21, 2013, 05:34:35 PM
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeVCR1qfMaU


 :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 21, 2013, 05:47:43 PM
That looked bad-ass!  :coolio
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on July 22, 2013, 02:39:41 AM
I don't get what that is supposed to be. All I see is a bunch of random clips.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on July 27, 2013, 11:34:40 AM
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/581685_637145799639768_1317656219_n.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 27, 2013, 04:44:38 PM
I don't get what that is supposed to be. All I see is a bunch of random clips.

This is probably going to be the greatest show ever on Fox.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on August 07, 2013, 02:04:27 PM
Worth a post:

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1157658_643080885712926_442642225_n.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 07, 2013, 04:27:51 PM
 :'(
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 07, 2013, 04:37:51 PM
Well that made me depressed.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on August 08, 2013, 08:20:12 PM
Well that made me depressed.

Why is that? If anything at all, I think the person who gets to witness the Halley's Comet TWICE in a life time is blessed! Cheer up, people.  ;)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on August 08, 2013, 09:11:30 PM
For real...god damn.  :sadpanda:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 08, 2013, 09:42:09 PM
Well that made me depressed.

Why is that? If anything at all, I think the person who gets to witness the Halley's Comet TWICE in a life time is blessed! Cheer up, people.  ;)

I interpreted it as the people who would appreciate Halley's Comet have died off and there's no one left who has any desire to watch it anymore.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on August 08, 2013, 10:48:32 PM
Well that made me depressed.

Why is that? If anything at all, I think the person who gets to witness the Halley's Comet TWICE in a life time is blessed! Cheer up, people.  ;)

I interpreted it as the people who would appreciate Halley's Comet have died off and there's no one left who has any desire to watch it anymore.

I think it was only referring to the one person, and contrasting how short our lives are compared to the vastness of space and time.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on August 09, 2013, 12:10:14 AM
Well that made me depressed.

Why is that? If anything at all, I think the person who gets to witness the Halley's Comet TWICE in a life time is blessed! Cheer up, people.  ;)

I interpreted it as the people who would appreciate Halley's Comet have died off and there's no one left who has any desire to watch it anymore.

I think it was only referring to the one person, and contrasting how short our lives are compared to the vastness of space and time.

And that is why I think for those who witness such event not once but twice or more in a life time are remarkable and blessed. I don't know, maybe I am just a glass half full kind of person, I don't view that picture in a sad way whatsoever.  :hat
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: puppyonacid on August 09, 2013, 03:04:28 AM
Are there any theoretical physicists here? I have a question concerning relativity.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on August 09, 2013, 03:16:04 AM
Well that made me depressed.

Why is that? If anything at all, I think the person who gets to witness the Halley's Comet TWICE in a life time is blessed! Cheer up, people.  ;)

Well, I'm in the generation that will need to live somewhat long to see the comet even once. I was born just a couple of years after 86's disappointing run.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 09, 2013, 03:54:44 AM
Well that made me depressed.

Why is that? If anything at all, I think the person who gets to witness the Halley's Comet TWICE in a life time is blessed! Cheer up, people.  ;)

I interpreted it as the people who would appreciate Halley's Comet have died off and there's no one left who has any desire to watch it anymore.

I think it was only referring to the one person, and contrasting how short our lives are compared to the vastness of space and time.
Yea that's what I felt. He had a remarkable life no doubts about that but the fact that we humans have such a short life span compared to events in the universe makes me atleast feel a little sad and slightly melancholy.
Yes you should live life to the fullest and celeberate the things you have instead of the things you don't have but still....
I can't help and wonder that alot of astronomers must feel sad at some point in their life that they're not gonna be able to witness alot of those things they're most passionate about during their short life span.


Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on August 09, 2013, 04:15:13 AM
I will be sad if:

- I don't see a galactic supernova within my lifetime
- A Great Comet in my lifetime without having to move to the southern fucking hemisphere
- We devise methods to pinpoint habitable planets with greater accuracy and confidence


By the way Blob, did you see the Great Comet of 2007? It made quite a show that year down under.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on August 09, 2013, 04:22:49 AM
By the way Blob, did you see the Great Comet of 2007? It made quite a show that year down under.

I don't think so. I don't even recall hearing about it, but from photos it looks like it was one heck of a sight.  :o What a shame to have missed that.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on August 09, 2013, 04:31:02 AM
By the way Blob, did you see the Great Comet of 2007? It made quite a show that year down under.

I don't think so. I don't even recall hearing about it, but from photos it looks like it was one heck of a sight.  :o What a shame to have missed that.

I saw it one day right after sunset, plunging into the horizon, and it was still Pre-Perihelium, that is to saz before the show. You missed indeed the show of a lifetime, that's been called as one of the most beautiful comets of the last century, if not the most beautiful.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Big Hath on August 09, 2013, 09:25:06 AM
I will be sad if:

- We devise methods to pinpoint habitable planets with greater accuracy and confidence


you will be sad if we devise methods to pinpoint habitable planets with accuracy and confidence?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on August 09, 2013, 09:33:53 AM
Yeah, I see that as a good thing.  It might not help us a lot now, but in the future, it will help us find planets which (a) if inhabited, will be most likely to have life forms similar to our own, and (b) if uninhabited, will be the best choices to colonize when our species is ready to do that.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on August 09, 2013, 09:34:37 AM
I will be sad if:

- We devise methods to pinpoint habitable planets with greater accuracy and confidence


you will be sad if we devise methods to pinpoint habitable planets with accuracy and confidence?

Quite the opposite, in fact! The don't was clearly abridged by a roaming black hole.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on August 11, 2013, 07:47:47 AM
This is unreal! Astronomers found an ancient star 'Methuselah', which appears to be older than the universe!

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/08/astronomers-find-ancient-star-methuselah_n_2834999.html
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Sketchy on August 11, 2013, 08:06:24 AM
That's pretty damn cool.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on August 11, 2013, 08:15:00 AM
Good News, Everyone!  Astronomers found an ancient star 'Methuselah', which appears to be older than the universe!


Totes read that in Farnsworh's voice.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on August 11, 2013, 08:21:40 AM
Early results. Move along people, there's nothing interesting here that won't be toned down to normality within the next few years :D
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on August 11, 2013, 08:27:26 AM
This is unreal! Astronomers found an ancient star 'Methuselah', which appears to be older than the universe!

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/08/astronomers-find-ancient-star-methuselah_n_2834999.html

I don't understand how they can gather information from a star that far away, and 'age' it, just from the light it gives off? It's remarkable.....but at the same time to me it seems they can say whatever the heck they want because 99.99% of the population wouldn't know any different anyway.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on August 11, 2013, 08:34:32 AM
This is unreal! Astronomers found an ancient star 'Methuselah', which appears to be older than the universe!

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/08/astronomers-find-ancient-star-methuselah_n_2834999.html

I don't understand how they can gather information from a star that far away, and 'age' it, just from the light it gives off? It's remarkable.....but at the same time to me it seems they can say whatever the heck they want because 99.99% of the population wouldn't know any different anyway.

The star is actually pretty close and yes, you can take a guess at a star's age just looking at it, much like with humans. The fact is, it's really very difficult, especially for lone stars like that one. It's very easy to misjudge one hint, or to apply an incomplete theory outside the range where it's proved effective and  consistent
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on August 11, 2013, 08:36:52 AM
If it's older than the universe, yet part of it, then I think it more likely that something is wrong with the way they've been calculating the ages of things, rather than some kind of temporal paradox.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on August 11, 2013, 08:55:38 AM
If it's older than the universe, yet part of it, then I think it more likely that something is wrong with the way they've been calculating the ages of things, rather than some kind of temporal paradox.

Great Scott!!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Sketchy on August 11, 2013, 08:58:08 AM
News just in: stars come with time machines.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: aprilethereal on August 11, 2013, 10:30:00 AM
Following this thread now :)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on August 11, 2013, 10:47:48 AM
If it's older than the universe, yet part of it, then I think it more likely that something is wrong with the way they've been calculating the ages of things, rather than some kind of temporal paradox.

Great Scott!!!

(https://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121024231110/epicrapbattlesofhistory/images/3/34/Doc_Brown.png)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Big Hath on August 11, 2013, 01:16:08 PM
News just in: stars come with time machines.

flux capacitor . . . fluxing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 11, 2013, 01:26:14 PM
This is unreal! Astronomers found an ancient star 'Methuselah', which appears to be older than the universe!

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/08/astronomers-find-ancient-star-methuselah_n_2834999.html
That's pretty awesome and it's even inside our own galaxy!  :omg:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on August 11, 2013, 07:53:19 PM
If it's older than the universe, yet part of it, then I think it more likely that something is wrong with the way they've been calculating the ages of things, rather than some kind of temporal paradox.

Exactly. Plus, there is a margin of error of about 800 million years or so in the way scentists calculate age of stars anyway. With all factors being considered, this star might have formed just around the same time when our unverse was formed as well. I guess what I am trying to say is, regardless of the result at the end, this is still an interesting news. And I thought early stars were formed much "later" than that.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on August 12, 2013, 02:31:21 AM
And I thought early stars were formed much "later" than that.

I was also under the impression that the first generation of stars was gone by now. These were some interesting news.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on August 12, 2013, 06:21:54 AM
And I thought early stars were formed much "later" than that.

I was also under the impression that the first generation of stars was gone by now. These were some interesting news.

I think it's fairly certain that the level of metallicity of that stars, while very low, are incompatible with the metal abundance predicted for Population III (first generation) stars. Hence, that's a very very old Pupulation II star.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 13, 2013, 08:38:56 PM
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/q83/s720x720/969639_646423122045369_2055794482_n.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 14, 2013, 03:17:48 PM
This is unreal! Astronomers found an ancient star 'Methuselah', which appears to be older than the universe!

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/08/astronomers-find-ancient-star-methuselah_n_2834999.html

I don't understand how they can gather information from a star that far away, and 'age' it, just from the light it gives off? It's remarkable.....but at the same time to me it seems they can say whatever the heck they want because 99.99% of the population wouldn't know any different anyway.
yeah, but the great thing about science is that if you talk nonsense, someone in that 0.01% will call you out on it quick.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 15, 2013, 12:22:33 PM
I really really want to watch SpaceX's new Grasshopper video, but my work's network blocks it :( It flew for over a minute this time, and it not only hovered, but it moved 328 feet to the side and back before landing back on it's launch pad! So cool!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: chknptpie on August 15, 2013, 12:54:45 PM
I had no idea what you were talking about, so I looked it up
https://www.space.com/22379-spacex-grasshopper-rocket-sideways-flight-video.html

pretty amazing
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 15, 2013, 12:57:37 PM
I had no idea what you were talking about, so I looked it up
https://www.space.com/22379-spacex-grasshopper-rocket-sideways-flight-video.html

pretty amazing

That video actually worked on my network. Thank you so much !!!!!  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: chknptpie on August 15, 2013, 12:58:26 PM
yay google! lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 12, 2013, 11:31:36 PM
We have known it for some time but it's now official that Voyager 1 has left our Solar system and entered interstellar space.

https://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/12/tech/innovation/voyager-solar-system/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Really astounding when you think that a man made objective have travelled so far in space.

Nasa AmA:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1m9wke/were_scientists_and_engineers_on_nasas_voyager/

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on September 13, 2013, 08:44:17 AM
I had no idea what you were talking about, so I looked it up
https://www.space.com/22379-spacex-grasshopper-rocket-sideways-flight-video.html

pretty amazing

That video actually worked on my network. Thank you so much !!!!!  :lol

Man that's incredible!! The future unfolding right before our eyes, it might not be something I,live to see but to think my kids or grand kids will see a vehicle that could conceivably take off.....enter orbit (or go further) then return to earth is fascinating. Not to mention traveling in our atmosphere.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on September 13, 2013, 03:26:21 PM
 :omg: :omg:

Voyager sends back first pictures from beyond our solar system !

https://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130422235127/memoryalpha/en/images/3/3a/Borg_cube,_2366.jpg
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on September 13, 2013, 04:21:58 PM
Voyager captured sound in space


https://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/turns-out-deep-space-makes-the-creepiest-sound


Pretty neat sound.....and it is creepy. Not exactly Angelic Harps.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on September 13, 2013, 07:55:19 PM
:omg: :omg:

Voyager sends back first pictures from beyond our solar system !

https://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130422235127/memoryalpha/en/images/3/3a/Borg_cube,_2366.jpg

I am so glad I was too tired to read the url before clicking it. :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Sketchy on September 15, 2013, 05:09:25 AM
https://www.nature.com/news/did-a-hyper-black-hole-spawn-the-universe-1.13743
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on September 15, 2013, 05:42:39 AM
:omg: :omg:

Voyager sends back first pictures from beyond our solar system !

https://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130422235127/memoryalpha/en/images/3/3a/Borg_cube,_2366.jpg

I am so glad I was too tired to read the url before clicking it. :lol

i didn't think of that. I should have disguised the URL or used a short URL.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 19, 2013, 11:08:35 AM
I WANT TO BELIEVE!

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/the-truth-is-out-there-british-scientists-claim-to-have-found-proof-of-alien-life-8826690.html
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 19, 2013, 11:26:25 AM
I WANT TO BELIEVE!

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/the-truth-is-out-there-british-scientists-claim-to-have-found-proof-of-alien-life-8826690.html

That is wild. Very strange in deed. I'm guessing in order to actually prove this (meaning they aren't from Earth), we'd have to go sample the atmosphere of Mars and maybe Venus. If these organisms are raining down from comets, they should be around those planets as well. Fingers crossed!

 "There is no known mechanism by which these life forms can achieve that height."

(https://i.space.com/images/i/000/011/771/i02/as-502-apollo-6.jpg?1314646979)
(https://www.plo8poker.com/second/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/space-shuttle-atlantis-launch-0514-2.jpg)
(https://www.jonburg.com/.a/6a00e008ddd1088834017ee4406b40970d-800wi)

 ??? ???
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 22, 2013, 09:39:37 AM
 ::)

You try do that without that suit and we're in agreement.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on September 22, 2013, 10:28:27 AM
Suit *  :blush
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 22, 2013, 10:48:55 AM
Suit *  :blush
Me = :facepalm:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on September 22, 2013, 11:04:30 AM
Suit *  :blush
Me = :facepalm:

:hug:  :heart
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dr. DTVT on September 22, 2013, 11:19:07 AM
Anything we have sent up into space, and continue to send into space until we start coating everything with antibacterial surfaces (and what's the point now, we've already contaminated space) is going to have bacteria on it.  Voyager has bacteria on it...probably dead bacteria, but bacteria none the less.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: ResultsMayVary on September 22, 2013, 12:14:42 PM
That is fascinating. It seems like they really could be from space.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: FlyingBIZKIT on October 09, 2013, 11:09:11 PM
Just wanted to say Neptune is fucking badass.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on October 10, 2013, 07:45:50 AM
I hadn't heard of this until the other day.  The Soyuz 11 mission in 1971 resulted in the deaths of the 3 crew members when their capsule depressurized after separating from the Salyut 1 space station.

https://www.spacesafetymagazine.com/2013/04/28/crew-home-misfortunes-soyuz-11/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_11
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: chknptpie on October 10, 2013, 01:03:44 PM
Bit of a morbid question... are their bodies still floating in orbit?

edit - nevermind lol read the wiki
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on October 10, 2013, 01:07:49 PM
Bit of a morbid question... are their bodies still floating in orbit?

edit - nevermind lol read the wiki

Doubt it. They either ejected into space (unlikely) or burned up in the atmosphere.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on October 10, 2013, 01:20:51 PM
I often wonder how many Soviet Cosmonauts were actually killed in their space program? Sure we know a couple, but given the secrecy of the era.....I'd be willing to bet there are a few more that were never released or admitted to. You couldn't have paid me enough to be a soviet cosmonaut....although they were probably forced to be at some level.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on October 10, 2013, 01:27:50 PM

Planet Without A Star Spotted By Astronomers

"While most planets orbit a host star, like the Earth revolves around the sun, an international team of scientists recently spotted a planet without a star. The extrasolar planet, dubbed PSO J318.5-22, appears to be drifting through space."



https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/10/planet-without-star-photo_n_4077999.html?utm_hp_ref=science
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on October 10, 2013, 01:42:17 PM
PLANET NIBIRU!! :dangerrobinson:

Bit of a morbid question... are their bodies still floating in orbit?

edit - nevermind lol read the wiki

Doubt it. They either ejected into space (unlikely) or burned up in the atmosphere.

In the article it says they were found dead after the return module had landed.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on October 10, 2013, 01:51:12 PM
PLANET NIBIRU!! :dangerrobinson:

Bit of a morbid question... are their bodies still floating in orbit?

edit - nevermind lol read the wiki

Doubt it. They either ejected into space (unlikely) or burned up in the atmosphere.

In the article it says they were found dead after the return module had landed.

Wow I suck  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on October 10, 2013, 02:10:52 PM
How awful it must be to train for your whole life to go into space and die on liftoff. :(
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on October 10, 2013, 02:26:01 PM
How awful it must be to train for your whole life to go into space and die on liftoff. :(

Or a teacher that's chosen to go to space, lifts off, then dies. :(
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on October 10, 2013, 02:34:55 PM
How awful it must be to train for your whole life to go into space and die on liftoff. :(

Or a teacher that's chosen to go to space, lifts off, then dies. :(

Man....the thing that still gets me about Challenger is that the explosion didn't kill them.....it was the impact of hitting the ocean and even then they said there was a chance that didn't kill them all....that they could have drown.  :(

I remember watching that special a few years back where the developers of that O Ring seal begged NASA for days not to launch.....that the seal hadn't been tested for such cold conditions. Horrible.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on November 17, 2013, 02:56:54 AM
Thread revival to show comet ISON's newfound magnificence:

(https://www.link2universe.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Cometa-ISON-2013.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on November 17, 2013, 07:03:58 AM
Whoa, that's pretty sweet!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on November 17, 2013, 07:06:50 AM
If any of you is used to get up around 5 AM, you can actually see it, very faint, near the star Spica.

It has the chance to become extremely bright and beautiful if it survives its trip to hell (at its perihelion the temperature will be a staggering 5000°C, with tidal forces threatening to tear the nucleus apart).
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 18, 2013, 06:30:39 AM
That's a cool pic!

Here's a very interesting interview with astronaut Chris Hadfield about being on ISS and his reflection before and after:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVQlJeESUgo
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on November 26, 2013, 10:47:25 AM
Really cool!

https://arstechnica.com/science/2013/11/nasa-outlines-ingenious-plan-to-resurrect-the-kepler-planet-hunter/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 24, 2014, 02:14:46 AM
^^That's pretty damn clever!

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jan/22/giant-asteroid-steam-ceres
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 29, 2014, 04:35:01 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/5lJ5myr.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on January 29, 2014, 08:02:45 PM
Is that  in Hawaii ?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on January 30, 2014, 07:55:42 AM
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140127.html

Laguna Cejar in Salar de Atacama of Northern Chile
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 13, 2014, 01:22:32 PM
Calling all nerds.

https://instagram.com/pocket_curiosity

I reached 30 followers the other day.
(https://imageshack.com/a/img542/959/qb7w.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: CrimsonSunrise on February 16, 2014, 01:11:06 AM
(https://i.imgur.com/5lJ5myr.jpg)

That is just breathtaking...  This thread has been a really fun journey.  I'm a dreamer who's always had his gaze turned towards the stars.  At the same time, I'm about as mathematically minded as a box of rocks.  I see two camps here...  the adventurous camp (Chino) and the Analytical camp (Wasteland)  Chino...I want in your camp  :lol  (sorry Wasteland)  I'd give my left nut to get into Space.  I have no idea what awaits us when we move on from this life, but I sure the hell hope it involves some kind of  existence out among the stars.

As far as the picture Boom posted, that is just spectacular.  I was recently in a remote area of Indonesia.  One of the biggest things I looked forward to before going there was the potential for crystal clear skies with very little light pollution.  Sad to say, I was greeted with cloud cover for most of my 10 nights there.   There were 2 semi clear nights, where I put the better half to bed and went and sat on the beach just star gazing for a few hours.  Quite the experience in my book.  Being from Los Angeles, we really don't get to see much in the way of a nice night sky.  Here are a couple crappy pics I took one night.......



(https://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn85/sideways777777/star1_zps408e46c1.jpg) (https://s302.photobucket.com/user/sideways777777/media/star1_zps408e46c1.jpg.html)

(https://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn85/sideways777777/star2_zps5953df38.jpg) (https://s302.photobucket.com/user/sideways777777/media/star2_zps5953df38.jpg.html)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 16, 2014, 04:03:45 AM
I'm a dreamer who's always had his gaze turned towards the stars.  At the same time, I'm about as mathematically minded as a box of rocks.
Yep you basically described me.  :lol

That's some beautiful pics you got and i'm in the same situation that we have alot of light pollution in my area. I told this little story earlier in the thread:

Quote
Yea i had one of those jaw moment too a couple of years ago. I was on a trip with my class at the time in north of sweden in "nowhereland" and i remember one night when we were outside and looking up at the sky in awe because i had never in my life seen so many stars in the sky, i could even see very clearly the milky way arm stretching across the sky and that made a big impact on me, no photo could ever stun me as the real thing. After that i went into a deep fasination about astronomy and space which lasted pretty long until i touched the one area i seriously lacked in: Math!  :lol

So yea that experience made a big impact on me and still do.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: CrimsonSunrise on February 16, 2014, 05:18:59 AM
I remember taking an Astronomy course at the local community college back in the 80's, it turned out just a tad much for me to sort out.  Think I got a "D" in the class.  I also started to toy with the notion of doing stellar photography a few years back.  I started pricing out telescopes and associated gear, then saw how complex the picture taking task was.  Let see... spend $5-10k on gear, drive 2-3 hours each way to the desert to have a good view, stay up all night, and maybe get a shot.  Most shots required multiple exposures, like 30..... :lol  I changed my mind.....
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 16, 2014, 05:46:12 AM

That is just breathtaking...  This thread has been a really fun journey.  I'm a dreamer who's always had his gaze turned towards the stars.  At the same time, I'm about as mathematically minded as a box of rocks.  I see two camps here...  the adventurous camp (Chino) and the Analytical camp (Wasteland)  Chino...I want in your camp  :lol  (sorry Wasteland)  I'd give my left nut to get into Space.  I have no idea what awaits us when we move on from this life, but I sure the hell hope it involves some kind of  existence out among the stars.


I'm not 100% sure what you mean, but I'll agree. My camp is pretty desirable!




I remember taking an Astronomy course at the local community college back in the 80's, it turned out just a tad much for me to sort out.  Think I got a "D" in the class.  I also started to toy with the notion of doing stellar photography a few years back.  I started pricing out telescopes and associated gear, then saw how complex the picture taking task was.  Let see... spend $5-10k on gear, drive 2-3 hours each way to the desert to have a good view, stay up all night, and maybe get a shot.  Most shots required multiple exposures, like 30..... :lol  I changed my mind.....

Yesterday I got my thousand dollar signing bonus from the new place I started working at..... I'm really tempted.

https://www.telescopes.com/telescopes/dobsonian-telescopes/zhumellz10deluxedobsonianreflectortelescope.cfm
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: CrimsonSunrise on February 16, 2014, 08:25:08 AM
I actually was just messing around on youtube, and some astrophotography websites.......  man, scary expensive stuff.... :lol   Where are you at Chino?  Low light pollution area?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 17, 2014, 05:19:42 AM
I wouldn't be doing any photography. I'd just want it to look through. I live in a very remote chunk of town on top of a mountain. It used to be a farm and light pollution is very low.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: CrimsonSunrise on February 17, 2014, 05:31:42 AM
Sounds ideal!  If I had that scenario, I'd probably pull the trigger on a telescope.  Do you have a good field of view nearby? I wonder how nice of a used scope you could manage for a grand.   Might be worth looking into.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 07, 2014, 05:47:59 AM
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc.com/future/bespoke/20140304-how-big-is-space-interactive/index.html

Fun little interactive site.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: puppyonacid on March 07, 2014, 06:18:04 AM
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc.com/future/bespoke/20140304-how-big-is-space-interactive/index.html

Fun little interactive site.

Agreed! It's little quotes like the one at the end:

"23,000,000 years of continuous scrolling...." boggles the mind!

Similar site here that compares things from the smallest (quantum) to the largest (universe).

https://htwins.net/scale2/

and videos like this are pretty mind blowing too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEheh1BH34Q

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on March 07, 2014, 02:17:12 PM
Awesome stuff!   :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 17, 2014, 12:15:11 PM
Quote
Physicists have found a long-predicted twist in light from the Big Bang that represents the first image of ripples in the universe called gravitational waves, researchers announced today. The finding is direct proof of the theory of inflation, the idea that the universe expanded extremely quickly in the first fraction of a second after it was born. What’s more, the signal is coming through much more strongly than expected, ruling out a large class of inflation models and potentially pointing the way toward new theories of physics, experts say.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gravity-waves-cmb-b-mode-polarization/

 :omg:

Some more:

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-26605974
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on March 17, 2014, 02:05:19 PM
ruling out a large class of inflation models

You could probably hear a collective "fuck." across half of the universities :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on March 17, 2014, 02:44:46 PM
 :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 17, 2014, 03:23:18 PM
Here's a nice little video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJYc9YmKIO8
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 24, 2014, 08:18:33 AM
Let's talk about the future for humans in space.

111 years ago the Wright brothers piloted the first powered airplane.
53 years ago we had the first human in outer space.
45 years ago was the first time a human being sat his foot on a celestial body other than the earth.
10 years ago the first manned private spaceflight completed it's flight beyond the Kármán line.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Satellites_For_Sale_-_GPN-2000-001036.jpg/220px-Satellites_For_Sale_-_GPN-2000-001036.jpg)

Imagine the day when it's possible for a regular person with presumably some form of license, can take a spacecraft and leave our atmosphere and fly into space. I'm not saying that the spacecraft have the ability to travel to another planet or go very far for that matter. I'm talking more a trip out in space and back kind of thing. I mean once a private spacecraft have the technology and ability to leave our atmoshpere there's no real boundaries for how far out in space you can go as long as you have the necessary assets to keep you alive in outer space and how long those will last.
Even by todays standards it's not really for everyone to have a pilot license so let's say you have a relative that have the money and will to earn a space pilot license or whatever you would call it. He then invites you to travel out in space for a couple of hours and then you head home. Yes it's probably far into the future but someday it will happen or something like this, you get what I mean.

1. So my questions are when we actually have the ability to do what I just described how do you think regulations and law will work in space?

2. If a US citizen commits a crime in space what countries laws will be in hand? The US? Will we maybe have a universal space police?  :police:

3. Will there be boundaries on how far out in space we actually can go and if so, what country will control that and how?

4. Should every human have the right to leave earth and live in space if the possibility were in hand?

5. If non of these topics are solvable in the future what will then stop everything outside the earths atmosphere to become lawless territory?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: kári on March 24, 2014, 09:41:37 AM
A lot of those questions can be applied to regular airspace .... There are probably answers for them.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Big Hath on March 24, 2014, 11:05:39 AM
2. If a US citizen commits a crime in space what countries laws will be in hand? The US? Will we maybe have a universal space police?  :police:

Green Lantern Corps?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 24, 2014, 11:21:20 AM
A lot of those questions can be applied to regular airspace .... There are probably answers for them.
Yea but I find them a little bit more abstract though. You either have airspace within a country's territory or outside and it's international airspace. Outer space is a pretty big chunk of area.... ::)

I found this though:
Space law is an area of the law that encompasses national and international law governing activities in outer space. International lawyers have been unable to agree on a uniform definition of the term "outer space", although most lawyers agree that outer space generally begins at the lowest altitude above sea level at which objects can orbit the Earth, approximately 100 km (60 mi).

and

https://www.oosa.unvienna.org/oosa/en/SpaceLaw/index.html

Damn people have already figured stuff out.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on March 24, 2014, 11:24:12 AM
MrBoom.  I think in order to properly answer those questions, humans need to figure out how to answer them here on Earth first.  Then and only then will we be able to expand outward with at least a shred of success.  However, I can imagine complete and utter chaos out there.  Kinda like right here on Earth.   :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: kári on March 25, 2014, 04:52:22 AM
I found this though:
Space law is an area of the law that encompasses national and international law governing activities in outer space. International lawyers have been unable to agree on a uniform definition of the term "outer space", although most lawyers agree that outer space generally begins at the lowest altitude above sea level at which objects can orbit the Earth, approximately 100 km (60 mi).

and

https://www.oosa.unvienna.org/oosa/en/SpaceLaw/index.html

Damn people have already figured stuff out.  :lol
Yeah you can even get a master's degree in space studies at my university.  https://onderwijsaanbod.kuleuven.be/opleidingen/e/SC_51016979.htm#bl=01,02
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on May 10, 2014, 11:57:33 PM

Even by todays standards it's not really for everyone to have a pilot license so let's say you have a relative that have the money and will to earn a space pilot license or whatever you would call it. He then invites you to travel out in space for a couple of hours and then you head home. Yes it's probably far into the future but someday it will happen or something like this, you get what I mean.

1. So my questions are when we actually have the ability to do what I just described how do you think regulations and law will work in space?

2. If a US citizen commits a crime in space what countries laws will be in hand? The US? Will we maybe have a universal space police?  :police:

3. Will there be boundaries on how far out in space we actually can go and if so, what country will control that and how?

4. Should every human have the right to leave earth and live in space if the possibility were in hand?

5. If non of these topics are solvable in the future what will then stop everything outside the earths atmosphere to become lawless territory?

You've raised some very legit and good questions, and I am trying to give my 2 cents here.

1) It will be heavily regulated for security reasons similar to today's air traffic controls. You do not want some major accidents to happen over  our head that may end up causing more damages on the ground. Plus, terrorist threat would become more scary if they can go into space.

2) I imagine it would be handled like today's crimes committed in the air. The country of flight's origin would have jurisdiction over the matter.

3) Like above, it should be heavily regulated like today's traffic controls, and an international treaty / agreement has to be signed by countries that allow / offer this type of space travel.

4) Yes, as long as you can pay and are physically fit to fly this way. I can imagine potential travelers MUST pass some sort of health check before each space flight.

5) The space isn't as lawless as you imagine, and I am sure countries with space flight abilities already have their own set of rules and plans in place.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 11, 2014, 03:37:01 AM
Good answers!  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 30, 2014, 06:28:29 AM
Anyone watch the Dragon V2 unveil last night?

I'm blown away. Elon Musk always brings the wows.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on June 01, 2014, 12:07:08 AM
Anyone watch the Dragon V2 unveil last night?

I'm blown away. Elon Musk always brings the wows.

I didn't, but I surely did check out their official site afterward.

https://www.spacex.com/dragon
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on June 02, 2014, 12:39:53 PM
Quote from: https://www.rockethub.com/42228
Our plan is simple: we intend to contact the ISEE-3 (International Sun-Earth Explorer) spacecraft, command it to fire its engines and enter an orbit near Earth, and then resume its original mission - a mission it began in 1978. ISEE-3 was rechristened as the International Comet Explorer (ICE). If we are successful it may also still be able to chase yet another comet.

Working in collaboration with NASA we have assembled a team of engineers, programmers, and scientists - and have a large radio telescope fully capable of contacting ISEE-3.  If we are successful we intend to facilitate the sharing and interpretation of all of the new data ISEE-3 sends back via crowd sourcing.

NASA has told us officially that there is no funding available to support an ISEE-3 effort - nor is this work a formal priority for the agency right now. But NASA does feel that the data that ISEE-3 could generate would have real value and that a crowd funded effort such as ours has real value as an education and public outreach activity.

Time is short. And this project is not without significant risks.  We need your financial help. ISEE-3 must be contacted in the next month or so and it must complete its orbit change maneuvers no later than mid-June 2014. There is excitement ahead as well: part of the maneuvers will include a flyby of the Moon at an altitude of less than 50 km.

Our team members at Morehead State University, working with AMSAT-DL in Germany, have already detected the carrier signals from both of ISEE-3's transmitters.  When the time comes, we will be using the large dish at Morehead State University to contact the spacecraft and give it commands.

In order to interact with the spacecraft we will need to locate the original commands and then develop a software recreation of the original hardware that was used to communicate with the spacecraft. These are our two greatest challenges.

The funding we seek will be used for things we have not already obtained from volunteers. We need to initiate a crash course effort to use 'software radio' to recreate virtual versions all of the original communications hardware that no longer physically exists. We also need to cover overhead involved in operating a large dish antenna, locating and analyzing old documentation, and possibly some travel.

This activity will be led by the same team that has successfully accomplished the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project (LOIRP) SkyCorp and SpaceRef Interactive.  Education and public outreach will be coordinated by the newly-formed non-profit organization Space College Foundation.

Our trajectory efforts will be coordinated by trajectory maestro Robert Farquhar and his team at KinetX.  We are also working in collaboration with the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center, and the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) at NASA Ames Research Center.

Quote from: https://arstechnica.com/science/2014/05/isee-3-spacecraft-makes-first-earth-contact-in-16-years/
On Thursday a group of space enthusiasts announced that they had established two-way communication with the International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 (ISEE-3), a satellite launched in 1978 and used throughout the 80’s to study solar winds.

After the satellite had completed its mission, NASA used the Moon’s gravity to fling it into an orbit leading Earth around the Sun. Contact with the ISEE-3 was officially suspended in 1998. Many years later, the ISEE-3 is about to catch up with Earth from behind, an occasion which led the space enthusiasts at the ISEE-3 Reboot Project to try to make contact with the dormant spacecraft.

With NASA funds perpetually low, using resources to make contact through the space agency was an impossibility. But last week, NASA handed the keys to the satellite over to the ISEE-3 Reboot Project, which is backed by a company called Skycorp, Inc.

The project wrote today on its blog:

"The ISEE-3 Reboot Project is pleased to announce that our team has established two-way communication with the ISEE-3 spacecraft and has begun commanding it to perform specific functions. Over the coming days and weeks our team will make an assessment of the spacecraft's overall health and refine the techniques required to fire its engines and bring it back to an orbit near Earth.”
The group first made contact at the Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico. As it describes in more detail:

We have successfully commanded both of ISEE-3's data multiplexers into engineering telemetry mode. The current bitrate is 512 bits/sec. We have been able to verify modulated data through ground stations in Germany, Morehead State in Kentucky, and the SETI Allen Array in California. We will not be transmitting over the next few days after this success but concentrating on telemetry. When we are confident of the state of the spacecraft, we will be placing the bird in engineering telemetry mode as soon as possible. We will keep everyone updated on this. We are setting up, with the cooperation of Arecibo, a means to remotely command the spacecraft.
Although the news is good for ISEE-3 lovers, it’s still uncertain whether the ISEE-3 reboot project will be able to fire its engines after such a long time out of contact. If the engines can’t be fired, the satellite will swing out of reach, perhaps for two centuries or more.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 02, 2014, 12:57:53 PM
That is pretty fucking cool! Fire up the engines? Is there really fuel left? I'm guessing though they only use it shortly to give the spacecraft a push.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 27, 2014, 01:51:08 PM
Ok so I just found out about this:

https://en.spaceengine.org/

Quote
SpaceEngine - a free space simulation program that lets you explore the universe in three dimensions, from planet Earth to the most distant galaxies. Areas of the known universe are represented using actual astronomical data, while regions uncharted by astronomy are generated procedurally. Millions of galaxies, trillions of stars, countless planets - all available for exploration. You can land any planet, moon or asteroid and watch alien landscapes and celestial phenomena. You can even pilot starships and atmospheric shuttles.

I tried it for 5 minutes and was immediately sold. It's crazy immense. You can either click on any star and I do mean any star in the sky and get info and travel there or you can manually go there. Luckily you can manage your travel speed. God damn it's immense!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Onno on July 27, 2014, 03:05:55 PM
Following this thread now because it's epic. Hi!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 06, 2014, 03:19:17 AM
Ok so I just found out about this:

https://en.spaceengine.org/

Quote
SpaceEngine - a free space simulation program that lets you explore the universe in three dimensions, from planet Earth to the most distant galaxies. Areas of the known universe are represented using actual astronomical data, while regions uncharted by astronomy are generated procedurally. Millions of galaxies, trillions of stars, countless planets - all available for exploration. You can land any planet, moon or asteroid and watch alien landscapes and celestial phenomena. You can even pilot starships and atmospheric shuttles.

I tried it for 5 minutes and was immediately sold. It's crazy immense. You can either click on any star and I do mean any star in the sky and get info and travel there or you can manually go there. Luckily you can manage your travel speed. God damn it's immense!
Sry for quoting my own post but i've been trying space engine now for a week and I urge anyone mildly interested in astronomy to try this program out. It's just fantastic!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Onno on August 06, 2014, 04:44:59 AM
Will check it out, sounds great!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 05, 2014, 06:48:25 AM
This is pretty damn cool!

Virgin America rendezvous with White Knight Two and SpaceShipTwo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZj7LB1ilnY)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on September 05, 2014, 07:24:59 AM
Ok so I just found out about this:

https://en.spaceengine.org/

Quote
SpaceEngine - a free space simulation program that lets you explore the universe in three dimensions, from planet Earth to the most distant galaxies. Areas of the known universe are represented using actual astronomical data, while regions uncharted by astronomy are generated procedurally. Millions of galaxies, trillions of stars, countless planets - all available for exploration. You can land any planet, moon or asteroid and watch alien landscapes and celestial phenomena. You can even pilot starships and atmospheric shuttles.

I tried it for 5 minutes and was immediately sold. It's crazy immense. You can either click on any star and I do mean any star in the sky and get info and travel there or you can manually go there. Luckily you can manage your travel speed. God damn it's immense!
Sry for quoting my own post but i've been trying space engine now for a week and I urge anyone mildly interested in astronomy to try this program out. It's just fantastic!

Sounds awesome, but the damn thing just instantly crashes.  :-\ Hopefully by the time it gets to v1.0 they've made it a bit more stable.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 05, 2014, 07:34:08 AM
Hmm can't say I had the same issue, it worked great for me. I haven't played in a while though.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on September 05, 2014, 07:35:36 AM
It would be due to different hardware, probably graphics card. Being a small project, they wouldn't have thoroughly tested it on all configurations. Maybe it didn't like my Quadro.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 05, 2014, 07:55:41 AM
Yea most likely, it's a huge project run by a small team. It's pretty damn impressive though.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on September 05, 2014, 01:54:05 PM
Any of you guys ever seen "Moon Machines"? It's a multi-part documentary about the engineering behind the moon landing. Super cool.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on September 06, 2014, 09:45:55 PM
Any of you guys ever seen "Moon Machines"? It's a multi-part documentary about the engineering behind the moon landing. Super cool.

Never, but I will try and check it out.

When it comes to Moon related documentaries, I think my fav is still Moon Shot: The Inside Story of the Apollo Project (1994)  https://www.amazon.com/Moon-Shot-Inside-Apollo-Project/dp/6303126707  The story was told from Deke Slayton's point-of-view, but sadly he passed away during the production of it (IIRC). Thankfully they got Barry Corbin to re-do the narration, and I thought he had done a GREAT job at all. Sadly I think this GREAT documentary is only available on VHS...  :(
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 09, 2014, 01:29:52 AM
Quote
NASA’s newest spacecraft, Orion, will be launching into space for the first time in December 2014, on a flight that will take it farther than any spacecraft built to carry humans has gone in more than 40 years and through temperatures twice as hot as molten lava to put its critical systems to the test.

Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is a planned, beyond-low Earth orbit (LEO) manned spacecraft that is being built by Lockheed Martin for NASA, and Airbus Defence and Space for the European Space Agency for crewed missions to the Moon, asteroids and Mars. It is planned to be launched by the Space Launch System. Each Orion spacecraft is projected to carry a crew of 0–6 astronauts.

https://youtu.be/KyZqSWWKmHQ

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MetalJunkie on October 09, 2014, 03:52:25 AM
Quote
NASA’s newest spacecraft, Orion, will be launching into space for the first time in December 2014, on a flight that will take it farther than any spacecraft built to carry humans has gone in more than 40 years and through temperatures twice as hot as molten lava to put its critical systems to the test.

Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is a planned, beyond-low Earth orbit (LEO) manned spacecraft that is being built by Lockheed Martin for NASA, and Airbus Defence and Space for the European Space Agency for crewed missions to the Moon, asteroids and Mars. It is planned to be launched by the Space Launch System. Each Orion spacecraft is projected to carry a crew of 0–6 astronauts.

https://youtu.be/KyZqSWWKmHQ
Holy shit.

Side note... Did they use a TIE figher sound for the fly-by at 42 seconds?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyZqSWWKmHQ#t=42
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on October 09, 2014, 07:57:38 AM
Any of you guys ever seen "Moon Machines"? It's a multi-part documentary about the engineering behind the moon landing. Super cool.
One of my favorite of the Apollo documentaries.  My favorite episode was the navigation computer.

Regarding Orion, I designed part of the pressurization system used for inflating the uprighting airbags after splashdown.  Arguably not one of the sexiest functions of the spacecraft, but keep in mind that it needs to survive every part of the spaceflight including reentry and splashdown.  I believe that system will be tested on this flight.

Also, in December it will fly on an Delta IV launch vehicle, not SLS which is not developed yet.  Eventually it is planned to fly on SLS.  I didn't watch the video, so maybe that is mentioned there.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 09, 2014, 09:43:16 AM
That's pretty damn cool! You work for NASA?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on October 09, 2014, 09:46:12 AM
I have a buddy who software develops at Space X, and it was his code that blew up that test rocket a few weeks back.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 09, 2014, 09:48:59 AM
That's gotta sting a bit!  :lol Did he figure out what in his code that caused it?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on October 09, 2014, 09:53:55 AM
That's gotta sting a bit!  :lol Did he figure out what in his code that caused it?

He said hardware failure. The main computer detected a malfunction and decided that destroying the rocket was the safest avenue. Through the FIRST robotics program, I also met Tom Gavin. He's the guy who signed off on the Mars orbiter that missed Mars because part of the project was done in metric units and other parts were done in English units.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on October 09, 2014, 11:03:01 AM
That's pretty damn cool! You work for NASA?
No, a subcontractor.  Basically, NASA develops the requirements and bids out the spacecraft to industry.  Lockheed is the prime contractor for the Orion crew module, who in turn subs out much of the subsystems to companies who specialize in the appropriate technology.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on October 09, 2014, 11:17:38 AM
That's gotta sting a bit!  :lol Did he figure out what in his code that caused it?

He said hardware failure. The main computer detected a malfunction and decided that destroying the rocket was the safest avenue. Through the FIRST robotics program, I also met Tom Gavin. He's the guy who signed off on the Mars orbiter that missed Mars because part of the project was done in metric units and other parts were done in English units.
And it wasn't even as blatant as using feet instead of meters.  The mass moments of inertia (heavy objects are difficult to rotate, so its akin to mass making it difficult to move a heavy object in a straight line) for the spacecraft were in the wrong unit system.  The attitude control system was then using inappropriate thrust to maneuver.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 09, 2014, 12:24:56 PM
That's pretty damn cool! You work for NASA?
No, a subcontractor.  Basically, NASA develops the requirements and bids out the spacecraft to industry.  Lockheed is the prime contractor for the Orion crew module, who in turn subs out much of the subsystems to companies who specialize in the appropriate technology.
Oh I see, cool.  :)

That's gotta sting a bit!  :lol Did he figure out what in his code that caused it?

He said hardware failure. The main computer detected a malfunction and decided that destroying the rocket was the safest avenue. Through the FIRST robotics program, I also met Tom Gavin. He's the guy who signed off on the Mars orbiter that missed Mars because part of the project was done in metric units and other parts were done in English units.
Oh my, haven't heard about that. Googled a bit and yes that was one expensive brainfart!

Quote
NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter was lost in space last week because engineers failed to make a simple conversion from English units to metric, an embarrassing lapse that sent the $125 million craft fatally close to the Martian surface, investigators said yesterday.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 24, 2014, 05:35:39 PM
Quote
Stunning Rosetta Images Reveal Sand Dunes on Comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko
It's a large icy lump of rock that has spent millions of years hurtling through the vacuum of space, so you can imagine the surprise on the faces of ESA researchers when they discovered Comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko possessed what appeared to be sand dunes. Of course, it's not sand as we know it, but instead dust that is almost inexplicably collecting on the comet's surface.

(https://outerplaces.com/images/user_upload/cometdunes.jpg)(https://outerplaces.com/images/user_upload/cometdunes2.jpg)

Quote
The images above were taken on October 18th with Rosetta approximately 8km away from Comet 67P, and the presence of those dusty dunes will be the focus of a great deal of study on the part of Rosetta's science team. However, most of ESA's energies will be fully focused on the events leading up to November 12th, when the Rosetta team will attempt the first soft-landing on a comet in human history.

https://www.outerplaces.com/universe/technology/item/6469-stunning-rosetta-images-reveal-sand-dunes-on-comet-67p-churyumov-gerasimenko



Cool stuff!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Onno on October 25, 2014, 02:33:35 AM
That's awesome!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Big Hath on October 25, 2014, 12:58:52 PM
here's an even closer image:

(https://i.imgur.com/8q7CcaT.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on October 25, 2014, 02:27:18 PM
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jiQ6oKfVYo8/TYR4H0D1UDI/AAAAAAAAAOM/8SrzHTtQZus/s640/dune-sandworm.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on October 25, 2014, 02:46:49 PM
So in the " this is news to me " category :

Apparently there is 90% gravity in space and people are only weightless in shuttles and space stations due to  free fall - which is overridden by it's horizontal motion orbiting the earth.

 :eek I've heard that twice recently. All this time I thought there was like 5% gravity in space.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: eric42434224 on October 25, 2014, 02:48:46 PM
nevermind :)
deleted post.


Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on October 25, 2014, 04:25:38 PM
So in the " this is news to me " category :

Apparently there is 90% gravity in space and people are only weightless in shuttles and space stations due to  free fall - which is overridden by it's horizontal motion orbiting the earth.

 :eek I've heard that twice recently. All this time I thought there was like 5% gravity in space.

That's rather all over the place.
First of all, yes indeed, if you are in orbit, the gravity of the planet is exactly counteracted by the centrifugal force.

However, that doesn't mean every point in space has that amount of gravity. Get away far enough from any star and your gravitational pull will be miniscule
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on October 29, 2014, 06:36:20 AM
The comments on this article make me unbelievably sad.

https://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/10/28/unmanned-nasa-rocket-explodes-after-liftoff/

My personal favorite: "More proof that our grads from our globowel warming institutions are doing great, no wonder they find jobs."
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on October 31, 2014, 01:34:21 PM
Virgin Galactic’s Spaceship Two Crashes During Test Flight

https://www.nycaviation.com/2014/10/developing-virgin-galactic-says-spaceship-two-flight-anomaly/#.VFPjjPnF8eX

Quote
California Highway Patrol has reported that there was one fatality and one seriously injured in the crash.

Space is hard.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on October 31, 2014, 02:10:23 PM
Yeah. That really sucks for that company. I wonder if they are going to lose any preorders. I know they have a ton of them. This has not been a good week for space.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Big Hath on October 31, 2014, 03:24:48 PM
space is probably doing just fine without us
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 31, 2014, 04:45:56 PM
Yeah. That really sucks for that company. I wonder if they are going to lose any preorders. I know they have a ton of them. This has not been a good week for space.
Yea some backlash will happen but as gruesome as it may sound it's during accidents like this that the project becomes "safer" because they're forced to investigate and solve scenarios they didn't foresee.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 01, 2014, 08:29:07 AM
space is probably doing just fine without us

 :lol I forgot the word "travel".
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on November 12, 2014, 08:22:58 AM
Comet landing shortly!

https://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2

 :corn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 12, 2014, 08:26:23 AM
Comet landing shortly!

https://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2

 :corn

I'm so pissed I can't find a link that gets through my company's network :(
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 12, 2014, 08:33:32 AM
Thx for the link, watching as we speak!  :corn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 12, 2014, 09:01:23 AM
Cool. I found a stream that works. Is everyone else just seeing mostly footage of a with a long-sleeve, hooded sweatshirt on?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on November 12, 2014, 09:03:52 AM
Pretty much. People standing around at computers looking at screens and talking to each other.

edit: Looks like it was successful?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 12, 2014, 09:05:53 AM
Pretty much. People standing around at computers looking at screens and talking to each other.

edit: Looks like it was successful?

Either that or we just smashed into it  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on November 12, 2014, 09:10:39 AM
"It has done its job, we are on the comet." *mic drop*

Yes, he really dropped the mic.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 12, 2014, 09:14:19 AM
Yay!!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 12, 2014, 09:14:19 AM
This is beyond awesome.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on November 12, 2014, 09:20:02 AM
It would have been so tragic to have 3 major space related catastrophes in about a week, not to mention after taking a decade to reach its destination.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on November 12, 2014, 09:20:36 AM
Too many German accents!!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on November 12, 2014, 09:22:11 AM
Too many German accents!!!

That's spacist!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 12, 2014, 09:24:48 AM
(https://wanderlustandlipstick.com/blogs/theflyingsalmon/files/2011/04/the-laughing-planet.gif)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: hefdaddy42 on November 12, 2014, 10:01:08 AM
This is beyond awesome.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on November 12, 2014, 10:52:01 AM
Wirth all the non-US space news lately (China, Europe, India), it might be time for a little Sputnik feeling here.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 12, 2014, 10:57:13 AM
Wirth all the non-US space news lately (China, Europe, India), it might be time for a little Sputnik feeling here.

(https://www.goodmeme.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BwD47cgCUAAk.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on November 12, 2014, 11:32:30 AM
What's impressive about this mission, to me, is that the probe didn't land on the comet so much as it rendezvoued and docked with it, since there is essentially no gravity.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 12, 2014, 12:04:23 PM
Here's a n00b question: Is nothing on the mission handled manually by ESA during the trip to the comet or is everything programmed and pre-planned down to the docking with the comet?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on November 12, 2014, 12:08:30 PM
I don't have detailed knowledge of deep space missions, but after launch, the only intervention by ground crew would be course corrections if necessary during key parts of the mission.  For example, this mission was launched 10 years ago, and had 3 Earth gravity assist maneuvers, and one Mars gravity assist maneuver.  As it was approaching these points, I'm sure they were looking very closely at trajectory to make any necessary corrections using the onboard maneuvering thrusters.

Here is a video of the probe's mission trajectory since launch in 2004:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktrtvCvZb28
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on November 12, 2014, 04:24:34 PM
The fact that this thing flew for 10 years, and then managed to land on the asteroid, is truly astonishing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on November 12, 2014, 04:38:36 PM
Absolutely!

Here is a video of the probe's mission trajectory since launch in 2004:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktrtvCvZb28

I took some college calculus and physics, as we all did, and know that there are equations which describe the movements of planets and asteroids and comets and rockets and stuff.  And I know that if you know what you're doing, you can theoretically use these equations to figure out exactly where and when to launch your rocket and what direction to aim it to do everything it's doing in this video.  And even more equations to describe how to build everything, and the materials, and the weight, and how much fuel it'll take, and blah blah blah blah.  (And some equations to figure out what it all costs, but let's not go there.)

But what's really cool is that they actually built it, and did it, and it worked!

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on November 12, 2014, 10:45:59 PM
Every time one of these events happens, I spend a ton of time reading about slingshot maneuvers and stuff on Wikipedia :lol
It's just so interesting, because it's so counter-intuitive that it would work.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 13, 2014, 05:02:15 AM
I don't have detailed knowledge of deep space missions, but after launch, the only intervention by ground crew would be course corrections if necessary during key parts of the mission.  For example, this mission was launched 10 years ago, and had 3 Earth gravity assist maneuvers, and one Mars gravity assist maneuver.  As it was approaching these points, I'm sure they were looking very closely at trajectory to make any necessary corrections using the onboard maneuvering thrusters.

Here is a video of the probe's mission trajectory since launch in 2004:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktrtvCvZb28
Thx!  :tup That video was fascinating and it makes it look so "easy" pardon the expression. However the equations and math behind that is something I will never understand and it's just so abstract for me that they could plan something like that 10+ years in advance.

Can you imagine the tension in that control room during the final day knowing that they have millions of eyes on them and if something would happen all those years waiting would be for nothing. They must have calculated the procentage of them succeeding with the mission because you don't livestream to the world if you're not fairly certain about the outcome. Although with that said i'm sure they collected lots of interesting data along the way so not everything would be for nothing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Xanthul on November 13, 2014, 05:22:21 AM
Yeah and distances are pretty ginormous out there. I've always been fascinated by representations of the solar system at scale such as this one (https://joshworth.com/dev/pixelspace/pixelspace_solarsystem.html). The lower right button to travel at the speed of light is particularly amusing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 13, 2014, 06:01:11 AM
That site is awesome.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 13, 2014, 07:06:41 AM


https://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/11/12/philae-probe-makes-comet-landing/

Favorite comment:

"I'm a hard core scientist and sadly, I do not believe this is really happening. There is no GPS in space, chasing this small rock for 10 years and catching it is impossible. Think about the complexity of the GPS system, 24 atomic clock satellites circling the Earth, so we can find a Walmart within 30 feet, and they expect us to believe they landed something the size of a washing machine, on a comet traveling at 84,000 MPH. I just don't believe it, I truly wish I did. It's all about money anymore."

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on November 13, 2014, 07:35:37 AM
Apparently, they originally intended on landing on a different comet, but the launch was delayed due to problems with the launch vehicle at the time.  What a pain in the ass it must have been to figure out a whole new set of trajectories for this new comet.  I'm sure they had these figured in advance though, and could select a plan B if they couldn't launch in time for plan A.  This is why the spacecraft needed to go into hibernation mode for a few years, since this trip was much longer than originally planned.

Learned all this from the PBS special:
https://video.pbs.org/video/2365367186/

Chino, I'm trying hard not to correlate that comment with the website it was posted on.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 13, 2014, 07:40:36 AM

Chino, I'm trying hard not to correlate that comment with the website it was posted on.

 :lol

I only go to Fox News to read comments like that.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on November 13, 2014, 08:21:39 AM
He can be a scientist and still be a moron.  Why does he focus so much on GPS?  We didn't have GPS when we sent guys to the moon over 40 years ago.  Oh yeah, he probably doesn't believe we did that, either.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Xanthul on November 13, 2014, 08:31:29 AM
I think he's trolling / joking. At least that's what I want to believe.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 13, 2014, 12:14:14 PM
(https://i62.tinypic.com/2cwvk09.jpg)

Bored at work. Please share.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 13, 2014, 01:54:16 PM
Recreation of the Rosetta mission in KSP:

https://youtu.be/GlMRKKLGWlU

Good stuff!  :)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on November 13, 2014, 05:00:57 PM
He can be a scientist and still be a moron.  Why does he focus so much on GPS?  We didn't have GPS when we sent guys to the moon over 40 years ago.  Oh yeah, he probably doesn't believe we did that, either.

He isn't just a scientist. He's a "hardcore scientist" as he says. That's like, you can't even fathom his level of understanding. Like, totally, mind, blown.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on November 14, 2014, 05:15:42 AM
The color of Jupiter's Great Red Spot explained and intense storms on Uranus. Fascinating stuff!
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141112133207.htm (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141112133207.htm)

https://www.space.com/27770-extreme-uranus-storms-puzzle-astronomers.html (https://www.space.com/27770-extreme-uranus-storms-puzzle-astronomers.html)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 26, 2014, 08:00:51 AM
Some epic footage of the Antares rocket fail:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsvUVDTgPoI

I love looking at how the blast wave affects the surrounding area. You get a better perspective of the amount of force involved in the blast.

Quote
That water tower held up to the blast nicely.  Whoever built it needs to build the next rocket
:lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 02, 2014, 07:35:31 AM
That video is strangely satisfying.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 02, 2014, 07:50:18 AM
Yea I know right. Love the shot when the lense breaks.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 04, 2014, 06:15:44 AM
So today is the launch of the new Delta IV rocket. It  was supposed to launch an hour ago but got delayed due to winds. I'm amazed by how much smaller it is than the Saturn V. I get that the volume of the three tanks is probably closer than its height is, but still.

(https://nettelhorst.com/blog1/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/SizesSpaceShips.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on December 05, 2014, 07:59:03 AM
Space is happening right now, and it's neat.

By that I mean the Orion is on its first test flight right now. It's about to reach its peak "height" from the surface at 3600 miles before descending to splash down in the Pacific, west of Mexico.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on December 05, 2014, 08:02:34 AM
I caught it just after the launch (which apparently stopped streaming right as it launched). The live feed of it orbiting Earth was a sight.
I can't wait until they're actually doing manned missions with it, although that's still years off.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 05, 2014, 08:21:14 AM
It kind of bums me out that in the 60's we decided to go to the moon and did it more or less from scratch in less than ten years. We have made so much progress since then and a manned Mars mission is still twenty years away. I understand fully that Mars is no easy feat, but if we put the resources into Mars that we did to the moon, we could easily do it in ten years.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on December 05, 2014, 08:51:35 AM
It kind of bums me out that in the 60's we decided to go to the moon and did it more or less from scratch in less than ten years. We have made so much progress since then and a manned Mars mission is still twenty years away. I understand fully that Mars is no easy feat, but if we put the resources into Mars that we did to the moon, we could easily do it in ten years.

What bums me out is that in the late 60s and early 70s, man went to the moon several times with a great success rate, and anyone at the time would have thought that by 2014 going to the moon would be a cakewalk. Yet we haven't returned since something like 1972. I get that there's only so much you can learn from going to the same place again, but with what we've learned from the ISS about long term living in space, you'd think some kind of moon colony would be the next logical step.

I am thrilled that going to Mars is the ultimate goal of the Orion project, but at the same time, it seems like it's just a crazy pipe dream at this point that keeps getting pushed back. It would be doable if the resources were there, but I don't think that's going to happen. They pushed a lot harder to get to the moon back in the 1960s. These days it's very slow going.

Think about it, anyone under the age of 40 or so has never even seen man land on the moon in their lifetime. I think it could be as big an event now for NASA as it was back then, especially with the technology of today, live streaming the whole thing over the internet. And getting to Mars is going to be absolutely huge.
Don't get me wrong, landing a rover on Mars is still a damn impressive feat, but it doesn't quite capture the imagination like seeing a living breathing person land on a different rock.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on December 05, 2014, 10:34:39 AM
I'm pretty excited about this launch, but it's tempered by the fact that Orion won't have another test flight for 4 more years.  If this were Apollo, today's flight would be repeated in 2 months with a crew on board, and 10 more mission objectives.  Granted, Apollo took on a lot of risk, and it's amazing that more didn't go wrong, but we are much more risk averse today (whether that's good or bad is hard to say).

Also, apparently it's harder to stream video than launch a rocket.  I was watching the live feed this morning, when the streaming crapped out at 15 seconds to launch.  I didnt get it back until 5 minutes later.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 05, 2014, 10:40:05 AM
It kind of bums me out that in the 60's we decided to go to the moon and did it more or less from scratch in less than ten years. We have made so much progress since then and a manned Mars mission is still twenty years away. I understand fully that Mars is no easy feat, but if we put the resources into Mars that we did to the moon, we could easily do it in ten years.


Think about it, anyone under the age of 40 or so has never even seen man land on the moon in their lifetime. I think it could be as big an event now for NASA as it was back then, especially with the technology of today, live streaming the whole thing over the internet. And getting to Mars is going to be absolutely huge.
Don't get me wrong, landing a rover on Mars is still a damn impressive feat, but it doesn't quite capture the imagination like seeing a living breathing person land on a different rock.

I sadly don't think it would be that big of a deal to a lot of people. Just browsing the Fox News comments, and sites like Free Republic, it's clear that a good 1/3 of this country thinks it's a complete waste of time and money.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on December 05, 2014, 10:06:26 PM
Yep, and after reading this article, I too wonder IF (not when) we will get the funding and support to actually land on Mars.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/05/nasa-orion-launch-space-startup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 05, 2014, 10:13:15 PM
Wow. That was an awesomely depressing article.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on December 05, 2014, 10:14:11 PM
It kind of bums me out that in the 60's we decided to go to the moon and did it more or less from scratch in less than ten years. We have made so much progress since then and a manned Mars mission is still twenty years away. I understand fully that Mars is no easy feat, but if we put the resources into Mars that we did to the moon, we could easily do it in ten years.


Think about it, anyone under the age of 40 or so has never even seen man land on the moon in their lifetime. I think it could be as big an event now for NASA as it was back then, especially with the technology of today, live streaming the whole thing over the internet. And getting to Mars is going to be absolutely huge.
Don't get me wrong, landing a rover on Mars is still a damn impressive feat, but it doesn't quite capture the imagination like seeing a living breathing person land on a different rock.

I sadly don't think it would be that big of a deal to a lot of people. Just browsing the Fox News comments, and sites like Free Republic, it's clear that a good 1/3 of this country thinks it's a complete waste of time and money.

Yeah, you're probably right. :( I think it would still be a big deal compared to other space projects in recent memory. But maybe I just watch too much scifi (actually there's no doubt I watch too much scifi).
I have doubts we'll even see a manned Mars trip in my lifetime.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 06, 2014, 02:47:36 AM
What about the Mars One mission (https://www.mars-one.com) that no one believes in? They're planning a reality show that follows the astrounats one way trip. If that were to actually happen that would be one helluva reality show to watch and i'm pretty sure alot of people would follow it including myself.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on December 06, 2014, 03:08:06 AM
What about the Mars One mission that no one believes in? I don't believe in it. :lol
I really hope to be proven wrong on that, but until there are some proven results, I don't have a lot of faith in private space companies to achieve something so monumental.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 06, 2014, 03:35:58 AM
Yea it's a monumental achievement but (forgive my ignorance) I just have a feeling that it's "easier" for a private company to get fundings and support for something like this compared to NASA, private companies can attract billonaire investors without government and peoples approval unlike NASA and also "the one way trip" that Mars One is talking about I feel is to unethical for NASA to ever consider.



Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on December 06, 2014, 03:43:17 AM
I don't think funding is the biggest issue. The technology, experience and infrastructure are also important. I think their timeline is unrealistic in that regard.
And on the matter of ethics, I would think it would be even harder for a privately run company to be allowed to do it? Maybe I'm wrong on that, but I think that is a factor to a mission like this for anyone. They were much more "reckless" back in the 60s space race, the Russians probably much more so than the Americans.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 06, 2014, 04:27:55 AM
I don't think funding is the biggest issue. The technology, experience and infrastructure are also important. I think their timeline is unrealistic in that regard.
And on the matter of ethics, I would think it would be even harder for a privately run company to be allowed to do it? Maybe I'm wrong on that, but I think that is a factor to a mission like this for anyone. They were much more "reckless" back in the 60s space race, the Russians probably much more so than the Americans.
Yea I agree on this. Lots of things to question.
The ethical part I think is interesting, would be cool to hear some comments about that if NASA have a bigger responsibility than private companies to follow an ethical line? You could argue that lots of things is unethical about a space mission and NASA have done that for ages but if were only sticking with the "one way trip" idea in this case. Could NASA do something like that? Send "regular" people on a one way ticket to Mars, people that are willing to leave their loved ones behind for something they believe is greater and worth it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 06, 2014, 05:31:31 AM
What about the Mars One mission that no one believes in? I don't believe in it. :lol
I really hope to be proven wrong on that, but until there are some proven results, I don't have a lot of faith in private space companies to achieve something so monumental.

I'm convinced SpaceX is capable of doing anything NASA does (probably better) for a fraction of the cost. In less than fifteen years, they've already successfully manuevered rockets and landed them back on a launch pad. The dragon capsule is a work of art and a technological marvel. Fuck. You could land that thing anywhere on the gblobe you wanted. Elon could have it land on his front lawn if he wanted to. NASA is still content with landing in the ocean.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on December 06, 2014, 05:42:42 AM
What about the Mars One mission that no one believes in? I don't believe in it. :lol
I really hope to be proven wrong on that, but until there are some proven results, I don't have a lot of faith in private space companies to achieve something so monumental.

I'm convinced SpaceX is capable of doing anything NASA does (probably better) for a fraction of the cost. In less than fifteen years, they've already successfully manuevered rockets and landed them back on a launch pad. The dragon capsule is a work of art and a technological marvel. Fuck. You could land that thing anywhere on the gblobe you wanted. Elon could have it land on his front lawn if he wanted to. NASA is still content with landing in the ocean.

I don't care where they land it when they get back, I care about where it goes beforehand. :lol
If NASA has to go with an ocean landing for the sake of the mission platform being viable, it ultimately makes no difference. NASA has achieved a lot more in its history than SpaceX has yet, as great progress as they've made so far.

I'm all for private space companies, because they create some necessary competition to push the boundaries, and they've also played a part in aiding NASA's own missions, but getting a man to Mars on their own is a whole different ball game. I really hope that one of them can do it some time in the near future, but I don't think any of them are close to that level yet. And I honestly want to be proven wrong on that.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 07, 2014, 02:44:58 PM
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/its-alive-nasas-new-horizons-pluto-probe-wakes-work-n262996

Quote
From 2.9 billion miles away, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft let its handlers know on Saturday that it has awakened from hibernation and is ready for the climax of its nine-year trip to Pluto.

The first signals were received at the mission's control center at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland via a giant radio antenna in Australia just before 9:30 p.m. ET, nearly four and a half hours after it was sent by the piano-sized probe. It takes that long for signals to travel between there and here at the speed of light.

Later readings confirmed that New Horizons was fully awake.

The spacecraft is currently about 162 million miles away from Pluto, but as that distance shrinks, the observations will get better and better. By next May, New Horizons' images of Pluto should be sharper than the best pictures taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. And in July, the probe may catch sight of the clouds and ice volcanoes that scientists suspect may exist on the dwarf planet.

New Horizons will capture pictures of Pluto and its five known moons, but there may be surprises as well — still more moons, perhaps, or icy rings around Pluto. So many readings are expected to pile up that New Horizons will have to store the data in its memory and transmit it for more than a year after the encounter.

After Pluto, New Horizons' team is planning to send the probe past another icy object in the Kuiper Belt, the ring of cosmic material that lies beyond Neptune's orbit, in late 2018 or 2019.

"New Horizons is on a journey to a new class of planets we've never seen, in a place we've never been before," NASA quoted New Horizons' project scientist, Hal Weaver of the Applied Physics Laboratory, as saying. "For decades we thought Pluto was this odd little body on the planetary outskirts; now we know it's really a gateway to an entire region of new worlds in the Kuiper Belt, and New Horizons is going to provide the first close-up look at them."

Really cool stuff.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 07, 2014, 03:04:53 PM
I can't wait  :corn


These are currently the best images we have of Pluto.

(https://www.nasa.gov/images/content/421596main_s1006ay.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on December 07, 2014, 09:16:57 PM
(https://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/liebe/love-smiley-086.gif)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 08, 2014, 12:44:42 AM
I can't wait  :corn


These are currently the best images we have of Pluto.

(https://www.nasa.gov/images/content/421596main_s1006ay.jpg)
Hmm I actually thought they had better pictures than that. I also thought Voyager 2 passed by but apparently neither Vog 1 or 2 did that, infact they never had a mission to Pluto before New Horizon. Goddamn I need to read up!  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on December 08, 2014, 06:17:08 AM
Hmm I actually thought they had better pictures than that. I also thought Voyager 2 passed by but apparently neither Vog 1 or 2 did that, infact they never had a mission to Pluto before New Horizon. Goddamn I need to read up!  :lol

The blurry picture quality maybe due to Pluto is just a bit too "close" for the Hubble? Lol! As in the Hubble is usually used to shoot stars thousands of light years away.  :hat
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 08, 2014, 06:21:46 AM
Yeah. Hubble is designed for deep space. Here's a really good write up on it.

https://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2013/02141014-hubble-galaxy-pluto.html

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 08, 2014, 06:33:42 AM
Quote
Galaxies are far away, it's true, but many of them are bigger than they are far, at least by comparison to the worlds within our solar system! Think about that for a moment -- how something that is millions of light-years away can still appear a thousand times bigger than something that's inside our own solar system.
I think my brain took timeout....

That's an interesting read. Thx for the link!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 08, 2014, 06:53:21 AM
(https://www.reactiongifs.com/r/2013/10/tim-and-eric-mind-blown.gif)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 08, 2014, 07:31:27 AM
Don't think that gif have never been more appropriate, atleast for me.  :rollin
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on December 08, 2014, 10:12:59 AM
Curiosity livestream with latest discoveries! (https://www.space.com/17933-nasa-television-webcasts-live-space-tv.html?adbid=542001027860287488&adbpl=tw&adbpr=15431856&cmpid=514648_20141208_36909237)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 08, 2014, 10:18:50 AM
Curiosity livestream with latest discoveries! (https://www.space.com/17933-nasa-television-webcasts-live-space-tv.html?adbid=542001027860287488&adbpl=tw&adbpr=15431856&cmpid=514648_20141208_36909237)

I really wish they didn't do this in the middle of the day when I'm working.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Big Hath on December 08, 2014, 12:07:28 PM
back to Pluto for a sec.  When we get closer/better pics, it would be really awesome if one of them reveals a sign that says "Not a planet anymore??  WTF!?!?"
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 08, 2014, 12:11:25 PM
I hope we see lights on the land masses and satellites (not natural) orbiting it. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 09, 2014, 10:59:09 AM
Dear SpaceX,

Please succeed.


https://www.space.com/27955-spacex-rocket-ocean-landing-platform.html

Quote
SpaceX will apparently attempt something truly epic during next week's cargo launch to the International Space Station.

During the Dec. 16 launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, which will send SpaceX's robotic Dragon capsule toward the orbiting lab, the California-based company will try to bring the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket back to Earth for a controlled landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean.

(https://i.space.com/images/i/000/044/204/i02/spacex-floating-landing-platform.jpg?1418081004)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 09, 2014, 11:02:02 AM
Will definitly follow that!  :corn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 10, 2014, 02:56:03 PM
On Pluto's Doorstep - Live Hangout with New Horizons Team (https://youtu.be/37sA8w752Mc)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 19, 2014, 02:13:47 PM
https://www.iflscience.com/space/how-nasa-emailed-wrench-space

Quote
NASA Just Emailed A Wrench To The International Space Station

For the first time ever, hardware designed on the ground has been emailed to space to meet the needs of an astronaut. From a computer in California, Mike Chen of Made In Space and colleagues just 3D-printed a ratcheting socket wrench on the International Space Station. “We had overheard ISS Commander Barry Wilmore (who goes by “Butch”) mention over the radio that he needed one,” Chen writes in Medium this week. So they designed one and sent it up.
Pretty cool!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on December 19, 2014, 02:37:10 PM
That's amazing.  We're like half a step away from replicators like in Star Trek.  You need a wrench?  Well, if there's one on file, you can "print" one out.  If not, have someone send you a file.

Sidebar:  Calling them "3-D printers" has always seemed pretty stupid to me.  It's always struck me as using a term people are familiar with because they're either too lazy to come up with a new one, or afraid people will get all confused.  I remember when the technology was still being developed, they called them prototypers or even replicators.  Why "3-D printers"?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 19, 2014, 03:11:16 PM
It's a printer that makes 3D objects.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on December 19, 2014, 03:21:35 PM
"Additive manufacturing" is a term I've heard recently in my industry.  It distinguishes from "subtractive manufacturing" (a term that was made up for contrast) which describes the conventional practice of removing/machining material from a piece of stock.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on December 19, 2014, 05:06:19 PM
It's a printer that makes 3D objects.

But it's not "printing" anything.  I understand that the process is, in a very basic sense, similar to what a printer does; it reproduces something from a data file.

And that's where the similarity ends.  "Printing" also involves putting ink on paper.  In modern times, this definition has been expanded to include laserjet toner as well as ink, but that's not what's happening here at all.  It's reproducing an object in three dimensions.  It's prototyping.  There was already a word for the process.  Why confuse the issue?  When I first heard about 3-D printers, I imagined something that printed out these:

(https://www.makingofapopup.com/images/portfolio/popup-book-7.jpg)

I thought "Cool, they came up with something that does this, but better" or something.

If you told me that they needed a wrench, so they printed one out, I would picture someone printing out a picture of a wrench on a piece of paper, and wonder what the hell good that's going to do them.  I realize that they didn't exactly "email" a wrench to the guys on the ISS, but the headline was meant to be tongue-in-cheek.  They emailed the data file to them, and the guys on the ISS "printed" it out (since apparently that's what you call it).  I just think it's stupid to hijack a word that already means something, to replace another word that was perfectly fine and already existed.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Sacul on December 19, 2014, 06:37:10 PM
3D printers do actually print things. Instead of using ink on paper, they use a certain kind of plastic that is melted and "printed" (a needle leaves a very small drop) according to what you want. So technically it's still a printing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on December 19, 2014, 07:04:47 PM
The print nozzle of an extrusion 3D printer is not all that different to an ink jet printer, it just deposits melted plastic instead of ink, and moves the print nozzle along the Z-axis as well. The print head moves in 3 dimensions, so I think that makes "3D printer" a perfectly apt description of what it does.

It's still a hell of a long way from a Trek replicator, but it's a big step forward for them to be able to create basic objects locally.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on December 20, 2014, 01:22:38 AM
Okay, I'm convinced.  Objection withdrawn.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 20, 2014, 05:27:19 AM
(https://www.picgifs.com/smileys/smileys-and-emoticons/court/smileys-court-895145.gif)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on December 20, 2014, 07:48:28 PM
BTW, people always make it out to be the next revolution ... I must say I'm pretty skeptical about it. The problem, as I see it, is that of materials. Most objects we have are highly specialized for their specific purposes. They are crazy-ass tempered alloys of 5 different compounds etc.
A 3-D printer will never have those materials at its disposal. At best it might have 5 substances it can mix, but in the end they will vastly underperform the "made for this purpose" equivalents.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on December 20, 2014, 09:23:47 PM
BTW, people always make it out to be the next revolution ... I must say I'm pretty skeptical about it. The problem, as I see it, is that of materials. Most objects we have are highly specialized for their specific purposes. They are crazy-ass tempered alloys of 5 different compounds etc.
A 3-D printer will never have those materials at its disposal. At best it might have 5 substances it can mix, but in the end they will vastly underperform the "made for this purpose" equivalents.

Even though it's not for home use, they can effectively print just about any material by printing it out in a wax type substance and molding it in metals etc. Shapeways can print out gold/silver/steel/bronze etc, and ceramics for plates/mugs or whatever. For the home user to so easily have access to that kind of service is pretty cool. And in the medical industry, they've printed out custom designed jaws in titanium for replacements.
Even in its current capacity, I'd call it revolutionary.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 21, 2014, 04:03:29 AM
Yea I would agree, 3D printers are growing like crazy and you see them everywhere. The fact that even NASA finds use for it makes it pretty big.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on December 21, 2014, 02:08:09 PM
BTW, people always make it out to be the next revolution ... I must say I'm pretty skeptical about it. The problem, as I see it, is that of materials. Most objects we have are highly specialized for their specific purposes. They are crazy-ass tempered alloys of 5 different compounds etc.
A 3-D printer will never have those materials at its disposal. At best it might have 5 substances it can mix, but in the end they will vastly underperform the "made for this purpose" equivalents.

Even though it's not for home use, they can effectively print just about any material by printing it out in a wax type substance and molding it in metals etc. Shapeways can print out gold/silver/steel/bronze etc, and ceramics for plates/mugs or whatever. For the home user to so easily have access to that kind of service is pretty cool. And in the medical industry, they've printed out custom designed jaws in titanium for replacements.
Even in its current capacity, I'd call it revolutionary.

Mold printing is kinda what I would call "secondary 3D printing" though. And the prosthesis printing, that is of course phenomenal, but it's still a very niche application, IMHO.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on December 21, 2014, 06:32:53 PM
BTW, people always make it out to be the next revolution ... I must say I'm pretty skeptical about it. The problem, as I see it, is that of materials. Most objects we have are highly specialized for their specific purposes. They are crazy-ass tempered alloys of 5 different compounds etc.
A 3-D printer will never have those materials at its disposal. At best it might have 5 substances it can mix, but in the end they will vastly underperform the "made for this purpose" equivalents.

Even though it's not for home use, they can effectively print just about any material by printing it out in a wax type substance and molding it in metals etc. Shapeways can print out gold/silver/steel/bronze etc, and ceramics for plates/mugs or whatever. For the home user to so easily have access to that kind of service is pretty cool. And in the medical industry, they've printed out custom designed jaws in titanium for replacements.
Even in its current capacity, I'd call it revolutionary.

Mold printing is kinda what I would call "secondary 3D printing" though. And the prosthesis printing, that is of course phenomenal, but it's still a very niche application, IMHO.

I don't disagree with any of that, they were just examples of why I feel like the technology has already proven its potential to revolutionize many industries, even in these early days.
The ability to effectively send a 3D object to space remotely is pretty damn cool however you classify it!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on December 21, 2014, 07:19:34 PM
Oh, don't get me wrong, that is indeed cool. When you look at what they went to the moon with, you couldn't even play a decent game of Asteroids on that.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on December 21, 2014, 07:25:23 PM
It's kind of sad to me that the average smartphone that everyone owns probably has about 1000x more power than what sent man for the moon, given what most people do with that computing power. :lol

It goes without saying that Asteroids is a perfectly acceptable use of that power.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on December 21, 2014, 07:34:24 PM
I went to the ophthalmologist the other day, and they had this cool new machine called OCT. Was like staring into a game of Asteroids :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on December 22, 2014, 11:47:30 AM
I was just reading about the James Webb Space Telescope (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Webb_Space_Telescope), which is intended to be Hubble's successor.  Damn, the thing is huge.

Here is a full scale model:

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/JWST_people.jpg)

And it will be all folded up in the nosecone of an Ariane 5 rocket (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariane_5):

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/JWST_launch_configuration.png)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 22, 2014, 12:02:03 PM
I can't wait to see what Webb delivers! The project almost got scrapped.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 23, 2014, 09:28:49 AM
I'm looking forward to this.

https://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/12/23/could-dwarf-planet-ceres-support-life/

Quote
In March 2015, NASA's Dawn spacecraft will arrive in orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres, the largest object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Ceres is a relatively warm and wet body that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the Jovian moon Europa and the Saturn satellite Enceladus, both of which may be capable of supporting life as we know it, some researchers say.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 23, 2014, 09:56:59 AM
Cool, had no idea about that. Will definitly follow that. Speaking of do anyone know of any good site or anything were you can follow current NASA or non NASA missions both manned and unmanned. I can only find lists of current missions but it would be could to see them in some kind of "progress chart" if you know what I mean. So you can see when something was launched, current status and when its expected to arrive at it's destination and also future missions.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 23, 2014, 10:04:04 AM
Cool, had no idea about that. Will definitly follow that. Speaking of do anyone now of any good site or anything were you can follow current NASA or non NASA missions both manned and unmanned. I can only find lists of current missions but it would be could to see them in some kind of "progress chart" if you know what I mean. So you can see when something was launched, current status and when its expected to arrive at it's destination and also future missions.

I don't know of any site, but on Facebook, I add more or less every person that speaks on the Universe shows that are on The Science Channel. They post links to stuff all the time regarding space stuff I would have never heard of otherwise. The following are some of my favorite posters. Michelle works for NASA and is probably my favorite. Phil can dive into politics quite a bit.

Michelle Thaller
Phil Plait
Lawrence Krauss
Brian Cox
Chris Hadfield

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 25, 2014, 10:50:41 AM
Cool! I follow Lawrence on FB and know of Brain and Chris. Don't know the other two but will certainly follow all of them now.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 06, 2015, 04:34:30 AM
So the Falcon 9 launch today was aborted due technical difficulties. Heard mention on possible launch on friday, can't confirm though.

Quote
Launch Update

During the terminal count engineers observed drift on one of the two thrust vector actuators on the second stage that would likely have caused an automatic abort. Engineers called a hold in order to take a closer look. SpaceX is scrubbed for today and we are now targeting launch on Jan. 9th at 5:09am ET.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 06, 2015, 03:09:48 PM
New epic Hubble photograph of the Pillars Of Creation:

(https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/pillars-creation-nasa.jpg?w=1680)

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on January 06, 2015, 03:44:59 PM
I've always loved the Pillars of Creation.  Such a bizarre-looking formation.  The detail here is amazing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on January 08, 2015, 12:03:15 AM
One of the best space photos of all time. :hefdaddy
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 08, 2015, 05:57:15 AM
idk.... The new photo of Andromeda makes my head want to explode. This is zooming in.

(https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/the-sharpest-view-of-the-andromeda-galaxy-ever-taken-41.jpg?w=920&h=294)

(https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/the-sharpest-view-of-the-andromeda-galaxy-ever-taken-21.jpg?w=920&h=294)

(https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/the-sharpest-view-of-the-andromeda-galaxy-ever-taken-31.jpg?w=920&h=294)

(https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/the-sharpest-view-of-the-andromeda-galaxy-ever-taken-51.jpg?w=920&h=294)

(https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/the-sharpest-view-of-the-andromeda-galaxy-ever-taken-11.jpg?w=920&h=294)

(https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/the-sharpest-view-of-the-andromeda-galaxy-ever-taken-61.jpg?w=920&h=294)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on January 08, 2015, 10:18:14 AM
This whole thread makes my brain/imagination orgasm so hard. Awesome stuff.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 08, 2015, 10:26:53 AM
I'm pretty excited for Star Talk on Nat Geo. I've listened to the online radio format for years. I just hope Nat Geo puts it on their website as well. I was one of the 500k customers who dropped cable last year.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on January 17, 2015, 12:53:35 AM
Elon Musk released a video of the "failed" attempt to land the Stage 1 rocket booster.

https://vine.co/v/OjqeYWWpVWK

From the initial reports, I was expecting a much faster descent. Apparently they ran out of hydraulic fluid that was controlling the stabilizing fins, which should be fixed in the next launch (50% more fluid this time around).

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 17, 2015, 04:20:19 AM
So close but still a fail. Seems to be an easy fix though which also must sting a bit for them. Hopefully they nail it next time.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 19, 2015, 02:34:32 AM
idk.... The new photo of Andromeda makes my head want to explode. This is zooming in.

(https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/the-sharpest-view-of-the-andromeda-galaxy-ever-taken-41.jpg?w=920&h=294)

(https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/the-sharpest-view-of-the-andromeda-galaxy-ever-taken-21.jpg?w=920&h=294)

(https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/the-sharpest-view-of-the-andromeda-galaxy-ever-taken-31.jpg?w=920&h=294)

(https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/the-sharpest-view-of-the-andromeda-galaxy-ever-taken-51.jpg?w=920&h=294)

(https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/the-sharpest-view-of-the-andromeda-galaxy-ever-taken-11.jpg?w=920&h=294)

(https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/the-sharpest-view-of-the-andromeda-galaxy-ever-taken-61.jpg?w=920&h=294)
Mind=Blown

Seriously sometimes I really wonder why stuff like this don't get more attention in public media?

Gigapixels of Andromeda [4K] (https://youtu.be/udAL48P5NJU)
https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1502a/zoomable/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Phoenix87x on January 19, 2015, 04:04:46 AM
So what is all that? Crap load of Stars?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 19, 2015, 05:28:30 AM
The last picture is a zoomed in area of the first Andromeda picture showing another layer of millions upon millions of stars, planets and galaxies. Basically to much for our brains to grasp.

That's my take, someone else might have a more detailed answere.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Phoenix87x on January 19, 2015, 04:41:17 PM
Fascinating.

There is life everywhere.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on January 19, 2015, 07:37:19 PM
Elon Musk released a video of the "failed" attempt to land the Stage 1 rocket booster.

https://vine.co/v/OjqeYWWpVWK

From the initial reports, I was expecting a much faster descent. Apparently they ran out of hydraulic fluid that was controlling the stabilizing fins, which should be fixed in the next launch (50% more fluid this time around).
Rapid unscheduled disassembly event.  :rollin

Still, what they were trying to accomplish is pretty amazing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 20, 2015, 06:10:18 AM
I love Elon's sense of humor.,
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 27, 2015, 12:29:00 PM
I had to watch twice. Pretty cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ca6x4QbpoM&feature=youtu.be
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 27, 2015, 03:58:45 PM
That's really cool! That must be really cost effective to have the fuel tanks return like that, I would assume so atleast.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on January 27, 2015, 04:12:06 PM
I had to watch twice. Pretty cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ca6x4QbpoM&feature=youtu.be
u

How far off is this from 'actually' happening? 10 years? Looks pretty involved....cool as heck but the reentry on those rockets has to be precise doesn't it, or they'll disinigrate? And keeping them stable on the descent once the boosters fire to slow down? I don't doubt it will happen someday....just curious as to how far off you think it is?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 27, 2015, 04:46:33 PM
I honestly think SpaceX could pull that off in five years. They went from first testing the grasshopper to this...

https://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/150116183850-spacex-rocket-crash-landing-crane-orig-mg-00001212-story-top.jpg

.. in less than 15 months. That's impressive as hell. The fact that they hit he barge is beyond incredible. Given SpaceX's track record, and the ever-increasing demand to put things in orbit, SpaceX will figure this out in no time.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 04, 2015, 07:21:42 AM
We're going to Europa!!  :metal :metal :corn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 04, 2015, 08:09:24 AM
(https://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww173/prestonjjrtr/Smileys/woot_jump.gif)

Cool! Are you talking about JUICE?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on February 04, 2015, 08:10:09 AM
Guess what I'm gonna be doing on Sunday? Watch the SpaceX launch at Cape Canaveral! Work is getting me down to Jacksonville, and my roommate suggested it. Now of course she's mortally envious :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 04, 2015, 08:18:42 AM
That's pretty damn cool!! Would love to see a rocket launch but the closest thing we have in Sweden is Esrange but as far as I know there's no close viewing area and it's also ruffly 1800km from me.  :-\
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 04, 2015, 08:21:20 AM
NICE!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on February 04, 2015, 08:23:37 AM
https://open.spotify.com/track/0YY5KekpTtjPno6SffKWN3

 :metal  Slightly Relevant.

Best Scene in Interstellar for me.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Phoenix87x on February 06, 2015, 03:37:21 PM
"we are the mayflies of the universe"

Neil degrase tyson

I've been looking for a long time for an elegant way to express human being's super limited lifespan in the grand, almost infinite seeming lifespan of the universe, and that quote nails it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on February 08, 2015, 07:15:44 PM
Well that was frustrating. SpaceX launch was scrubbed two minutes before launch. Was sitting on the bleacher section, everything looked perfect ... meh.
EDIT: Because the USAF radar was down. Wtf.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 08, 2015, 07:41:49 PM
Yeah. I was watching it via webcast. Bummer. Are you going to get to go tomorrow?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on February 08, 2015, 07:42:41 PM
Well that was frustrating. SpaceX launch was scrubbed two minutes before launch. Was sitting on the bleacher section, everything looked perfect ... meh.
EDIT: Because the USAF radar was down. Wtf.

That's a bummer. Does your schedule allow you to go tomorrow for the rescheduled launch?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on February 08, 2015, 08:01:18 PM
I would have to drive for three hours through the night after it to get to where my work actually sent me. I don't think I want to do that, not in an area I don't know. Also, only a 40% chance of favorable conditions. Meaning, not only is it likely that launch is scrubbed too, but I would have to drive through rain in the night (that's the forecast here at least).

This was actually my second attempt to see a live rocket launch (first was in '93), and both were scrubbed. Two strikes and you're out, at least for me. I had the hardest time finding any statistics about percentage of scrubbed launches, but I overheard a conversation in the waiting line today that the chances are heavily stacked against you. And today was as perfect as you can get, and the whole thing was nixed because the US Air Force found out a few minutes beforehand that their radar was down.

In fact, I only now remember that a year back or so I tried to watch a launch, and that one was scrubbed too. (And I think the one after too)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on February 10, 2015, 05:06:09 PM
Scrub number 4 today. Makes me feel a lot better actually, it seems you have to be insanely lucky to see a launch.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on February 10, 2015, 06:27:02 PM
I guess I was really lucky then. I saw a shuttle launch when I was very young.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 13, 2015, 12:50:37 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/tMcfxuN.png)

(https://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17bkfmkvo3nrtjpg/original.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on February 13, 2015, 03:28:13 PM
I guess I was really lucky then. I saw a shuttle launch when I was very young.

I think if you want to make sure you see one, you kinda have to look for a launch that a) has several windows in short succession and b) the windows aren't instantaneous. The problem with the launch attempts this week were that if everything didn't work at the precise minute, they had to scrub it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on February 13, 2015, 04:25:12 PM
If a wormhole did in fact exist - would it indeed be a sphere as seen in Interstellar ? Or was that one a sphere because it was placed there by higher dimensional beings who operate on more dimensions than we can comprehend ?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 16, 2015, 08:42:48 AM
If a wormhole did in fact exist - would it indeed be a sphere as seen in Interstellar ? Or was that one a sphere because it was placed there by higher dimensional beings who operate on more dimensions than we can comprehend ?

It's a sphere because a blackhole is a hole in three dimensions. How that works, I am not really sure  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 26, 2015, 07:39:09 AM
29,000 miles out and counting!

https://www.foxnews.com/science/2015/02/26/nasa-dawn-spacecraft-releases-images-showing-another-bright-spot-on-ceres/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on February 26, 2015, 07:45:49 AM
If a wormhole did in fact exist - would it indeed be a sphere as seen in Interstellar ? Or was that one a sphere because it was placed there by higher dimensional beings who operate on more dimensions than we can comprehend ?

It's a sphere because a blackhole is a hole in three dimensions. How that works, I am not really sure  :lol

The warping a black hole causes on the surrounding space-time is based on gravity. Gravity works in all directions. So just like massive celestial bodies, like planets and suns, naturally becomming spheres, so would the effects of wormholes or black holes. A bit of a simplification perhaps, but those are the rules of gravity and it's effect on space and time in the universe.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on February 28, 2015, 03:31:14 PM
Sounds like this would completely revolutionize biology if it was actually found on Titan. I really hope NASA goes through with that submarine probe mission so we can find out.
https://phys.org/news/2015-02-life-saturn-moon-titan.html (https://phys.org/news/2015-02-life-saturn-moon-titan.html)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on February 28, 2015, 04:37:46 PM
The best thing about the Gargantua black hole from Interstellar design is - it wasn't "fictionalised" too much for the film.

It was based on actual equations and findings.

It would actually be that epic if you saw it for real.

dayum nature you cray

etc.. etc..
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on February 28, 2015, 04:38:44 PM
If a wormhole did in fact exist - would it indeed be a sphere as seen in Interstellar ? Or was that one a sphere because it was placed there by higher dimensional beings who operate on more dimensions than we can comprehend ?

It's a sphere because a blackhole is a hole in three dimensions. How that works, I am not really sure  :lol

I watched a really early episode of The Next Generation the other day and in that episode was a spherical wormhole so the theory must have been there.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on March 01, 2015, 03:15:36 AM
It would actually be that epic if you saw it for real.

That would be really epic, but since I think black holes are among the scariest things in the universe, I think I'd rather go without seeing it..

Plus, Gargantua looked to be in the process of devouring a star, but if it wasn't, it would just be completely black, and one could enter it without even knowing it and it'd be too late. That's pretty scary.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on March 01, 2015, 02:15:29 PM
https://phys.org/news/2015-02-life-saturn-moon-titan.html

Really creative research!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on March 02, 2015, 05:50:40 AM
I always thought it was Europa not Titan that could potentially harbor life... oh wait, guess I read too much Arthur C. Clarke's novels, lol!  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on March 02, 2015, 06:30:07 AM
Well europa is full of ice and potentially liquid water further below.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 02, 2015, 06:37:16 AM
I can't read that article at work, so I might be saying what it's saying.

Both are strong contenders for harboring life. I think Europa has a slight edge in most scientists' eyes simply because it has (we think) an ocean of water beneath the ice. Titan, however, still has liquid oceans, they just happen to be methane. There are seasons and weather that are contantly mixing things up and keeping the environment fresh. Titan is also subject to tidal forces just like Europa. There is a lot of heat inside titan, and if there is water toward the core, life could exist. Life on Titan would require a new type of life that would probably not be carbon based. I know sceintists have recently been able design or imagine methane based cells that could divide.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on March 02, 2015, 07:25:31 AM
I'm not a non-believer when it comes to life in the universe other than earth, but I do think that it's a bit over-optimistic to expect to find it here in our solar system.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on March 02, 2015, 07:27:23 AM
I can't read that article at work, so I might be saying what it's saying.

Both are strong contenders for harboring life. I think Europa has a slight edge in most scientists' eyes simply because it has (we think) an ocean of water beneath the ice. Titan, however, still has liquid oceans, they just happen to be methane. There are seasons and weather that are contantly mixing things up and keeping the environment fresh. Titan is also subject to tidal forces just like Europa. There is a lot of heat inside titan, and if there is water toward the core, life could exist. Life on Titan would require a new type of life that would probably not be carbon based. I know sceintists have recently been able design or imagine methane based cells that could divide.

 :tup You sir, are well-informed.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 02, 2015, 07:36:20 AM
I'm not a non-believer when it comes to life in the universe other than earth, but I do think that it's a bit over-optimistic to expect to find it here in our solar system.

But the same could be said here on Earth. Even up to just a decade or two ago, no one could have imagined life 7.5 miles under water, we thought the pressures would be far too great. No one could have imagined life living in the Atacama Desert, but it's under most rocks we turn over. We have found life forms that live in solid ice their entire lives. They secrete a natural antifreeze that keeps them living in pockets of water. 3.5 billion years ago, we had no plants, and virtually no oxygen in the atmosphere. Lifeforms converted sulfur into energy before photosynthesis became the popular favorite. We've had bacteria survive launch, months exposed in outter space, and reetnry without dying.

My point is, life will exist anywhere. If it means survival, and as long as there is enough time, DNA will find a solution to surviving any environment. As far as we could tell, Mars was near identical to Earth millions of years ago, I'd be shocked if Mars never saw life. When you look at the extremes that life on Earth can survive in, the rest of the solar system becomes more than possible.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on March 02, 2015, 10:12:28 AM
My point is, life will exist anywhere. If it means survival, and as long as there is enough time, DNA will find a solution to surviving any environment. As far as we could tell, Mars was near identical to Earth millions of years ago, I'd be shocked if Mars never saw life. When you look at the extremes that life on Earth can survive in, the rest of the solar system becomes more than possible.

Well said. Actually besides Mars, Venus was more like Earth millions of years ago, before its own green house effect ruined everything.  :hat
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 02, 2015, 10:19:02 AM
Truth. Completely forgot about Venus. It's also very possible that life took hold there and has since gone below the surface to get away from the violence on the surface. Who knows though, it's possible that life evolved to survive on the surface. It's a shame Venus is so hostile. I don't think we've had a probe (and there's only been a few) survive for more than 45 minutes or so on the surface.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on March 16, 2015, 05:58:25 PM
I believe the Russian Venera 13 was the one survived the "longest" on Venus... for a grand total of 57 minutes or so...

A image from Venus and it was taken by one of the Russian probes.

(https://www.eso.org/public//outreach/eduoff/vt-2004/Background/Infol2/vt2004-if9-fig8.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Sacul on March 16, 2015, 07:59:33 PM
Just... :omg: :eek . It's truly another world.

Have you heard this (https://medium.com/matter/all-dressed-up-for-mars-and-nowhere-to-go-7e76df527ca0) about the Mars One project? Apparently, there's a lot of things media doesn't say (https://medium.com/matter/mars-one-insider-quits-dangerously-flawed-project-2dfef95217d3) about the project, like it has no money, it's partners are no longer supporting it, and the finalists are not only being scammed, but thus far, they have zero training, and the interview process is awfully poor. Honestly, I thought this was going to be the next big thing, but this makes me worry about the poor participants, and the image it leaves of NASA and space science in the public.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on March 17, 2015, 01:00:10 AM
Just... :omg: :eek . It's truly another world.

Have you heard this (https://medium.com/matter/all-dressed-up-for-mars-and-nowhere-to-go-7e76df527ca0) about the Mars One project? Apparently, there's a lot of things media doesn't say (https://medium.com/matter/mars-one-insider-quits-dangerously-flawed-project-2dfef95217d3) about the project, like it has no money, it's partners are no longer supporting it, and the finalists are not only being scammed, but thus far, they have zero training, and the interview process is awfully poor. Honestly, I thought this was going to be the next big thing, but this makes me worry about the poor participants, and the image it leaves of NASA and space science in the public.

Unfortunately none of this surprises me. While I'd hoped they'd get somewhere, I kinda knew they wouldn't.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 17, 2015, 01:13:06 AM
Just... :omg: :eek . It's truly another world.

Have you heard this (https://medium.com/matter/all-dressed-up-for-mars-and-nowhere-to-go-7e76df527ca0) about the Mars One project? Apparently, there's a lot of things media doesn't say (https://medium.com/matter/mars-one-insider-quits-dangerously-flawed-project-2dfef95217d3) about the project, like it has no money, it's partners are no longer supporting it, and the finalists are not only being scammed, but thus far, they have zero training, and the interview process is awfully poor. Honestly, I thought this was going to be the next big thing, but this makes me worry about the poor participants, and the image it leaves of NASA and space science in the public.
Don't think NASA will be affected by that very much, lots of people had doubts about Mars One including NASA.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on March 17, 2015, 09:12:04 AM
I'm stunned people actually donated to Mars One. Space exploration is a slow and incremental process; one step at a time. Not "lol, going to Mars, brb."
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on March 17, 2015, 09:53:46 AM
That picture has to be fake.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on March 17, 2015, 09:55:34 AM
(https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/daily-morning-awesomeness-35-photos-35.jpg?quality=94&strip=all)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on March 17, 2015, 10:37:29 AM
That is awesome.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 17, 2015, 12:11:40 PM
I really wish that shirt didn't say "Get your ass to" on it. I'd much prefer just the Mars version of the NASA logo. I'd buy one if it didn't have that on it. I saw a photo online of David Grohl wearing one. 

Also. I am jealous he got so close to stonehenge.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on March 17, 2015, 12:14:25 PM
I really wish that shirt didn't say "Get your ass to" on it. I'd much prefer just the Mars version of the NASA logo. I'd buy one if it didn't have that on it. I saw a photo online of David Grohl wearing one. 


But then it wouldn't also be a cool movie reference!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 17, 2015, 12:15:10 PM
I did not know it was a movie reference.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on March 17, 2015, 12:16:45 PM
It's Arnie, man! I haven't even seen the movie, and I know it. :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on March 17, 2015, 12:21:30 PM
And it's a good movie at that!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91dW9pUA1BI
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 17, 2015, 12:22:34 PM
It's Arnie, man! I haven't even seen the movie, and I know it. :lol

I've never even heard of it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on March 17, 2015, 12:26:57 PM
It's Arnie, man! I haven't even seen the movie, and I know it. :lol

I've never even heard of it.

It's from Total Recall.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on March 17, 2015, 02:05:24 PM
And it's a good movie at that!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91dW9pUA1BI

And a terrible remake !
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on March 17, 2015, 02:06:45 PM
That picture has to be fake.

Kinda hope it isn't.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on March 17, 2015, 05:37:54 PM
https://www.techspot.com/news/60071-mars-one-finalist-breaks-silence-claims-organization-total.html?google_editors_picks=true
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 18, 2015, 07:55:43 AM
It is kind of a let down. I was kind of excited to see this play out.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on March 18, 2015, 10:13:53 AM
Eh, whatever.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on March 18, 2015, 04:11:33 PM
Really cool discovery!
https://earthsky.org/space/underground-ocean-on-jupiters-largest-moon (https://earthsky.org/space/underground-ocean-on-jupiters-largest-moon)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on March 18, 2015, 05:49:51 PM
Really cool discovery!
https://earthsky.org/space/underground-ocean-on-jupiters-largest-moon (https://earthsky.org/space/underground-ocean-on-jupiters-largest-moon)

Although it says the ocean is a possible salty one, it doesn't mention the possible composition of that liquid Ganymede. In such extreme environment, I wonder if that liquid is H2O at all.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: puppyonacid on March 20, 2015, 03:58:42 AM
Thought this would make more sense here rather than its own thread.

(https://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l141/phil12323/Eclipse.jpg) (https://s95.photobucket.com/user/phil12323/media/Eclipse.jpg.html)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on March 20, 2015, 06:40:02 AM
It was super cloudy here, so I didn't get to see it..
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: ariich on March 20, 2015, 06:57:21 AM
Pure cloud and fog here. Absolutely the worst possible weather for an eclipse. Literally couldn't even see the sun in the first place!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 20, 2015, 06:58:22 AM
I was on the dark side of the Earth.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on March 20, 2015, 07:57:45 AM
^ That's what I call a simultaneous lunar and solar eclipse.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on March 20, 2015, 08:53:45 AM
Pictures I took this morning at the party organized by a few university professors!


(https://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/SteveAudrey/P1020489_zpsnssnxrtj.jpg)
(https://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/SteveAudrey/P1020460_zpszj5i3oci.jpg)
(https://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn105/SteveAudrey/P1020444_zpsf8og7mv4.jpg)
(https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/11045450_10205188965275624_310676563485752759_n.jpg?oh=05585fa572f5f292433134166b956d4a&oe=558097C1)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: masterthes on March 20, 2015, 10:13:14 AM
unfortunately, cloudy here
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on March 20, 2015, 10:34:39 AM
That picture has to be fake.

Kinda hope it isn't.

It looks like a artist's rendition to me. I could be wrong, but I've been digging and haven't found that picture on any credible site or with credible sources.

The best real pictures I found were these:

(https://i.imgur.com/BrVaauJ.jpg)

But they might even just be recolors of these:

(https://mentallandscape.com/C_Venera_Perspective.jpg)

There were color photos, mostly like this:

(https://mentallandscape.com/C_Venera14_Camera2.jpg)

So even if it is fake, it's not inaccurate at all.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on March 20, 2015, 10:41:52 AM
As far as I know the Venera pictures were taken in B/W.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on March 20, 2015, 10:46:13 AM
According to Wikipedia, venera 13 took color pictures, mostly of the soil.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on March 20, 2015, 06:24:15 PM
unfortunately, cloudy here

Were you arguing with the clouds stealing beauty from your eyes?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on March 21, 2015, 07:55:35 AM
As far as I know the Venera pictures were taken in B/W.

Those B/W photos were taken by the older Venera 9 probe.

According to Wikipedia, venera 13 took color pictures, mostly of the soil.

You could find more related info on the Venera 13 mission on Space.com here: https://www.space.com/18551-venera-13.html
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Phoenix87x on March 21, 2015, 08:02:58 AM
Earth is a desert island in the sea of space
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on March 21, 2015, 01:14:56 PM
All I can think of is Pendulum.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 02, 2015, 11:42:29 AM
Would it be possible for NASA to crowd source a mission? I feel like if NASA made a Kickstarter for a mission to one of the icy moons, they could raise some serious coin. I'd throw them a Benji.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on April 02, 2015, 11:36:48 PM
Would it be possible for NASA to crowd source a mission? I feel like if NASA made a Kickstarter for a mission to one of the icy moons, they could raise some serious coin. I'd throw them a Benji.

Public support is the key. Most people are too ignorance to know the importance of space exploration to ours; our next generations and beyond. At the same time, politics are always what drag us down when it comes to all things science.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on April 11, 2015, 02:33:07 PM
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27324-native-hawaiians-halt-construction-of-giant-telescope.html?full=true#.VSmBRyjF_C5 (https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27324-native-hawaiians-halt-construction-of-giant-telescope.html?full=true#.VSmBRyjF_C5)
This is so sad :'(

Personally, I would think that building one of the most powerful machines ever capable of peering into the heavens is a huge honor to the mountain and the natives. But then again it's probably no big loss  since we're already getting the even more powerful James Webb and E-ELT telescopes.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on April 11, 2015, 07:23:48 PM
Would it be possible for NASA to crowd source a mission? I feel like if NASA made a Kickstarter for a mission to one of the icy moons, they could raise some serious coin. I'd throw them a Benji.

Crowd sourcing is nice, but it depends too much on the interest du jour of the general public. Those missions need a long breath to succeed.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 13, 2015, 07:18:59 AM
SpaceX will be making their second attempt at the drone-barge landing today! Weather is looking good and daylight landing should provide some spectacular video!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on April 13, 2015, 09:25:39 AM
But more importantly, this:

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION TO GET ITALIAN ESPRESSO MAKER
(https://cdn.abclocal.go.com/content/wls/images/cms/653470_630x354.jpg) (https://abc7.com/science/international-space-station-to-get-italian-espresso-maker/653899/)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 13, 2015, 01:00:11 PM
Shit just got real.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/apr/13/nasas-curiosity-rover-finds-water-below-surface-of-mars

Quote
Mars has liquid water just below its surface, according to new measurements by Nasa’s Curiosity rover.

Until now, scientists had thought that conditions on the red planet were too cold and arid for liquid water to exist, although there were known to be deposits of ice.


I'm not sure I like the following statement.

Quote
The latest findings are unlikely to change the view that if life ever blossomed on Mars, it probably died out more than a billion years ago.

Twenty years ago, you would have been crazy to think life could exist 7 miles underwater. James Cameron's little adventure to the Mariana Trench proved that to be very wrong. We've had bacteria survie launch, spend 500+ days in the vaccuum of space, and then survive reentry. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but if life ever blossomed on Mars, I'd be surprised if it died out.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on April 13, 2015, 01:17:55 PM
Let's just hope it doesn't turn out like Doctor Who.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on April 13, 2015, 01:40:02 PM
Twenty years ago, you would have been crazy to think life could exist 7 miles underwater. James Cameron's little adventure to the Mariana Trench proved that to be very wrong. We've had bacteria survie launch, spend 500+ days in the vaccuum of space, and then survive reentry. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but if life ever blossomed on Mars, I'd be surprised if it died out.

You know, I've had this criticism for quite some time now. Life has been shown to be amazingly resilient, beyond the boiling point of water, into complete vacuum of space. And yet, I constantly see statements like "outside this narrow range of parameters, life would not be possible!!"
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 13, 2015, 01:53:43 PM
Twenty years ago, you would have been crazy to think life could exist 7 miles underwater. James Cameron's little adventure to the Mariana Trench proved that to be very wrong. We've had bacteria survie launch, spend 500+ days in the vaccuum of space, and then survive reentry. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but if life ever blossomed on Mars, I'd be surprised if it died out.

You know, I've had this criticism for quite some time now. Life has been shown to be amazingly resilient, beyond the boiling point of water, into complete vacuum of space. And yet, I constantly see statements like "outside this narrow range of parameters, life would not be possible!!"

Especially considering the fact that we have only studied (and I guess you could say searched for as well) life on one celestial body. Now, had we explored a few dozen worlds and only found life in conditions that match those of Earth, I could maybe get more onboard with these presumptions. But for us to think we can even remotely begin to comprehend where life can survive/thrive is pretty foolish if you ask me.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on April 13, 2015, 08:47:38 PM
I agree our scope and understanding of "life" is pretty limited, based on our very narrow experience. As varied as life is on Earth, universally speaking a lot of it is extremely similar.

Perhaps in the context of a planet so close to us it's a safer assumption, but it still can't be ruled out.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 14, 2015, 06:24:55 AM
https://aviationweek.com/space/ula-s-vulcan-rocket-embraces-reusability-new-upper-stage

Looks like there will be another company competing with SpaceX in regards to the recycling of boosters.

Quote
The next step is to refine the reusability of the main engine, Bruno says. The concept calls for the use of a hypersonic heat shield ULA is designing with NASA to protect the engine as it re-enters the atmosphere and slow its re-entry. Once slowed, the engine will deploy a steerable parafoil, which will guide it to a rendezvous point with a helicopter. The helicopter then will use a hook to pluck the engine from its descent. This is not unlike the retrieval operations for film canisters employed on early spy satellites.

This seems a little ridiculous to me. I'd imagine the helicopters would need to fly autonomously. I'm not saying it can't be done, but this seems really tricky... like no wear near 100% success rate tricky. But hey, I'm sure the engineers considered that.

I see something wrong with this helicopter recovery appraoch not mentioned in the article. SpaceX's design is scalable. SpaceX can build a rocket as big as they want and will just need to build a barge big enough to fit it. The helicopters will be limited to smaller boosters due to weight and flight mechanics. No?

Also, SpaceX wants to ultimately land these right back on the pad they launched from. Once they accomplish that, the helicopters and barges seem like unnecessary steps.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 06, 2015, 07:19:49 AM
Just ordered me this shirt!

https://www.neatoshop.com/product/We-Are-Star-Stuff

(https://www.theshirtlist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/WE-ARE-STAR-STUFF-T-Shirt-e1395116501157.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on May 06, 2015, 07:21:16 AM
Looks like the oldschool space logo that was on the '80s Lego spaceman suits too. :metal I like it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 06, 2015, 07:26:45 AM
Looks like the oldschool space logo that was on the '80s Lego spaceman suits too. :metal I like it.

I've wanted a Sagan shirt for so long. A while back I saw a Tyson/Nye shirt. It was cool, but I'm not the biggest fan of Nye. I like the guy, but he can be very annoying in his delivery. I lost my shit when I saw this one.

*edit*

Just looked up what you were talking about... Awesome! Very cool throwback.

(https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDg5WDUwMA==/z/AAkAAOxy0x1TVlM9/$_3.JPG?set_id=2)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on May 06, 2015, 07:28:12 AM
Looks like the oldschool space logo that was on the '80s Lego spaceman suits too. :metal I like it.

I've wanted a Sagan shirt for so long. A while back I saw a Tyson/Nye shirt. It was cool, but I'm not the biggest fan of Nye. I like the guy, but he can be very annoying in his delivery. I lost my shit when I saw this one.

Bill Nye and Degrasse Tyson were in an episode of Stargate Atlantis together, so I'd be down with that one.
This one is very cool though. :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on May 06, 2015, 12:45:20 PM
https://www.engadget.com/2015/05/06/researchers-find-new-most-distant-galaxy-in-the-universe/ (https://www.engadget.com/2015/05/06/researchers-find-new-most-distant-galaxy-in-the-universe/)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 07, 2015, 12:57:09 AM
Cool! You know it's funny how our brains can't really process how long 670 million years really is even though it's a small number in the universe.

Side note: Can't wait to see the pictures JWST will process. Should be epic!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 20, 2015, 05:41:32 AM
(https://i100.independent.co.uk/image/17499-pefwg4.jpg)

https://www.flagofplanetearth.com/#space-walk
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 20, 2015, 07:27:55 AM
I feel like it needs some green.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on May 20, 2015, 07:40:41 AM
Honestly I'm not impressed by it. Seems a tad boring and simple. Any kid who's played with a Spirograph for an hour has drawn this.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 20, 2015, 08:15:25 AM
Yeah. I'm really not feeling the love for this one.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on May 20, 2015, 09:21:28 AM
I don't mind it. And a planet flag is a cool idea.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 20, 2015, 09:42:46 AM
Having a flag for the planet is an awesome idea, but this just seems, I don't know, half assed.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on May 20, 2015, 09:53:28 AM
Having a flag for the planet is an awesome idea, but this just seems, I don't know, half assed.

Pretty much this.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 20, 2015, 10:11:01 AM
I don't know, did you guys watch the video? There's of course 1000 other ways to illustrate Earth on a flag but it's a simple idea and I like it atleast.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 20, 2015, 10:15:17 AM
I don't know, did you guys watch the video? There's of course 1000 other ways to illustrate Earth on a flag but it's a simple idea and I like it atleast.

I watched it without volume. To me, that series of circles could represent literally anything.

Something with symbols 100% unique to both Earth and humans should have been used. Something like;
(https://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/212_fall2003.web.dir/Brian_Herold/Pictures/plaque.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on May 20, 2015, 10:47:59 AM
I don't know, did you guys watch the video?

Yep. I watched it. It just seems to me there is a better design out there that typifies our Planet....like th example Chino just posted....was that on Voyager? That flag is just 'blah'....
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 20, 2015, 11:08:08 AM
I don't know, did you guys watch the video?

Yep. I watched it. It just seems to me there is a better design out there that typifies our Planet....like th example Chino just posted....was that on Voyager? That flag is just 'blah'....
No that was Pioneer 10 and 11. Voyager 1 and 2 had each a Golden Record.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/The_Sounds_of_Earth_-_GPN-2000-001976.jpg/800px-The_Sounds_of_Earth_-_GPN-2000-001976.jpg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/The_Sounds_of_Earth_Record_Cover_-_GPN-2000-001978.jpg/1024px-The_Sounds_of_Earth_Record_Cover_-_GPN-2000-001978.jpg)

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on May 21, 2015, 06:24:18 AM
Thought this might be a useful addendum to the above:

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Voyager_Golden_Record_Cover_Explanation.svg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 21, 2015, 06:50:44 AM
I always wondered if we stumbled across something similar from an alien race if we'd have any clue where to start.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on May 21, 2015, 07:11:33 AM
I wouldn't even have a clue where to start on the Earth one. :lol

I don't think we'd do any better on an alien one than they would on ours, given how different they'd likely be. I wonder how embarrassing ours would appear to an intelligent alien species?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 21, 2015, 07:14:20 AM
At this point, we should just send out ipads.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Bolsters on May 21, 2015, 07:21:43 AM
If you want the aliens to wipe us out, sure.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on May 21, 2015, 07:26:31 AM
If you want aliens to think even less of us, sure. No wonder we're just probe-meat to them.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on May 21, 2015, 07:56:42 AM
Well, we've already figured out enough about nature to send probes out of our solar system without a universe instruction manual.  I'm pretty sure if an alien version of this found its way to earth, we'd eventually decode it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on June 02, 2015, 08:22:43 AM
My friend introduced me to Omega Tau Podcast (https://omegataupodcast.net/), which is a science and engineering blog.  I've only listened to the episode on the Apollo Guidance Computer (https://omegataupodcast.net/2015/03/167-the-apollo-guidance-computer/) so far.  Incredibly detailed talk about the software architecture (most of which is above my head) and the control logic of the Apollo spacecraft computers.

I currently have about 11 hours of this podcast bookmarked.  Who knows when I will actually be able to listen to all of it.

The podcast is about more than just space, including Race Car Design, Container Shipping and Flying the Concorde.

Each podcast page has an agenda with each topic discussed, as well as external links to relevant information.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on June 06, 2015, 05:38:34 PM
Wow, that was a great podcast.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on June 07, 2015, 07:42:03 AM
Wow, that was a great podcast.
And you can listen to ALL of his podcasts, being that some are in German.  Lucky you.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on June 07, 2015, 09:01:46 AM
Yup  ;D
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on June 13, 2015, 08:46:26 PM
Ok, this maybe OLD news to some of you space experts, but I just came across to this official ISS tracking site! It is quite cool!  :biggrin:

https://www.heavens-above.com
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on June 14, 2015, 08:04:04 AM
Philae woke up!

(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/media/images/83619000/jpg/_83619241_83619240.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 14, 2015, 08:17:18 AM
 :hefdaddy
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on June 14, 2015, 09:50:27 AM
Awesome news! I wonder what sort of data will we get.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Bolsters on June 14, 2015, 09:54:34 AM
I'm not sure how I feel about a lander that tweets.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on June 14, 2015, 09:56:22 AM
@ESA_Rosetta

Day 45. No aliens spotted. More Rock. Just Rock. Infinite Rock. FML.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on June 14, 2015, 10:38:22 AM
@ESA_Rosetta

Day 45. No aliens spotted. More Rock. Just Rock. Infinite Rock. FML.

...or ice?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Bolsters on June 14, 2015, 10:08:04 PM
@ESA_Rosetta

Day 46. Thought I found rock yesterday but it turned out to be ice LOL
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 22, 2015, 05:49:28 AM
Wanderers - a short film (https://www.erikwernquist.com/wanderers/)

Just a short little movie about space exploration that I thought was neat.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on June 25, 2015, 06:24:00 AM
Someone in KY got a shot of Lunar X!

The Lunar X (also known as the Werner X) is a clair-obscur effect in which light and shadow creates the appearance of a letter 'X' on the rim of the Blanchinus, La Caille and Purbach craters.

(https://scontent-hkg3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/t31.0-8/11425097_10205647776446886_893882234932306835_o.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on June 25, 2015, 08:42:16 AM
That's funky!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on June 25, 2015, 01:56:16 PM
Awesome new footage released of SpaceX landing attempt.

https://mashable.com/2015/06/25/spacex-video-rocket-landing/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 25, 2015, 02:11:38 PM
That was cool! So close yet so far away. It's descent towards the platform seemed to be very fast, didn't seem to be very controlled or maybe it's supose to be like that?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on June 25, 2015, 03:11:00 PM
The issue is that they have only a minute amount of fuel left, so they have to wait until the very last moment to slow down the rocket.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 26, 2015, 12:46:55 AM
That would explain the speed yes. I guess a parachute would be in the way?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Sigz on June 28, 2015, 09:56:17 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=197&v=PuNymhcTtSQ

womp womp.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 28, 2015, 10:13:13 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=197&v=PuNymhcTtSQ

womp womp.
Love the complete radio silence.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on June 29, 2015, 08:50:40 AM
Total bummer about that Falcon 9 yesterday :( I was waiting for one to fail eventually.


On a slightly different note, this was a really good read. I agree with most of what Krauss says during this dialog.

https://motherboard.vice.com/read/chomsky-krauss-space-science-qa

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on June 30, 2015, 12:52:16 AM
I think a retired professor is called an emeritus professor, rather than a professor emeritus like mentioned in the article.  :hat
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on June 30, 2015, 06:56:34 AM
(https://i.imgur.com/OLzQ71a.png)

A retired professor is indeed a professor emeritus.  "Emeritus" is usually postpositional; it is far less common to be used as a prepositional adjective.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on June 30, 2015, 07:09:37 AM
I've never heard that term before  :-X
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on July 01, 2015, 11:10:46 AM
I may or may not have posted this in the "blow your mind" thread:

The New Horizons spacecraft left the earth on a solar escape trajectory that put it at the distance of the moon's orbit in only 9 hours.

Lunar missions, however, couldn't approach at such a speed, since they could never be captured by the moon's gravity; they would fly right past.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 01, 2015, 11:15:40 AM
The mathematical calculations and planning before launch that NASA does for a project like that is something I will never understand and I would assume i'm not alone.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on July 01, 2015, 11:32:05 AM
I know there is a computer model of the solar system that JPL uses to plan trajectories.  It accounts for deviations from the ideal point mass approximations of the planets, orbital perturbations, etc.  I know I heard about it somewhere, but I don't know much more about it.

Edit: I did find this, though: https://eyes.nasa.gov/index.html
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on July 01, 2015, 07:30:06 PM
Latest Pluto image: https://pluto.jhuapl.edu/soc/Pluto-Encounter/data/pluto/level2/lor/jpeg/029803/lor_0298030209_0x630_sci_1.jpg (https://pluto.jhuapl.edu/soc/Pluto-Encounter/data/pluto/level2/lor/jpeg/029803/lor_0298030209_0x630_sci_1.jpg)

Less than two weeks until the flyby!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on July 01, 2015, 08:10:04 PM
The white dot on Pluto has me thinking,

(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ysVKUYtyGs8/hqdefault.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 02, 2015, 07:21:06 AM
Latest Pluto image: https://pluto.jhuapl.edu/soc/Pluto-Encounter/data/pluto/level2/lor/jpeg/029803/lor_0298030209_0x630_sci_1.jpg (https://pluto.jhuapl.edu/soc/Pluto-Encounter/data/pluto/level2/lor/jpeg/029803/lor_0298030209_0x630_sci_1.jpg)

Less than two weeks until the flyby!!

This is so exciting. It kind of saddens me that the vast majority of the public doesn't even know this flyby is happening. We are going to be the first people in the history of our species to actually see Pluto. How cool is that?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 02, 2015, 07:49:12 AM
I know there is a computer model of the solar system that JPL uses to plan trajectories.  It accounts for deviations from the ideal point mass approximations of the planets, orbital perturbations, etc.  I know I heard about it somewhere, but I don't know much more about it.

Edit: I did find this, though: https://eyes.nasa.gov/index.html
Yea I would imagine something like that was in use. Cool stuff!

Latest Pluto image: https://pluto.jhuapl.edu/soc/Pluto-Encounter/data/pluto/level2/lor/jpeg/029803/lor_0298030209_0x630_sci_1.jpg (https://pluto.jhuapl.edu/soc/Pluto-Encounter/data/pluto/level2/lor/jpeg/029803/lor_0298030209_0x630_sci_1.jpg)

Less than two weeks until the flyby!!

This is so exciting. It kind of saddens me that the vast majority of the public doesn't even know this flyby is happening. We are going to be the first people in the history of our species to actually see Pluto. How cool is that?
I totally share your excitment. I think that alot of people just assume we already been there with a satellite or something. I actually up until recently thought that Voyager 1 did a flyby in the 70s but apparently they went to Saturnus moon Titan instead.
It's an historic event for sure!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 02, 2015, 07:53:51 AM
I actually up until recently thought that Voyager 1 did a flyby in the 70s but apparently they went to Saturnus moon Titan instead.
It's an historic event for sure!

Did either of the Voyagers visit Pluto?
Why didn't the Voyagers fly by Pluto?

"Answer: Both Voyagers flew beyond the orbit of Pluto/Neptune in 1989, but neither flew by Pluto, which was elsewhere in its orbit at the time. It was never planned that the Voyagers would visit Pluto.

The original mission of Voyager was to explore Jupiter and Saturn. Two spacecraft were sent on slightly different paths, first to Jupiter and then, with gravity assists, on to Saturn. Voyager 1 could have been aimed on to Pluto, but exploration of Titan and the rings of Saturn was a primary scientific objective. This caused the trajectory to be diverted upward out of the ecliptic plane such that no further planetary encounters were possible for Voyager 1. Once Voyager 1 had successfully gathered data at Titan, Voyager 2 was allowed to go on to Uranus and Neptune. Voyager 2, theoretically, could have been aimed for Pluto, but the aim point would have been inside the planet of Neptune - not very practical. So Pluto was the only outer planet the Voyagers didn't visit."

https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/faq.html


^^^ Pretty cool stuff in there if you're looking to kill some time.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 02, 2015, 09:18:31 AM
Thx for the link!  :tup

On a slightly diffrent but still relevant....

(https://scontent-fra3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/t31.0-8/11062917_10153367437766772_2018589227296742552_o.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on July 02, 2015, 09:56:56 AM
Nickelback are not looking good these days.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on July 02, 2015, 10:43:52 AM
I'm surprised there has been no discussion in here about Jupiter and Venus.  Over the past 3 or 4 months, I noticed Jupiter slowly making it's way from the eastern sky to the western sky while Venus remains in the west.  Of course, this is just an optical illusion because Jupiter isn't really moving that fast.  Venus is actual moving towards Jupiter along the eliptical plane.  This conjuntion is also aided by our vantange point from Earth in it's orbital position.  Pretty cool stuff since this rare conjunction won't happen again in our lifetime.

Unfortunately, I missed the closest encounter when Venus passed Jupiter from right to left because of cloud cover on Tuesday night 6/30.  Still an amazing sight.
Check out the link below to see what transpired.


https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/06/30/418915225/venus-and-jupiter-set-for-a-close-encounter-tuesday-night
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on July 02, 2015, 10:55:38 AM
Unfortunately I missed that too. I did notice them being rather close to each other last night though.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 02, 2015, 10:58:29 AM
I have not had good enough skies the last few nights to see this.

I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with this;
https://guardianlv.com/2015/06/venus-star-of-bethlehem-that-wise-men-followed-appears-again-after-2000-years-video/

Quote
he event begs the question, did an ancient conjunction between the planets of Venus and Jupiter form the star of Bethlehem that the Wise Men of the Bible followed 2000 years ago? That is the theory that has not only been put forth by NASA, but many in the scientific community have come to support this recent finding. For the next six days, when the planet Venus has its conjunction with Jupiter, there will be what looks like the joining of two stars in the skies beginning on Monday night, and continuing through Saturday July 4th. It will appear as if one bright light or star forming in the western sky.

The scientific community now believe that this conjunction of the planets may have mistakenly been called the Star of Bethlehem by the Wise Men mentioned in the New Testament. According to Fred Schaaf, Sky & Telescope Contributing Editor, the upcoming conjunction of Venus and Jupiter will closely resemble one that occurred between the years 3 and 2 B.C., which falls within the approximate time frame that the Wise Men were said to have followed the Star of Bethlehem.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on July 02, 2015, 11:06:56 AM
I was not. That's really cool.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on July 02, 2015, 01:32:46 PM
Yeah, I also watched a show on the H2 channel a couple weeks ago about the scientific explanation of the star of Bethlehem.  They also concluded that it was Jupiter in close conjunction with Venus.  It was interesting especially since I had noticed Jupiter and Venus getting closer prior to knowing anything about that occurrence.  It donned on me that it wasn't a coincidence that the show was on TV prior to the actual conjunction.  Pretty damn cool!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 02, 2015, 06:23:44 PM
Hmm that's really interesting.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 06, 2015, 06:33:36 AM
Sheeeiiiiiiit.

https://news.sky.com/story/1514080/alien-life-on-philae-comet-scientists-say

Quote
Prof Wickramasinghe said: "What we're saying is that data coming from the comet seems to unequivocally, in my opinion, point to micro-organisms being involved in the formation of the icy structures, the preponderance of aromatic hydrocarbons, and the very dark surface.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on July 06, 2015, 04:36:44 PM
I'll stick with Carl Sagan. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on July 06, 2015, 05:26:39 PM
I read that this morning.  Title should read "It's not impossible that life exists on 67P".

Also, this on the same day:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/07/06/sorry-there-probably-isnt-life-on-rosettas-comet-even-if-scientists-said-so/?postshare=2031436199815692
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on July 07, 2015, 06:26:49 AM
Check out all that space junk!

https://stuffin.space/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 07, 2015, 09:47:08 AM
I just joined the Planetary Society.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on July 10, 2015, 07:45:36 AM
(https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1507/2015Jul8_plutoNH_nasajhuaplswri.jpg) (https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150709.html)

This was from July 7 at a distance of 5 million miles.  The closest approach is only a week later, at a distance of 7,750 miles.  I need to remember July 14.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on July 10, 2015, 07:49:02 AM
It's hard to even comprehend how far away this image was taken, and everything that was involved to get there. Just amazing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 10, 2015, 08:03:15 AM
It really is mind blowing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on July 10, 2015, 09:31:52 PM
It is ALIVE! ALIVE I said!  :lol  The black hole at the center of galaxy NGC 660 came back to life!!!  :eek


https://www.astronomy.com/news/2015/07/radio-astronomers-see-black-hole-come-to-life
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on July 13, 2015, 02:15:20 PM
Who's ready for some Pluto pictures tomorrow? :2metal:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on July 13, 2015, 02:46:55 PM
Here is one from today!

(https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1507/Pluto03_NewHorizons_1041.jpg) (https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on July 13, 2015, 02:52:29 PM
And to think they say that the ones tomorrow should have 300 times more detail.  :hefdaddy
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on July 13, 2015, 08:11:20 PM
Check out this Eyes On the Solar System app for PC / Mac developed by NASA here : https://eyes.nasa.gov/

It is quite well done and you can get a "live" simulation of the New Horizon mission as it is happening.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: millahh on July 14, 2015, 05:16:45 AM
Closest approach is 34 minutes out..why is this thread not on top?? (well, I guess it will be now that I've made this pots, if at least for a moment).

I remember Voyager from when I was ten, it feels like that did...
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: millahh on July 14, 2015, 05:22:54 AM
Scientists trying not to cry is one of the most amazing things to see...
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 14, 2015, 05:43:07 AM
Couple minutes away!!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on July 14, 2015, 05:43:23 AM
The last picture before the fly-by is absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to see the high quality photos afterwards.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 14, 2015, 07:21:41 AM
Exciting times!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on July 14, 2015, 08:09:32 AM
So it happened, but Horizons was programmed to stop communication with Earth while it did all its picture stuff, so we won't hear from it again until 9PM EDT.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 14, 2015, 08:16:47 AM
I read earlier that New Horizon's banwidth is roughly 1/50 of a 56k modem from the 90s. It takes 42 minutes to send a single 1024 pixel image back.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on July 14, 2015, 08:18:32 AM
I read earlier that New Horizon's banwidth is roughly 1/50 of a 56k modem from the 90s. It takes 42 minutes to send a single 1024 pixel image back.

We must have read the same page (or at least taken from the same source). :tup Apparently it will take about 16 months to send all of the data.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on July 14, 2015, 08:35:21 AM
Final picture for a while:

(https://media3.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2015_29/1120761/150714-pluto2_77e76171ebddf48ee1e6d37848ca1fd1.nbcnews-fp-1200-800.jpg)

While this is going on we've also got a modern probe heading to a polar orbit of Jupiter which should be pretty cool, as well. I'm glad we're still using some good tech to study the solar system.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 14, 2015, 08:56:52 AM

While this is going on we've also got a modern probe heading to a polar orbit of Jupiter which should be pretty cool, as well. I'm glad we're still using some good tech to study the solar system.

Sadly, that's diminishing. I think after the one you're referring to, the Ceres mission, and this New Horizons mission, we don't have much left on our plate in regards to exploring our solar system. We have a project in the works now to go to Europa, but we won't get to that moon until the mid 2030s assuming everything stays on schedule. It's a shame. We have so much technology and talent, and exploring our solar system is such a small part of our budget, it's a shame we don't have more missions in the pipeline.

I saw a lot of hate online for this mission. A lot of people think the $700million this mission cost could have been better spent feeding people or helping third world countries. While it's true that $700million could feed a lot of mouths, but so could the $7trillion we've spent in the Middle East, the $1.4trillion we've spent building the F35, or the $800billion that was spent bailing out the banks. When I look at expenses like that, it absolutely blows my mind that cutting NASA's budget is ever on the table. It's such a small fraction of our national expenses and gives us so much in return. I'm not just talking about breath taking pictures. The unexpected technological breakthroughs that have originated with space travel are too many to count.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on July 14, 2015, 09:21:17 AM
Juno is the mission I was referring to. DAWN is currently exploring proto-planets. NASA currently has a ton of missions underway, although few on other planets (Mars excluded).

And the problem is that few people really grasp the nature of change and research. Learning specific things is great, but just learning "stuff" will often yield far greater results. There's no telling what some currently anonymous egghead in his mom's basement might discover from research gathered by one of the many probes we're sending out. Might be far more helpful than a couple of more years of Meals on Wheels.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on July 14, 2015, 09:36:08 AM
Juno is the mission I was referring to. DAWN is currently exploring proto-planets. NASA currently has a ton of missions underway, although few on other planets (Mars excluded).

And the problem is that few people really grasp the nature of change and research. Learning specific things is great, but just learning "stuff" will often yield far greater results. There's no telling what some currently anonymous egghead in his mom's basement might discover from research gathered by one of the many probes we're sending out. Might be far more helpful than a couple of more years of Meals on Wheels.

Also the technology created to do these missions can come back and play a role somewhere else in society.  Im all for funding NASA, in fact I am wearing my NASA tshirt today  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 14, 2015, 10:05:32 AM
Juno is the mission I was referring to. DAWN is currently exploring proto-planets. NASA currently has a ton of missions underway, although few on other planets (Mars excluded).

And the problem is that few people really grasp the nature of change and research. Learning specific things is great, but just learning "stuff" will often yield far greater results. There's no telling what some currently anonymous egghead in his mom's basement might discover from research gathered by one of the many probes we're sending out. Might be far more helpful than a couple of more years of Meals on Wheels.

Also the technology created to do these missions can come back and play a role somewhere else in society.  Im all for funding NASA, in fact I am wearing my NASA tshirt today  :metal

One of my favorite spinoff technologies is the ultrasound. NASA needed a way to see through the dust on the moon in order to find a safe landing site. Being able to see inside the human body was a fantastic repurposing of the technology. Memory foam, scratch resistant lenses, water filtration, cordless tools, and satellite television are cool too.

Here is a really good read on technologies that have stemmed unexpectedly from NASA work.
https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2008/tech_benefits.html
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on July 14, 2015, 11:48:58 AM
This is all an argument for fundamental scientific research, rather than targeted research to a specific end.  Fundamental research doesn't need to have an end goal other than expanding our knowledge.  Most of the great technology came not from specific research toward that technology, but from applications unintended at the beginning.  Carl Sagan said it all better than me:

Quote
There is a growing free-market view of human knowledge, according to which basic research should compete without government support with all the other institutions and claimants in the society. If they couldn’t have relied on government support, and had to compete in the free market economy of their day, it's unlikely that any of the scientists on my list would have been able to do their groundbreaking research. And the cost of basic research is substantially greater than it was in Maxwell's day-both theoretical and, especially, experimental.

But that aside, would free market forces be adequate to support basic research?  Only about 10 percent of meritorious research proposals in medicine are funded today.  More money is spent on quack medicine than on all of medical research.  What would it be like if government opted out of medical research?

A necessary aspect of basic research is that its applications lie in the future-sometimes decades or even centuries ahead.  What's more, no one knows which aspects of basic research will have practical value and which will not.  If scientists cannot make such predictions, is it likely that politicians or industrialists can?  If free market forces are focused only towards short-term profit-as they certainly mainly are in an America with steep declines in corporate research-is not this solution tantamount to abandoning basic research?

Cutting of fundamental curiosity-driven science is like eating the seed corn. We may harvest a little more to eat next winter, but what will we plant so we and our children will have enough to get through the winters to come?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: millahh on July 14, 2015, 07:03:48 PM
It's alive!!!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on July 14, 2015, 08:49:05 PM
The Pluto pics are awesome! Incredible moment for science and humanity. :hefdaddy
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: millahh on July 15, 2015, 06:40:17 AM
In poking around NASA's website, I saw something that I'd somehow missed...we still ave two antennas pointing at (and receiving data from) Voyager 1!

Also, there's nothing that represents pure joy to me as much as seeing excited scientists.  I remember my couple of big breakthrough moments in my grad work, and jumping up and down pumping my fist in the air in the lab at 3:00 in the morning...and that must only be the tiniest fraction of what the mission team felt yesterday.  I'll admit my eyes got a little watery watching it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on July 15, 2015, 06:59:22 AM
In poking around NASA's website, I saw something that I'd somehow missed...we still ave two antennas pointing at (and receiving data from) Voyager 1!


I could have sworn that one of the Voyager missions had lost contact in the last few years, but I must be getting confused with something else. Maybe I'm thinking of a different probe, or just one function was shut down.
What I find most incredible is not that these old probes are still transmitting back data and we're receiving it, but that scientists are still able to interface with the old technology, and even modify and reprogram them successfully to fix problems remotely and adapt for new mission objectives. The ingenuity and ability to utilize technology of the time to its fullest potential impresses me so much.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 15, 2015, 07:04:02 AM
In poking around NASA's website, I saw something that I'd somehow missed...we still ave two antennas pointing at (and receiving data from) Voyager 1!


I could have sworn that one of the Voyager missions had lost contact in the last few years, but I must be getting confused with something else. Maybe I'm thinking of a different probe, or just one function was shut down.
What I find most incredible is not that these old probes are still transmitting back data and we're receiving it, but that scientists are still able to interface with the old technology, and even modify and reprogram them successfully to fix problems remotely and adapt for new mission objectives. The ingenuity and ability to utilize technology of the time to its fullest potential impresses me so much.

If it's anything likeworking on a COBOL legacy system, I feel bad for them  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: millahh on July 15, 2015, 07:06:18 AM
I think Voyager 2 lost contact a few years ago, I guess I just assumed the Voyager 1 had as well, but I was clearly wrong...
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 15, 2015, 07:08:23 AM
Didn't we get an audio recording from V1 like two years ago?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on July 15, 2015, 07:56:21 AM
If it's anything likeworking on a COBOL legacy system, I feel bad for them  :lol

They'd have been very lucky to get a higher level language like that. They programmed those things in assembly code. They had to interface with custom hardware and had to make full use of the limited resources.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on July 15, 2015, 11:42:27 AM
I think both Voyagers are still sending data. VOY1 has cleared the heliosphere, making it interstellar, and VOY2 is right at the edge of the heliosheath.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on July 15, 2015, 12:01:40 PM
Crazy idea : One of our Voyager probes goes into a black hole - gets spat out and returned to Earth in the past - 50 years before it was launched.

It is still transmitting data.

We receive this Data and assume it is an alien craft.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on July 15, 2015, 12:25:02 PM
Crazy idea : One of our Voyager probes goes into a black hole - gets spat out and returned to Earth in the past - 50 years before it was launched.

It is still transmitting data.

We receive this Data and assume it is an alien craft.



Interstellar
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on July 15, 2015, 12:30:44 PM
(https://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRt3LEf7dyQLZ8IEHWwYpGPAwqw3Nj9PK9iMzHD7FusXm6G-QOuUQ)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 15, 2015, 12:43:49 PM
Crazy idea : One of our Voyager probes goes into a black hole - gets spat out and returned to Earth in the past - 50 years before it was launched.

It is still transmitting data.

We receive this Data and assume it is an alien craft.

It would arrive in the future. I think.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on July 15, 2015, 12:56:16 PM
If it's anything likeworking on a COBOL legacy system, I feel bad for them  :lol

They'd have been very lucky to get a higher level language like that. They programmed those things in assembly code. They had to interface with custom hardware and had to make full use of the limited resources.

Here's an absolutely excellent podcast on the matter:

https://omegataupodcast.net/2015/03/167-the-apollo-guidance-computer/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on July 15, 2015, 01:03:09 PM
Crazy idea : One of our Voyager probes goes into a black hole - gets spat out and returned to Earth in the past - 50 years before it was launched.

It is still transmitting data.

We receive this Data and assume it is an alien craft.

It would arrive in the future. I think.

It would go in the future from our current timeline, but its possible it still goes in the past relative to the Earth timeline when it comes back due to time moving slower in the black hole relative to earth.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on July 15, 2015, 01:21:43 PM
I don't think so. Time can compress and stretch, but it can't run backwards...at least as far as us understanding travel within our own dimension/universe. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on July 15, 2015, 01:27:43 PM
Agreed, I am not saying that.  I am saying its can be using the "compressed" time so that when it comes back to earth it is actually 50 years behind the current earth time.  As in the probe is gone for 30 years but the earth has gone for 50 years making it 20 years in the past when it comes back to earth, but its all in the future relative to now.

There is no way according to physics laws that we know of for something to leave earth today and come back in the past like kotowboy was saying.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on July 15, 2015, 01:42:24 PM
And it wouldn't be able to send signals forward in time. Not to mention the black hole would probably shred it to atom sized pieces before it could even pass through in the first place.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on July 15, 2015, 01:54:11 PM
It is fun to think about though.  I took AP physics in high school and after the AP exam there was still a month of school left so the physics teacher gave us lessons on Einstein's Theory of Relativity which was one of the most interesting things I had learned.  I don't remember lots of it, but always thought the concept of relative time was super interesting.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on July 15, 2015, 02:48:45 PM
Closeup of 11,000 foot mountains.

(https://i.imgur.com/bkctwKj.png)

(https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/nh-pluto-surface-scale.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on July 16, 2015, 02:05:07 AM
Crazy idea : One of our Voyager probes goes into a black hole - gets spat out and returned to Earth in the past - 50 years before it was launched.

It is still transmitting data.

We receive this Data and assume it is an alien craft.



Interstellar


???

It's more like Star Trek TMP if anything.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on July 16, 2015, 05:23:44 AM
Crazy idea : One of our Voyager probes goes into a black hole - gets spat out and returned to Earth in the past - 50 years before it was launched.

It is still transmitting data.

We receive this Data and assume it is an alien craft.



Interstellar


???

It's more like Star Trek TMP if anything.

Did you see interstellar? What you described is very similar to what happens in that movie.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 16, 2015, 05:44:01 AM
Pluto has just gotten very interesting. I don't think even the top astronomers at NASA predicted such a fresh surface and mountains of that magnitude.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on July 16, 2015, 11:13:17 AM
Crazy idea : One of our Voyager probes goes into a black hole - gets spat out and returned to Earth in the past - 50 years before it was launched.

It is still transmitting data.

We receive this Data and assume it is an alien craft.



Interstellar


???

It's more like Star Trek TMP if anything.

Did you see interstellar? What you described is very similar to what happens in that movie.


There's no voyager probe. There's no time travel. There's a black hole. That's it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on July 16, 2015, 11:18:15 AM
Did you watch the ending?  When he goes into the black hole he is able to go back in time... he is the "ghost" that was communicating with his daughter in the beginning of the movie.  You are right there is no voyager probe, but the idea of transmitting data in the past and that data being interpreted as an alien (or Ghost) is exactly what I am talking about.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on July 16, 2015, 04:17:32 PM
He enters a fifth dimensional tesseract - which is every point in time at once.

He's outside linear time. He doesn't go back in time.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on July 16, 2015, 05:56:25 PM
He enters a fifth dimensional tesseract - which is every point in time at once.

He's outside linear time. He doesn't go back in time.

Yes, but he is able to send a signal back to earth in the past and communicate with his daughter who initially interprets it as a ghost.  Which is similar to
 
Crazy idea : One of our Voyager probes goes into a black hole - gets spat out and returned to Earth in the past - 50 years before it was launched.

It is still transmitting data.

We receive this Data and assume it is an alien craft.
Which was my point all along, I thought what you stated was very similar to what happens in the movie.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on July 17, 2015, 08:29:21 AM
I still think it's basically TMP :P
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on July 17, 2015, 08:53:01 AM
I haven't seen that so I cant compare Ż\_(ツ)_/Ż
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on July 20, 2015, 11:01:14 AM
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/searching-et-hawking-look-extraterrestrial-life-121322284.html (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/searching-et-hawking-look-extraterrestrial-life-121322284.html)

That seems interesting, as well as this:

Quote
It includes a "listening" program — the effort to analyze vast amounts of radio signals in search of signs of life — and a "messaging" program that will include $1 million in prizes for digital messages that best represent the planet Earth.

The messages will not be sent, however, in part because some scientists — including Hawking — fear messages sent into space could possibly spur aggressive actions by alien races.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 20, 2015, 01:30:27 PM
Just pledged $21 to this.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smithsonian/reboot-the-suit-bring-back-neil-armstrongs-spacesu?ref=nav_search

Quote
Neil Armstrong's spacesuit – like most of the spacesuits in the Museum’s collection – is currently being stored in a climate-controlled collections storage area that is not accessible to the public.

You may be surprised to learn that spacesuits are among the most fragile artifacts in the Museum’s collection. The Apollo suits were made to take astronauts to the Moon and back safely -- not to last hundreds of years in a museum.

Quote
Isn't the Smithsonian federally funded? Good question! Federal appropriations provide the foundation of the Smithsonian's operating budget and support core functions, such as building operations and maintenance, research, and safeguarding the collections. Projects like Reboot the Suit aren’t covered by our federal appropriations, which means we can only undertake them if we can fund them some other way. In other words, we won’t be able to do this project without the participation of Kickstarter backers.


I'm really curious to see how well this does. More than $60k has been raised since this morning. I won't be surprised if the $500k is shattered. It makes me wonder what else could be crowd sourced in terms of space and exploration.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on July 20, 2015, 01:46:17 PM
https://i.imgur.com/PGwwOBR.gifv
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 20, 2015, 08:20:47 PM
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/searching-et-hawking-look-extraterrestrial-life-121322284.html (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/searching-et-hawking-look-extraterrestrial-life-121322284.html)

That seems interesting, as well as this:

Quote
It includes a "listening" program — the effort to analyze vast amounts of radio signals in search of signs of life — and a "messaging" program that will include $1 million in prizes for digital messages that best represent the planet Earth.

The messages will not be sent, however, in part because some scientists — including Hawking — fear messages sent into space could possibly spur aggressive actions by alien races.
Sounds interesting.

Here's the trailer:

Breakthrough Initiatives (https://youtu.be/rrXeRK2B6z8)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on July 20, 2015, 10:04:57 PM
Just pledged $21 to this.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smithsonian/reboot-the-suit-bring-back-neil-armstrongs-spacesu?ref=nav_search (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smithsonian/reboot-the-suit-bring-back-neil-armstrongs-spacesu?ref=nav_search)

Quote
Neil Armstrong's spacesuit – like most of the spacesuits in the Museum’s collection – is currently being stored in a climate-controlled collections storage area that is not accessible to the public.

You may be surprised to learn that spacesuits are among the most fragile artifacts in the Museum’s collection. The Apollo suits were made to take astronauts to the Moon and back safely -- not to last hundreds of years in a museum.

Quote
Isn't the Smithsonian federally funded? Good question! Federal appropriations provide the foundation of the Smithsonian's operating budget and support core functions, such as building operations and maintenance, research, and safeguarding the collections. Projects like Reboot the Suit aren’t covered by our federal appropriations, which means we can only undertake them if we can fund them some other way. In other words, we won’t be able to do this project without the participation of Kickstarter backers.


I'm really curious to see how well this does. More than $60k has been raised since this morning. I won't be surprised if the $500k is shattered. It makes me wonder what else could be crowd sourced in terms of space and exploration.
They've got a couple on display already. I remember that they're pretty filthy. I guess they're just taking extra care of Armstrong's.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 21, 2015, 06:21:47 AM
They have others from the first moon landing?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: wasteland on July 21, 2015, 06:34:26 AM
A fine three-tailed comet gracing the southern skies right now!

(https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--4QjVAtgK--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/1349351456278245517.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on July 21, 2015, 07:45:12 AM
How does a comet get 3 tails?  My understanding is that since the sun heats up the comet, its debris forms a tail facing away from the sun.  Could the earth and moon (or other body) be having a similar effect creating 2 other tails?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on July 21, 2015, 07:58:41 AM
Every so often I have to stop and remind myself that we *LIVE* on an enormous floating ball of rock and water - flying at 1,000 mph around a gargantuan ball of fire in an infinite void surrounded by other gigantic spherical bodies.

Just stop and think about that for a second.

That's FACT.

I think we're all so used to it being true that we don't really stop to truly consider it often enough.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 21, 2015, 08:01:59 AM
I stop and think about it about every half hour or so.

Also, the Earth rotates at the equator at around 1000 mph, but the Earth itself is moving at like 18.5 miles per seconds around the sun.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on July 21, 2015, 08:12:46 AM
Every so often I have to stop and remind myself that we *LIVE* on an enormous floating ball of rock and water - flying at 1,000 mph around a gargantuan ball of fire in an infinite void surrounded by other gigantic spherical bodies.

Just stop and think about that for a second.

That's FACT.

I think we're all so used to it being true that we don't really stop to truly consider it often enough.

This is why I love laying on my hammock staring at the stars.  I think about this a lot.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on July 21, 2015, 08:21:24 AM
Every so often I have to stop and remind myself that we *LIVE* on an enormous floating ball of rock and water - flying at 1,000 mph around a gargantuan ball of fire in an infinite void surrounded by other gigantic spherical bodies.

Well, the sun isn't fire but whatever  :biggrin:

EDIT: Or is it? I've often thought about that. The sun isn't anything burning, it's fusion of hydrogen, creating plasma. But what is the flame of something burning made of? I mean the actual flame? I haven't done any research here, but I've always assumed that the flame itself is plasma. Anyone here know for sure?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on July 21, 2015, 08:22:34 AM
It's a big ball of gas - much like most of DTF :neverusethis:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 21, 2015, 08:29:17 AM
Fire is an oxidizing chemical reaction that releases heat and light. The actual flames that you see moving and glowing when something is burning are simply gas that is still reacting and giving off light. Plasmas are gases in which a good fraction of the molecules are ionized. Ordinary flames ionize enough molecules to be noticeable, but not as many as some of the much hotter things that we usually call plasmas.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on July 21, 2015, 09:05:36 AM
Thank you.  :hefdaddy
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on July 21, 2015, 09:16:42 AM
Fine whatever.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 21, 2015, 09:51:45 AM
Every so often I have to stop and remind myself that we *LIVE* on an enormous floating ball of rock and water - flying at 1,000 mph around a gargantuan ball of fire in an infinite void surrounded by other gigantic spherical bodies.

Just stop and think about that for a second.

That's FACT.

I think we're all so used to it being true that we don't really stop to truly consider it often enough.
I usually have a epiphany from time to time especially during warm summer days laying down and frying myself when I realize that the heat I feel on my body is actually from that distant star up in the sky that we call the Sun, it's been there up in the sky my whole life but it also been there for every living creature that has ever walk on this planet we call Earth. Even though I hate to say it most of my life I have taken that for granted. It's a really weird thing when you think about it, the heat you feel every summer is from that planet 149,597,870,700 meters from Earth.

The other epiphany I usually have but alot less unfortunately is seeing the Milky Way arms stretching out across the sky on a clear night. Light polution destroys that for me every night sadly. The first time I saw the actual arms was a real eyeopener for me.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: CDrice on July 21, 2015, 10:06:29 AM
The other epiphany I usually have but alot less unfortunately is seeing the Milky Way arms stretching out across the sky on a clear night. Light polution destroys that for me every night sadly. The first time I saw the actual arms was a real eyeopener for me.

I seem to recall a story of a city where the power went down one night so Milky Way became visible. However part of the population freaked out and called the police because they thought something wrong was going on in the sky...

Unfortunately I never saw the Milky Way myself, but I probably would stand in awe for a while if I were to.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on July 21, 2015, 10:35:30 AM
The other epiphany I usually have but alot less unfortunately is seeing the Milky Way arms stretching out across the sky on a clear night. Light polution destroys that for me every night sadly. The first time I saw the actual arms was a real eyeopener for me.

I seem to recall a story of a city where the power went down one night so Milky Way became visible. However part of the population freaked out and called the police because they thought something wrong was going on in the sky...

Unfortunately I never saw the Milky Way myself, but I probably would stand in awe for a while if I were to.

Was this LA?  I heard this story as well.  Kind of funny, kind of sad.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: CDrice on July 21, 2015, 10:46:31 AM
The other epiphany I usually have but alot less unfortunately is seeing the Milky Way arms stretching out across the sky on a clear night. Light polution destroys that for me every night sadly. The first time I saw the actual arms was a real eyeopener for me.

I seem to recall a story of a city where the power went down one night so Milky Way became visible. However part of the population freaked out and called the police because they thought something wrong was going on in the sky...

Unfortunately I never saw the Milky Way myself, but I probably would stand in awe for a while if I were to.

Was this LA?  I heard this story as well.  Kind of funny, kind of sad.

I red that story a few years ago so I don't exactly remember where it was, but I think it was somewhere in the United States. I mean, where else would people react that way? (just kidding)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on July 21, 2015, 11:12:10 AM
Every time I think about light pollution and what people in the city (or even close...including myself) are missing I get depressed. Even though I'm no aficionado or anything, I still have a pretty nice telescope and very often go out back and gaze up. It is THE wonder. Shame that many people don't care too much about it. I always feel like this mofo when I look at it, even when I'm stone-cold sober: Mmm, space (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCbeutFkN8I).
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Xanthul on July 21, 2015, 11:35:29 AM
Unfortunately I never saw the Milky Way myself, but I probably would stand in awe for a while if I were to.

I remember the first time I saw it... we were driving through some hills at night and one of the passengers dropped something under the front seat so we stopped the car to let him look for it. I took the chance to step out of the car just to stretch my legs a bit and when I looked up I was totally amazed... we were in the middle of nowhere, there were no streetlights, homes or anything else providing artificial light in a radius of a few miles and the sky was absolutely clear, no clouds in sight. I've never seen the milky way as clear as that night, hopefully some day I will get the chance to see it again because I honestly think it might be the single greatest sight you can ever see in person (cue "you're a virgin" joke).
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on July 21, 2015, 12:07:09 PM
Every time I think about light pollution and what people in the city (or even close...including myself) are missing I get depressed. Even though I'm no aficionado or anything, I still have a pretty nice telescope and very often go out back and gaze up. It is THE wonder. Shame that many people don't care too much about it. I always feel like this mofo when I look at it, even when I'm stone-cold sober: Mmm, space (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCbeutFkN8I).

I live in a populated area of NJ, not far from NYC and in my backyard I can see the big stars, but that's it.  If I drive out to PA, I can see soooo much more.  It's amazing, and it is depressing that I can't see that every night where I live.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on July 21, 2015, 12:12:43 PM
I can see pretty well on a nice night, I live in a fairly rural area and there's no tall buildings or anything around for a while. Even so, when out in the true wilderness, it's still amazing to notice how much of a difference even just a TINY amount of lights can do to hinder the view.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on July 21, 2015, 12:34:06 PM
I mean, where else would people react that way? (just kidding)

As a US citizen, I think you're right. Though to be honest, I almost don't buy the story because I find it unlikely that anyone would even care enough to look at the sky close enough to notice the difference.  :laugh:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 21, 2015, 12:36:16 PM
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smithsonian/reboot-the-suit-bring-back-neil-armstrongs-spacesu?ref=nav_search

Up to $240K and climbing! It really maked me happy to see so many people give their own money to causes like this.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 21, 2015, 01:53:09 PM
Entertaining read.

https://www.popsci.com/colonizing-moon-may-be-90-percent-cheaper-we-thought

Quote
Returning humans to the moon could cost 90 percent less than expected, bringing estimated costs down from $100 billion to $10 billion. That's something that NASA could afford on its current deep space human spaceflight budget.
“A factor of ten reduction in cost changes everything,” said Mark Hopkins, executive committee chair of the National Space Society, in a press release.
The study, released today, was conducted by the National Space Society and the Space Frontier Foundation—two non-profit organizations that advocate building human settlements beyond Earth—and it was reviewed by an independent team of former NASA executives, astronauts, and space policy experts.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on July 21, 2015, 01:57:08 PM
I'm assuming a moon colony isn't meant for 'just a place to populate' with "normal" people. It'd be primarily scientific/research based? Test ideas for long term facilities for future exploration of Mars..other planets? Just curious as to how this would benefit us? I think it's an awesome idea and would love to see it in my lifetime....just wondering out loud 'what' it is exactly we can accomplish?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on July 21, 2015, 02:10:28 PM
I'm curious about that, but also why we originally thought it would cost a certain amount, but now realize that it would really be only about 1/10 of that.  I realize that they're all rough estimates anyway, but what changed?  When did they realize that they were off by a factor of 10, and why?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on July 21, 2015, 02:13:48 PM
I'm curious about that, but also why we originally thought it would cost a certain amount, but now realize that it would really be only about 1/10 of that.  I realize that they're all rough estimates anyway, but what changed?  When did they realize that they were off by a factor of 10, and why?

Maybe a re-evaluation of available technologies now vs when they originally planned it?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on July 21, 2015, 02:17:03 PM
I'm assuming a moon colony isn't meant for 'just a place to populate' with "normal" people. It'd be primarily scientific/research based? Test ideas for long term facilities for future exploration of Mars..other planets? Just curious as to how this would benefit us? I think it's an awesome idea and would love to see it in my lifetime....just wondering out loud 'what' it is exactly we can accomplish?
As is so often the case, the way to look at is isn't just how will it benefit us. If it has one thing that's good, in this case I'd go with a platform for further space exploration, then you can justify it and begin to reap numerous rewards and benefits that were completely unforeseen. A wonderful aspect of research for the last 2000 years is that it invariably yields far more than what you expect. In the effort to make such a thing possible, tons of research, development and creation will occur. That's the real prize.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on July 21, 2015, 02:19:30 PM
I'm assuming a moon colony isn't meant for 'just a place to populate' with "normal" people. It'd be primarily scientific/research based? Test ideas for long term facilities for future exploration of Mars..other planets? Just curious as to how this would benefit us? I think it's an awesome idea and would love to see it in my lifetime....just wondering out loud 'what' it is exactly we can accomplish?
As is so often the case, the way to look at is isn't just how will it benefit us. If it has one thing that's good, in this case I'd go with a platform for further space exploration, then you can justify it and begin to reap numerous rewards and benefits that were completely unforeseen. A wonderful aspect of research for the last 2000 years is that it invariably yields far more than what you expect. In the effort to make such a thing possible, tons of research, development and creation will occur. That's the real prize.

It sure would be neat to see....I hope I live long enough to see something like this or a man/woman walk on Mars.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on July 21, 2015, 02:26:35 PM
I'm curious about that, but also why we originally thought it would cost a certain amount, but now realize that it would really be only about 1/10 of that.  I realize that they're all rough estimates anyway, but what changed?  When did they realize that they were off by a factor of 10, and why?

Maybe a re-evaluation of available technologies now vs when they originally planned it?

That makes sense.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 21, 2015, 04:03:51 PM
I'm curious about that, but also why we originally thought it would cost a certain amount, but now realize that it would really be only about 1/10 of that.  I realize that they're all rough estimates anyway, but what changed?  When did they realize that they were off by a factor of 10, and why?

Maybe a re-evaluation of available technologies now vs when they originally planned it?

That makes sense.

We also have a better understanding of what makes the moon up. We can mine stuff and sell it back on Earth. Getting there probably isn't 90% cheaper today, but that cost can be offset by the economic gains back home. I think.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on July 21, 2015, 08:02:05 PM
I'm curious about that, but also why we originally thought it would cost a certain amount, but now realize that it would really be only about 1/10 of that.  I realize that they're all rough estimates anyway, but what changed?  When did they realize that they were off by a factor of 10, and why?

Maybe a re-evaluation of available technologies now vs when they originally planned it?

That makes sense.

We also have a better understanding of what makes the moon up. We can mine stuff and sell it back on Earth. Getting there probably isn't 90% cheaper today, but that cost can be offset by the economic gains back home. I think.
Assuming you could work out lunar mineral rights with the other space faring nations, I doubt you'd get much support for strip-mining the thing. Republicans don't own it yet.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 22, 2015, 10:59:46 AM
NASA will host a news teleconference on thursday and IFLS had this title "NASA Has A "Huge Announcement" To Make (https://www.iflscience.com/nasa-announce-major-new-planet-discovery-kepler-tomorrow-and-you-can-watch-it-live) on their site which got my attention but on jpl.nasa.gov (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2015-239&rn=news.xml&rst=4660#.Va5Eb-1Ep3A.twitter) they kind of toned it down either way they did have the following line:

Today, and thousands of discoveries later, astronomers are on the cusp of finding something people have dreamed about for thousands of years -- another Earth.

I'm looking forward to what kind of planets they have found.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 22, 2015, 11:19:55 AM
NASA will host a news teleconference on thursday and IFLS had this title "NASA Has A "Huge Announcement" To Make (https://www.iflscience.com/nasa-announce-major-new-planet-discovery-kepler-tomorrow-and-you-can-watch-it-live) on their site which got my attention but on jpl.nasa.gov (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2015-239&rn=news.xml&rst=4660#.Va5Eb-1Ep3A.twitter) they kind of toned it down either way they did have the following line:

Today, and thousands of discoveries later, astronomers are on the cusp of finding something people have dreamed about for thousands of years -- another Earth.

I'm looking forward to what kind of planets they have found.

I'm trying to not get too excited. I'm sure all we are going to get is something along the lines of "the data indicates that this planet has liquid water on the surface and might be very much like Earth in terms of weather and temperature. There is a chance this world can harbor life". We're probably just going to get possible confirmation for something that we all know to be true anyway. Once we return a radio signal from another world, or bring back photo of the dark side of a planet covered in lights, I'll get really excited.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on July 22, 2015, 11:41:54 AM
Yup. It seems they're discovering Earthlike or "Goldilocks" planets all the time. Not sure why this one is special. Moreover, it'll be a billion light years away, so just knowing it's there won't mean much.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 22, 2015, 11:45:03 AM
Yup. It seems they're discovering Earthlike or "Goldilocks" planets all the time. Not sure why this one is special. Moreover, it'll be a billion light years away, so just knowing it's there won't mean much.

Those are my feelings as well. Part of me thinks (hopes) it might be something more though seeing as planets being found in the goldilocks zone are pretty common these days.

As for the billion lightyears away thing... at least we'd have a definitive target to focus our radio telescopes and other instruments on.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on July 22, 2015, 11:46:49 AM
Yup. It seems they're discovering Earthlike or "Goldilocks" planets all the time. Not sure why this one is special. Moreover, it'll be a billion light years away, so just knowing it's there won't mean much.

With the distance to even the nearest solar systems, these kinds of announcements don't excite me much, as it's mostly trivial until we can do something about it. It's great if it gives us a target, but I don't like the odds. Give me proof there's life on that planet, and then you're talking.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jammindude on July 22, 2015, 11:47:48 AM
Absolutely loved this article....and relevant to this discussion.

https://qz.com/452452/where-are-all-the-aliens/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 22, 2015, 11:58:52 AM
Absolutely loved this article....and relevant to this discussion.

https://qz.com/452452/where-are-all-the-aliens/

Thanks for sharing that.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Calvin6s on July 22, 2015, 12:11:57 PM
Absolutely loved this article....and relevant to this discussion.

https://qz.com/452452/where-are-all-the-aliens/

Quote
Possibility 7) We are receiving contact from other intelligent life, but the government is hiding it.The more I learn about the topic, the more this seems like an idiotic theory, but I had to mention it because it’s talked about so much.
:rollin
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 22, 2015, 12:23:17 PM
Absolutely loved this article....and relevant to this discussion.

https://qz.com/452452/where-are-all-the-aliens/

Quote
Possibility 7) We are receiving contact from other intelligent life, but the government is hiding it.The more I learn about the topic, the more this seems like an idiotic theory, but I had to mention it because it’s talked about so much.
:rollin

There is absolutely no way the government could keep that a secret. Someone would leak that for sure. Hundreds of people at NASA would know about it and they are too passionate at what they do to not say anything. They'd happily go to jail to get that truth out there.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on July 22, 2015, 12:25:27 PM
Absolutely loved this article....and relevant to this discussion.

https://qz.com/452452/where-are-all-the-aliens/

Thanks for sharing that.

Yeah....that was very fascinating.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on July 22, 2015, 01:47:06 PM
That was a good read. Even though I know about Fermi's paradox, there were some very good thought experiments that I hadn't heard before.  Of course, none of it is scientific since there is no data to support any of the assumptions, but it does follow sound logic.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Calvin6s on July 22, 2015, 03:57:44 PM
There is absolutely no way the government could keep that a secret. Someone would leak that for sure. Hundreds of people at NASA would know about it and they are too passionate at what they do to not say anything. They'd happily go to jail to get that truth out there.

That's why we need cop cams.  So those alien traffic tickets can be put up on YouTube.

Perhaps the government can somehow keep it a secret.  But that's probably one billionth as likely as we are all just an alien computer simulation.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Xanthul on July 22, 2015, 04:16:17 PM
Absolutely loved this article....and relevant to this discussion.

https://qz.com/452452/where-are-all-the-aliens/

Lovely read. I've always been partial to the simulation theory myself - I can see us easily simulating entire civilizations with artificial intelligence in a few hundred (or thousand) years, so I find it hard to believe that we would be the first species to achieve that. I find it more plausible that it has already happened some time ago and we're just one of those simulations.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 22, 2015, 05:35:40 PM
"There’s even a chance that we’re all part of a computer simulation by some researcher from another world, and other forms of life simply weren’t programmed into the simulation."
(https://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb337/krissyalleyofficer/random%20stuff/RunningInCircles.gif)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Calvin6s on July 22, 2015, 06:29:15 PM
"There’s even a chance that we’re all part of a computer simulation by some researcher from another world, and other forms of life simply weren’t programmed into the simulation."
(https://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb337/krissyalleyofficer/random%20stuff/RunningInCircles.gif)

I think therefore I  ........ (&^*&%*&^%  :censored

A problem has been detected and your world has been shut down to prevent damage
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on July 22, 2015, 06:58:11 PM
Absolutely loved this article....and relevant to this discussion.

https://qz.com/452452/where-are-all-the-aliens/

Lovely read. I've always been partial to the simulation theory myself - I can see us easily simulating entire civilizations with artificial intelligence in a few hundred (or thousand) years, so I find it hard to believe that we would be the first species to achieve that. I find it more plausible that it has already happened some time ago and we're just one of those simulations.
I suppose this is what The Matrix is all about, but are there any other good pieces of fiction that explore this idea well?  I was never into science fiction so I never came across anything like this before, but I'm sure it's been done.  I read Isaac Asimov's The Final Question about the progression from Type I to Type III and beyond and really enjoyed it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jammindude on July 22, 2015, 07:17:35 PM
I'm tempted to repost the article in P/R just because I find it fascinating that some people (not all) are so open to these ideas (some of which even you will admit are just WAAAY off the chart) and yet almost seem agitated at the very thought of an intelligent designer in the personage of God. 

I must ponder.  But let's not turn *this* thread into P/R territory.    Everyone, as you were....
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on July 22, 2015, 11:50:35 PM
"There’s even a chance that we’re all part of a computer simulation by some researcher from another world, and other forms of life simply weren’t programmed into the simulation."
(https://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb337/krissyalleyofficer/random%20stuff/RunningInCircles.gif)


I'd like to think someone went to the trouble of building an advanced computer simulation of an entire universe full of potential just so I could sit in front of a simulated computer and do nothing. :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Xanthul on July 23, 2015, 12:11:23 AM
Absolutely loved this article....and relevant to this discussion.

https://qz.com/452452/where-are-all-the-aliens/

Lovely read. I've always been partial to the simulation theory myself - I can see us easily simulating entire civilizations with artificial intelligence in a few hundred (or thousand) years, so I find it hard to believe that we would be the first species to achieve that. I find it more plausible that it has already happened some time ago and we're just one of those simulations.
I suppose this is what The Matrix is all about, but are there any other good pieces of fiction that explore this idea well?  I was never into science fiction so I never came across anything like this before, but I'm sure it's been done.  I read Isaac Asimov's The Final Question about the progression from Type I to Type III and beyond and really enjoyed it.

You can read more in this page on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulated_reality), there is also a section for fiction works (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulated_reality_in_fiction) there.

I'm tempted to repost the article in P/R just because I find it fascinating that some people (not all) are so open to these ideas (some of which even you will admit are just WAAAY off the chart) and yet almost seem agitated at the very thought of an intelligent designer in the personage of God. 

I must ponder.  But let's not turn *this* thread into P/R territory.    Everyone, as you were....

Yeah, anything goes in this theory really... designers/engineers could interfere with or manipulate the simulation in different ways:

- Entering the world somehow (Thirteenth Floor style).
- Taking the form of different deities and religions
- Creating paranormal phenomena (which could also be errors in the program)

I don't know, as far fetched as it seems I always found it somehow plausible, and it doesn't really bother me that much. Even if this is a simulation, in my frame of reference this is all I know so for me this is reality. I'm not going to behave differently just because this might not be "real" to some other beings who knows where.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Xanthul on July 23, 2015, 12:13:56 AM
"There’s even a chance that we’re all part of a computer simulation by some researcher from another world, and other forms of life simply weren’t programmed into the simulation."
(https://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb337/krissyalleyofficer/random%20stuff/RunningInCircles.gif)


I'd like to think someone went to the trouble of building an advanced computer simulation of an entire universe full of potential just so I could sit in front of a simulated computer and do nothing. :lol

Just be thankful they cared enough to include porn in the simulation  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 23, 2015, 07:21:19 AM
"There’s even a chance that we’re all part of a computer simulation by some researcher from another world, and other forms of life simply weren’t programmed into the simulation."
(https://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb337/krissyalleyofficer/random%20stuff/RunningInCircles.gif)


I'd like to think someone went to the trouble of building an advanced computer simulation of an entire universe full of potential just so I could sit in front of a simulated computer and do nothing. :lol

Just be thankful they cared enough to include porn in the simulation  :lol
:lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 23, 2015, 09:56:52 AM
3 minutes!!  :corn :corn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on July 23, 2015, 10:02:49 AM
3 minutes till 70s porno music!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on July 23, 2015, 10:10:33 AM
What happened 5 minutes ago?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on July 23, 2015, 10:13:44 AM
What happened 5 minutes ago?

They started their announcement, which is the finding of an Earth-like planet, I think the most similar they've found yet. I was only listening in the background.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 23, 2015, 10:18:53 AM
NASA’s Kepler Mission Discovers Bigger, Older Cousin to Earth (https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-kepler-mission-discovers-bigger-older-cousin-to-earth)

Quote
NASA's Kepler mission has confirmed the first near-Earth-size planet in the “habitable zone” around a sun-like star. This discovery and the introduction of 11 other new small habitable zone candidate planets mark another milestone in the journey to finding another “Earth.”

The newly discovered Kepler-452b is the smallest planet to date discovered orbiting in the habitable zone -- the area around a star where liquid water could pool on the surface of an orbiting planet -- of a G2-type star, like our sun. The confirmation of Kepler-452b brings the total number of confirmed planets to 1,030.

"On the 20th anniversary year of the discovery that proved other suns host planets, the Kepler exoplanet explorer has discovered a planet and star which most closely resemble the Earth and our Sun," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “This exciting result brings us one step closer to finding an Earth 2.0."

Love this rendition of Kepler-452b:

(https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/452b_artistconcept_comparisonwithearth.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 23, 2015, 10:30:16 AM
Quote
While Kepler-452b is larger than Earth, its 385-day orbit is only 5 percent longer. The planet is 5 percent farther from its parent star Kepler-452 than Earth is from the Sun. Kepler-452 is 6 billion years old, 1.5 billion years older than our sun, has the same temperature, and is 20 percent brighter and has a diameter 10 percent larger.
Pretty cool stuff.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on July 23, 2015, 03:21:15 PM
What happened 5 minutes ago?

They started their announcement, which is the finding of an Earth-like planet, I think the most similar they've found yet.

Each more similar than the last !
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jammindude on July 23, 2015, 10:23:21 PM
This is really cool....but, are people getting the wrong idea?   (and just for the record...this skepticism does not come from my faith.  In fact, my faith allows for the possibility that God may someday *want* us to continue to colonize the universe....I'm not a science denier....just a realist)

What I mean is this.   The Kepler is taking readings based on shadow patterns from suns that are a very long way away.   Based on that, we have, in fact, discovered that there are planets which orbit similar suns at a similar distance.   We can judge their size, the distance from the sun, and the length of orbit.   And that's FANTASTIC.   But beyond that, aren't we jumping the gun a bit?    The photos that are being circulated with this article are not even real, but I'm not sure everyone who reads these articles knows that.   They just see an artist's rendition of what it may look like and conclude that we have pictures from space of "another earth"...   I mean, we don't even know if there's water on the thing. 

I love the science, but I get frustrated when a lot of hype and hope turns into a lot of false "facts"...
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on July 23, 2015, 10:57:16 PM
This is really cool....but, are people getting the wrong idea?   (and just for the record...this skepticism does not come from my faith.  In fact, my faith allows for the possibility that God may someday *want* us to continue to colonize the universe....I'm not a science denier....just a realist)

What I mean is this.   The Kepler is taking readings based on shadow patterns from suns that are a very long way away.   Based on that, we have, in fact, discovered that there are planets which orbit similar suns at a similar distance.   We can judge their size, the distance from the sun, and the length of orbit.   And that's FANTASTIC.   But beyond that, aren't we jumping the gun a bit?    The photos that are being circulated with this article are not even real, but I'm not sure everyone who reads these articles knows that.   They just see an artist's rendition of what it may look like and conclude that we have pictures from space of "another earth"...   I mean, we don't even know if there's water on the thing. 

I love the science, but I get frustrated when a lot of hype and hope turns into a lot of false "facts"...

I don't see that they're making any claims beyond the evidence here or creating false facts.
It's fits that it could support an atmosphere and liquid water, and the parameters are right to have created a similar planet to Earth, but I don't think they're claiming anything beyond that, or passing off the artist's rendition as a real thing. The artist's rendition is just there to show how this theoretical planet would compare to Earth, to make the discovery more accessible to people. The point is that it's the planet most likely to resemble Earth based on the ones discovered so far.

I think that's why they've kept their search parameters so incredibly narrow in terms of distance, size and temperature, because we only know of life existing as it is on Earth, and therefore are only searching for criteria that fits with what little proof we have of life, minimizing assumptions as much as possible for now.

I don't see anyone jumping the gun, but if they are, that's their fault, not NASA's.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on July 24, 2015, 02:11:02 AM
This new planet is 5% larger than Earth ?

Imagine if we somehow all moved there - that would take care of over population for a while :P
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on July 24, 2015, 06:12:13 AM
If we were able to get a telescope to see this planet in detail, how old would that view be? 

My point is, theoretically, if we had a telescope that allowed us to see in enough detail what was on the planet and for the sake of discussion, say we could see there was civilization on this planet, that we view from Earth.  Given the time it takes that light to travel the distance to Earth, how far back in time are we actually looking at? 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on July 24, 2015, 06:24:25 AM
It's about 1400 light years away. If we could see it clearly from Earth, that's not a long time in terms of evolution, but potentially a long time in terms of cultural and technological development. And it's still a lot further than we could imagine visiting.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on July 24, 2015, 06:29:38 AM
It's about 1400 light years away. If we could see it clearly from Earth, that's not a long time in terms of evolution, but potentially a long time in terms of cultural and technological development. And it's still a lot further than we could imagine visiting.

Thanks, yea thats what I was thinking and just didn't know the number.  Kind of makes the discovery not that important for my lifetime, although I'm not saying the discovery is not important.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on July 24, 2015, 07:08:33 AM
It's about 1400 light years away. If we could see it clearly from Earth, that's not a long time in terms of evolution, but potentially a long time in terms of cultural and technological development. And it's still a lot further than we could imagine visiting.

Thanks, yea thats what I was thinking and just didn't know the number.  Kind of makes the discovery not that important for my lifetime, although I'm not saying the discovery is not important.

I know how you feel. It's a very cool discovery, but it's probably fairly trivial as far as our lifetimes are concerned.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: chknptpie on July 24, 2015, 07:26:21 AM
It's about 1400 light years away. If we could see it clearly from Earth, that's not a long time in terms of evolution, but potentially a long time in terms of cultural and technological development. And it's still a lot further than we could imagine visiting.

But isn't the planet older than the Earth? That could offset some of the light years?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on July 24, 2015, 07:40:05 AM
It's about 1400 light years away. If we could see it clearly from Earth, that's not a long time in terms of evolution, but potentially a long time in terms of cultural and technological development. And it's still a lot further than we could imagine visiting.

But isn't the planet older than the Earth? That could offset some of the light years?

This is all assuming that any intelligent species on the planet is currently still around, which is already assuming there was any to begin with. For all we know they came and went a billion years ago, or maybe they're still a bunch of tadpoles in a pond.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: chknptpie on July 24, 2015, 07:57:35 AM
It's about 1400 light years away. If we could see it clearly from Earth, that's not a long time in terms of evolution, but potentially a long time in terms of cultural and technological development. And it's still a lot further than we could imagine visiting.

But isn't the planet older than the Earth? That could offset some of the light years?

This is all assuming that any intelligent species on the planet is currently still around, which is already assuming there was any to begin with. For all we know they came and went a billion years ago, or maybe they're still a bunch of tadpoles in a pond.

Yes, of course this is with humongous assumptions lol all pure speculation that life on that planet would evolve within the same timelines as life on earth.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on July 24, 2015, 08:07:58 AM
At the speed of New Horizons, the fastest spacecraft yet, we only need 25.8 million years to reach Kepler 452b, yay!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on July 24, 2015, 08:52:18 AM
Plot Twist : Kepler is so far away - that it looks like a new Earth to us.


But it's so far in the past that all life on it has already left and the planet is now a barren rock.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on July 24, 2015, 09:02:47 AM
Plot Twist : Kepler is so far away - that it looks like a new Earth to us.


But it's so far in the past that all life on it has already left and the planet is now a barren rock.

What we are seeing / knowing now is from only 1,400 years ago, so whatever civilization (if any) on that planet should still be around as we speak.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on July 24, 2015, 04:20:04 PM
It's about 1400 light years away. If we could see it clearly from Earth, that's not a long time in terms of evolution, but potentially a long time in terms of cultural and technological development. And it's still a lot further than we could imagine visiting.

But isn't the planet older than the Earth? That could offset some of the light years?

Not sure what you mean by this.  A planet's age has nothing to do with how far away it is from us.  Compared to the age difference of 1.5B years, 1,400 years is only a blink of an eye.  Hardly even worth measuring.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: chknptpie on July 25, 2015, 08:54:36 AM
(https://www.troll.me/images/history-channel/science-science-thumb.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 04, 2015, 06:54:13 AM
Every full moon, I try to get a decent picture and have failed every time.  I am using my Nikon D3100 and an old 70-210mm zoom from my Nikon film camera.  The problem is the autofocus on that lens is not compatible with the D3100, so i have to focus manually.  Thus, I can never tell if its a resolution problem or a focus problem.

Last month I was able to get this shot, which is my best so far.  There are visible crater details at the terminator on the lower left of the image.  I think the focus is as good as it can be.

Full image:
(https://i.imgur.com/tCBJ9qM.jpg)

Cropped:
(https://i.imgur.com/ACZX5Oh.jpg)

f/5.6
1/250
ISO 200
210mm
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on August 04, 2015, 07:10:34 AM
Very nice!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on August 04, 2015, 12:50:30 PM
 :tup :tup :heart
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on August 04, 2015, 05:07:26 PM
Every full moon, I try to get a decent picture and have failed every time.  I am using my Nikon D3100 and an old 70-210mm zoom from my Nikon film camera.  The problem is the autofocus on that lens is not compatible with the D3100, so i have to focus manually.  Thus, I can never tell if its a resolution problem or a focus problem.

Last month I was able to get this shot, which is my best so far.  There are visible crater details at the terminator on the lower left of the image.  I think the focus is as good as it can be.



f/5.6
1/250
ISO 200
210mm

Very nice, I think that's about the resolution that comes from that lens. I too have to do a manual focus when taking a picture of the moon. This is one I took last year in May around the time of blood moon. I had just got a refurb Nikon lens 55-200mm for my D5200.

Cropped
(https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y159/faizoff/moon-today.jpg)

My settings

f/11
1/250
ISO 250
200 mm
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 04, 2015, 06:44:47 PM
Nice.  Mine is a bit overexposed it seems.  I guess the "looney 11" rule makes sense.  On my LCD, f/11 looked a bit dark, so i just opened it up.

The problem with the old autofocus, I think, is that infinity is somewhere just before the stop on the focus ring, so I need to go to the stop and back it off ever so slightly.  This should really be the only variable, since the exposure settings are pretty much fixed for shooting the moon.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 05, 2015, 01:25:33 PM
^^Awesome pictures guys!

Speaking of the moon, just saw this cool picture taken by the Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite:

(https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/l/t1.0-9/11826025_10153447754851772_5865874462321484670_n.jpg?oh=6d80562f4d0fdc9b694ec809eed2e638&oe=564F5BF2)

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/from-a-million-miles-away-nasa-camera-shows-moon-crossing-face-of-earth
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on August 05, 2015, 01:34:31 PM
awesome photo
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on August 05, 2015, 02:37:44 PM
Yeah, that's pretty sweet.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on August 05, 2015, 04:23:26 PM
Bad CGI, the shadow don't look right.

(Just kidding)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on August 05, 2015, 04:24:46 PM
Fake - can see the cutoff either side of the earth.


:getoffmylawn: SYME !!!!!



It doesn't look real though in all honesty. Saw it on twitter and thought someone had photoshopped a pebble on the Earth pic.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on August 05, 2015, 05:33:33 PM
Fake - Dark side of the moon is dark!


 :justjen


The perspective threw me off for a second, considering that the famous "earthrise" photo shows a much smaller view of earth:


(https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/images/297755main_GPN-2001-000009_full.jpg)

Moon landing was a hoax!

Re-reading the article, I realized this latest photo was taken through a telescope which causes the size discrepancy.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 05, 2015, 07:42:43 PM
Found this on reddit today.  I have been looking for something like this for a long time, but never knew exactly what to search for.  It's the Apollo 11 flight plan, or mission sequence.

(https://i.imgur.com/EDifGGX.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/EDifGGX.jpg)
https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/3ftxjv/apollo_11_flight_plan_enlarged_and_digitally/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 10, 2015, 08:24:30 AM
NASA's astronomy picture of the day:
(https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1508/PIA19803MSL.jpg) (https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150808.html)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on August 10, 2015, 10:53:07 AM
^^Awesome pictures guys!

Speaking of the moon, just saw this cool picture taken by the Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite:

(https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/l/t1.0-9/11826025_10153447754851772_5865874462321484670_n.jpg?oh=6d80562f4d0fdc9b694ec809eed2e638&oe=564F5BF2)

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/from-a-million-miles-away-nasa-camera-shows-moon-crossing-face-of-earth

Extremely unique photo since we never see that side of the moon.  Plus, it's a new moon when the darkside is facing us.  Pretty cool.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 10, 2015, 11:25:15 AM
NASA's astronomy picture of the day:
(https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1508/PIA19803MSL.jpg) (https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150808.html)
It's pretty amazing to think that no human has ever sat a foot on that environment, yet it feels so familiar if you know what I mean. Slightly big but you get my point.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 10, 2015, 11:35:37 AM
NASA's astronomy picture of the day:
(https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1508/PIA19803MSL.jpg) (https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150808.html)
It's pretty amazing to think that no human has ever sat a foot on that environment, yet it feels so familiar

I think that's one of the biggest drawbacks of modern day space exploration. People have become so familiar with pictures like this, they've almost become routine and unexciting. We have gotten go good at this sort of thing that people seem to have lost their sense of wonder.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on August 10, 2015, 11:56:13 AM
I think that's one of the biggest drawbacks of modern day space exploration. People have become so familiar with pictures like this, they've almost become routine and unexciting. We have gotten go good at this sort of thing that people seem to have lost their sense of wonder.

Bingo. This photo 'should' be a big deal to more people than it is....but as you point out the ease in which it seems these pics become available just make it an 'ehh' moment. It's really fascinating stuff that has been rendered to the dirt that supports the totem pole of retarded crap that people now days find cool
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on August 10, 2015, 12:23:40 PM
Not just the real pictures, but think of all the movies where we have seen someone walking on Mars.  It's just so normal looking that it doesn't come off as impressive as it should be.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on August 10, 2015, 12:28:50 PM
Doesn't Louie CK have a bit where he rips on people for this? When people complain about their flight or crappy cell phone service....he lambasts them for the fact that we are getting to places in hours that used to take months upon months and we are talking to people in real time across the globe?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 10, 2015, 12:36:39 PM
Doesn't Louie CK have a bit where he rips on people for this? When people complain about their flight or crappy cell phone service....he lambasts them for the fact that we are getting to places in hours that used to take months upon months and we are talking to people in real time across the globe?

Yeah. Something like "Even the shittiest cellphone is still amazing" and "I hate when people complain that their phone is too slow. It's going to space! Give it a minute!".
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on August 10, 2015, 12:50:43 PM
I think that bit was called "Everything is amazing and no one's happy" or something like to that.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 10, 2015, 01:32:04 PM
I agree that pictures like that dosen't get the exposure or fascination than they should but just to be clear I was more referring to the point that the landscape dosen't look "hostile" and not very far from a sand quarry or desert on earth which of course is very far from reality.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on August 10, 2015, 01:44:41 PM
the landscape dosen't look "hostile" and not very far from a sand quarry or desert on earth which of course is very far from reality.

well that's because the entire space program, pictures...flights....it's all fake and produced at a secret facility in Nevada. Don't you know that?


















































 :biggrin:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 10, 2015, 01:47:47 PM
(https://weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/nsa-area-51-meme.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 10, 2015, 01:50:29 PM
Perfect example.

Today the crew aboard the ISS were the first people in the history of our species to eat food grown from beginning to end in a non-Earth environment. That's absolutely massive and huge stepping stone for long distance space travel. I felt a little underwhelmed by it. I realize the significance of it, but it was almost expected. We've been talking about terraforming mars for so long now, that it makes this accomplishment almost seem behind the times.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on August 10, 2015, 01:57:16 PM
Today the crew aboard the ISS were the first people in the history of our species to eat food grown from beginning to end in a non-Earth environment.

Yeah...but it nowhere competes with the fact that Tyga bought Kendal a $300k car for her 18th birthday....
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 10, 2015, 01:59:46 PM
Today the crew aboard the ISS were the first people in the history of our species to eat food grown from beginning to end in a non-Earth environment.

Yeah...but it nowhere competes with the fact that Tyga bought Kendal a $300k car for her 18th birthday....

Don't know who either of those people are. Was Kendal pissed because it wasn't in the color he wanted?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on August 10, 2015, 02:03:18 PM
 :lol you are so not into popular news!

sooo, who are those people?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on August 10, 2015, 02:04:39 PM
Today the crew aboard the ISS were the first people in the history of our species to eat food grown from beginning to end in a non-Earth environment.

Yeah...but it nowhere competes with the fact that Tyga bought Kendal a $300k car for her 18th birthday....

Don't know who either of those people are. Was Kendal pissed because it wasn't in the color he wanted?

:lol you are so not into popular news!

sooo, who are those people?

Kendal is the 18 y ear old young Kardashian....Tyga is her rapper boyfriend. it's a 'headline' on near every news source online.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on August 10, 2015, 02:13:19 PM
I had a feeling it was a kardashian or something.  I probably saw it and just naturally ignored it while I do my internet browsing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on August 10, 2015, 03:47:59 PM
That picture is just insane. It's baffling to me that people don't smile their pants over something like that. We're looking at a picture that's of a place that none of us will ever be able to even fathom seeing in person. That's an incredible thing to behold and to imagine. Yeah, it does look a lot like some places on Earth in parts, but there's also little nuances of the landscape that do look alien and foreign to anything on Earth.

It's the embodiment of wonder, and I cannot wait to see what kind of insane pictures we'll be looking at when I'm an official old fogey. I also can't wait till I can go in that thread without being farted on and boo'd away.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 11, 2015, 07:07:05 AM
The selfie of all sefies:

(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/283/20193679929_8fedc1b75a_k.jpg)

Btw does anyone know what that white stuff is?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on August 11, 2015, 07:09:08 AM
Awesome pic. Shame about the stitching errors though. :biggrin:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 11, 2015, 07:12:09 AM
Yea just noticed the weird shadow.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on August 11, 2015, 10:34:40 AM
Dat sky doe. That's what looks most alien to me, the fact that the sky is so different. No oceans, no blue..and lots of sand and dust. But it still looks awesome somehow.

I'm interested in what that gravel looking stuff is too.

Shadow doesn't line up. Government conspiracy. Sad part is...I KNOW god damn well there's people out there, probably more than I'd guess, that'd say that.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 11, 2015, 10:37:39 AM


Shadow doesn't line up. Government conspiracy. Sad part is...I KNOW god damn well there's people out there, probably more than I'd guess, that'd say that.

You should look at the comments on Fox News surrounding that vid NASA released last week of the moon crossing in front of the Earth.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 11, 2015, 10:45:49 AM
Found this on reddit today.  I have been looking for something like this for a long time, but never knew exactly what to search for.  It's the Apollo 11 flight plan, or mission sequence.

(https://i.imgur.com/EDifGGX.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/EDifGGX.jpg)
https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/3ftxjv/apollo_11_flight_plan_enlarged_and_digitally/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/3ftxjv/apollo_11_flight_plan_enlarged_and_digitally/)
This is awesome. Actually answered a question or two I've always been curious about.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 11, 2015, 10:54:17 AM
I'd love a giant version of that framed in my office.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 11, 2015, 10:58:54 AM
Fixing to print one for mine right now.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 11, 2015, 11:13:18 AM
Fixing to print one for mine right now.

What size?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 11, 2015, 12:05:10 PM
Fixing to print one for mine right now.

What size?
More or less 10x34.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 11, 2015, 12:25:12 PM
Sick. If it's hi-res, can you beat the $37 it'd cost me on Amazon?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 11, 2015, 12:41:03 PM
Sick. If it's hi-res, can you beat the $37 it'd cost me on Amazon?
Well, my normal demand for such things is a bottle of firewater, so I guess the answer would be no since my tastes have become more refined.  :lol   

However, the point is moot. All of the annotations are actually a somewhat dark yellow, so even at the ludicrous resolution I printed it at they're still very hard to discern. It'd need some photo editing to get them all white before it'd actually look good printed.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 11, 2015, 12:46:44 PM
Damn. That's a bummer. Thanks anyway  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Aefenwelg on August 11, 2015, 12:55:18 PM
Found this on reddit today.  I have been looking for something like this for a long time, but never knew exactly what to search for.  It's the Apollo 11 flight plan, or mission sequence.

(https://i.imgur.com/EDifGGX.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/EDifGGX.jpg)
https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/3ftxjv/apollo_11_flight_plan_enlarged_and_digitally/

This looks like a big penis.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 11, 2015, 12:57:03 PM
Found this on reddit today.  I have been looking for something like this for a long time, but never knew exactly what to search for.  It's the Apollo 11 flight plan, or mission sequence.

(https://i.imgur.com/EDifGGX.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/EDifGGX.jpg)
https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/3ftxjv/apollo_11_flight_plan_enlarged_and_digitally/

This looks like a big penis.

 :lol Glad I wasn't the only one.

The very first thing I thought of....
(https://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140612234521/p__/protagonist/images/a/aa/6590584_std.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 11, 2015, 01:47:15 PM
This is awesome. Actually answered a question or two I've always been curious about.
What were those?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on August 11, 2015, 01:51:57 PM
This is awesome. Actually answered a question or two I've always been curious about.
What were those?

1. Can you draw a giant penis in outer space?
2. Does jettison of the Heat shield count as 'ejaculation'?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 11, 2015, 01:57:49 PM
This is awesome. Actually answered a question or two I've always been curious about.
What were those?
The durations of the burns. The TLI burn in particular. All of the others are pretty short. Also, the mechanics and timeframe of extracting the LM which has to sit below the CSM in the stack.

This also shows the braking maneuvers on reentry. Interesting.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 11, 2015, 02:03:29 PM
This also shows the braking maneuvers on reentry. Interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW5ozq4Tqew

You're welcome.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on August 11, 2015, 10:05:09 PM
Sick. If it's hi-res, can you beat the $37 it'd cost me on Amazon?
Well, my normal demand for such things is a bottle of firewater, so I guess the answer would be no since my tastes have become more refined.  :lol   

However, the point is moot. All of the annotations are actually a somewhat dark yellow, so even at the ludicrous resolution I printed it at they're still very hard to discern. It'd need some photo editing to get them all white before it'd actually look good printed.

How about this?
https://www.blobvandam.com/link/A11.png
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 12, 2015, 09:45:45 AM
Wow Blob, I think I like the white better!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 12, 2015, 10:43:21 AM
@Blob and Barto

If either of you has the capability to print one of those at good quality, I will be more than happy to compensate. The white looks killer.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 12, 2015, 10:47:30 AM
This also shows the braking maneuvers on reentry. Interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW5ozq4Tqew

You're welcome.
Downloaded that vid a while back, actually. That's the reason I was interested in the braking phase. NASA produce a ton of great educational videos back then, clearly geared towards a smarter audience than the TLC crowd. I know one that I downloaded on the basics of orbital mechanics was way, way over my head.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 12, 2015, 10:49:06 AM
Sick. If it's hi-res, can you beat the $37 it'd cost me on Amazon?
Well, my normal demand for such things is a bottle of firewater, so I guess the answer would be no since my tastes have become more refined.  :lol   

However, the point is moot. All of the annotations are actually a somewhat dark yellow, so even at the ludicrous resolution I printed it at they're still very hard to discern. It'd need some photo editing to get them all white before it'd actually look good printed.

How about this?
https://www.blobvandam.com/link/A11.png (https://www.blobvandam.com/link/A11.png)
Out of curiosity, why'd you change the black behind the text? Wouldn't it be possible to convert the rest of the background to that pure black to match it?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on August 12, 2015, 10:49:27 AM
@Blob and Barto

If either of you has the capability to print one of those at good quality, I will be more than happy to compensate. The white looks killer.

Have you looked at online or even local printing services? You could probably get something printed up on glossy paper looking great for a decent price. Couldn't name any off the top of my head, but that's what I'd do.
I don't have any means to print out anything nice myself, just a B/W laser printer for the necessities.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on August 12, 2015, 10:51:57 AM
Sick. If it's hi-res, can you beat the $37 it'd cost me on Amazon?
Well, my normal demand for such things is a bottle of firewater, so I guess the answer would be no since my tastes have become more refined.  :lol   

However, the point is moot. All of the annotations are actually a somewhat dark yellow, so even at the ludicrous resolution I printed it at they're still very hard to discern. It'd need some photo editing to get them all white before it'd actually look good printed.

How about this?
https://www.blobvandam.com/link/A11.png (https://www.blobvandam.com/link/A11.png)
Out of curiosity, why'd you change the black behind the text? Wouldn't it be possible to convert the rest of the background to that pure black to match it?

Sorry, that wasn't intentional. I was cranking the contrast to get the text as legible as possible, and forgot to double check that at the end. It doesn't show up on my monitor because it has a deep black level unlike most LCD's.
I'll fix it up if you want to use it,.

edit: This should do the trick.
https://www.blobvandam.com/link/A11_blackened.png
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 12, 2015, 11:04:28 AM
@Blob and Barto

If either of you has the capability to print one of those at good quality, I will be more than happy to compensate. The white looks killer.

Have you looked at online or even local printing services? You could probably get something printed up on glossy paper looking great for a decent price. Couldn't name any off the top of my head, but that's what I'd do.
I don't have any means to print out anything nice myself, just a B/W laser printer for the necessities.

Amazon has a 36"x12" for $29.99 plus $7 for shipping.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on August 12, 2015, 11:22:29 AM
The problem is the odd aspect ratio, which severely limits the options. Looks like Zazzle can do 36x12 for $17.50 on matte, and $24.45 on semi-gloss (no idea on shipping).
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 12, 2015, 11:42:02 AM
I would get a standard size which has the desired length, then just trim it.  That may be cheaper that getting a custom size print.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 12, 2015, 12:03:39 PM
The aspect ratio shouldn't be any issue at all. The only time that really matters is if it becomes a problem for the stock that they normally use. A 38" print might well be an issue if their stock comes in 37". In any case you'd just lock the proportions and size it down to a size that works and call it a day. If your 12x36 print actually has to be 11.5x36, who really cares.  Now, if you're wanting to use off the shelf frame/matte, then that would matter. Not the print, though.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on August 13, 2015, 05:50:45 AM
I would get a standard size which has the desired length, then just trim it.  That may be cheaper that getting a custom size print.

I looked into it, but since you're basically paying for size, it ends up a lot more expensive than the places that offer a natively close size.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 13, 2015, 12:24:50 PM
You guys still talk about that poster?  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on August 13, 2015, 12:56:42 PM
I just printed mine on Zazzle. Will make for a great office decoration.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 13, 2015, 01:00:26 PM
I just printed mine on Zazzle. Will make for a great office decoration.

What'd it run you?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 13, 2015, 01:21:42 PM
Still intending to do a test print to see how Blob's white copy works out. Just haven't had the opportunity yet.

I'm curious how the Zazzle or Artifactory ones look, because mine wasn't really legible without a magnifying glass at pert-near the same size.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on August 13, 2015, 01:44:48 PM
I just printed mine on Zazzle. Will make for a great office decoration.

What'd it run you?

I got the 36'' poster, with shipping ~$25.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 13, 2015, 01:52:29 PM
I have a frame at home that is a bit larger than 12x36, and that size is $17.50 on zazzle.  I'm pumped.  12" height might be a bit too small for some of the text however.

Rumby, how did you crop the image to the right size?  The crop tool seems rather too small to see where the edges wind up on the printed paper.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on August 13, 2015, 02:17:16 PM
I just gave it some leeway, just a tiny amount. You can also zoom in a bit.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 13, 2015, 02:29:18 PM
Three videos from ESA (European Space Agency):

Journey to the ISS Part 1: The Soyuz launch sequence explained (Length 00:11:29) (https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos/2013/08/The_Soyuz_launch_sequence_explained)

Journey to the ISS Part 2: Soyuz rendezvous and docking explained (Length 00:21:06) (https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos/2014/11/Journey_to_the_ISS_Part_2_Soyuz_rendezvous_and_docking_explained)

Journey to the ISS Part 3: Soyuz undocking, reentry and landing explained (Length 00:20:44) (https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos/2013/11/Soyuz_undocking_reentry_and_landing_explained)

Lots of cool technical details including orbital mechanics and rendezvous.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on August 13, 2015, 03:17:19 PM
Couldn't see the Perseids at all last night. Damn light pollution >:(
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on August 13, 2015, 03:25:04 PM
Couldn't see the Perseids at all last night. Damn light pollution >:(

So I went outside to see if I can get a glimpse, my light pollution is bad, but not terrible.  I can usually see most of the bright stars and the well known constelations, but regardless I set myself all up to lay on my hammock and watch... I lay down and notice an ginormous spider on the end of the hammock.  I packed my shit and went back inside  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 13, 2015, 03:33:44 PM
Yea tried to but didn't see shit because #lightpollution
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on August 13, 2015, 03:36:31 PM
Couldn't see the Perseids at all last night. Damn light pollution >:(

I would peep outside but the UK is in an " Astral Phenomenon Exclusion Zone" meaning if anything is happening in Space - we are cloudy...




.......But Venus has constant cloud cover. It's like the PLANET of the A.P.E.Z.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 13, 2015, 03:45:26 PM
Three videos from ESA (European Space Agency):

Journey to the ISS Part 1: The Soyuz launch sequence explained (Length 00:11:29) (https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos/2013/08/The_Soyuz_launch_sequence_explained)

Journey to the ISS Part 2: Soyuz rendezvous and docking explained (Length 00:21:06) (https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos/2014/11/Journey_to_the_ISS_Part_2_Soyuz_rendezvous_and_docking_explained)

Journey to the ISS Part 3: Soyuz undocking, reentry and landing explained (Length 00:20:44) (https://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/Videos/2013/11/Soyuz_undocking_reentry_and_landing_explained)

Lots of cool technical details including orbital mechanics and rendezvous.
I've seen the launch sequence vid. I DL'd about 75 various space docs a few months ago. Most of what you get are basic overviews, but NASA and a couple of other agencies would put out some great stuff back in the 60's and early 70's that's definitely geared towards a pretty bright audience.

It's particularly interesting to learn up on the early NASA programs, Vanguards through to Skylab, and then see that the Soviets were doing the exact same things, just different. An understanding of the differences, and the different approaches they led us each to, is pretty fascinating. Those Soyuz rockets they're using today are essentially the same ones they were blasting off 50 years ago and it's a fine approach. As exemplified in many things, we took to spending more money on nicer, more technological tools while they went for quantity over quality. A good approach for military hardware, but in the space arena it never panned out for us.

And I believe that we just purchased all of the unused engines from the N1 rockets the Rooskies never used. By many accounts the finest rocket motor ever built, and when they no longer had use for the N1 the motors just got stashed in some Kazakhstan warehouse somewhere.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on August 13, 2015, 03:54:13 PM
New Page Fail :emo:


Nobody will see my outstanding joke. :emo:


Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 15, 2015, 07:06:42 AM
Apparently The Andromeda Galaxys actual seize, were it more brighter and visible from Earth:

(https://i.imgur.com/uzswj99.jpg)

Had no idea. Imagine having that to look up to every night.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on August 15, 2015, 11:53:47 AM
(https://www.quickmeme.com/img/53/5310d97511d44deabd58e4fda22b08dd7872ceadede7e1ecb49cc29ce8f07694.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: ThatOneGuy2112 on August 15, 2015, 12:08:40 PM
^ :lol

Kinda disappoints me that they didn't come up with a cooler name than "Milkdromeda" for when our galaxies collide. :lol But who knows if humanity will still be around in 4 billion years to stick with that name.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 17, 2015, 02:31:14 PM
Apparently The Andromeda Galaxys actual seize, were it more brighter and visible from Earth:

(https://i.imgur.com/uzswj99.jpg)

Had no idea. Imagine having that to look up to every night.
Turns out it is visible from Earth. NASA's photo of the day:
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1508/AndromedaAlps_Dunchi_4677.jpg
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 17, 2015, 04:17:46 PM
Apparently The Andromeda Galaxys actual seize, were it more brighter and visible from Earth:

(https://i.imgur.com/uzswj99.jpg)

Had no idea. Imagine having that to look up to every night.
Turns out it is visible from Earth. NASA's photo of the day:
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1508/AndromedaAlps_Dunchi_4677.jpg
:tup :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 18, 2015, 08:10:14 AM
I wonder what kind of exposure was needed or that photo.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on August 18, 2015, 08:25:52 AM
I wonder what kind of exposure was needed or that photo.

Here's the info from the photgrapher
https://www.flickr.com/photos/md88/19664596953/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Phoenix87x on August 18, 2015, 09:14:04 AM
So the bright light in the center is light being sucked into a super massive black hole right?  not a massive star or anything?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on August 18, 2015, 09:45:35 AM
That NASA pic of the day of Andromeda is breathtaking.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 20, 2015, 06:00:05 AM
I found this to be pretty interesting.

https://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/29101/20150820/nasa-raids-museum-endeavor-space-shuttles-spare-parts.htm

Quote
NASA may be cannibalizing museum pieces for space shuttle parts. In order to meet budget goals, NASA is turning to museums to find the parts that it needs for the International Space Station.

Quote
In this case, NASA engineers are working to remove four tanks from the old space shuttle Endeavor for use as potable water storage on the International Space Station. The tanks measure about 3 feet by 1 foot and weight about 40 pounds each while empty. They're from deep inside the orbiter, so museum patrons won't notice that they're actually gone.
This isn't the only shuttle that had its tanks removed. The shuttle Atlantis had its water tanks removed in May for future use on the ISS.
It seems as if even old parts are getting a makeover when it comes to the space agency. Because of the limited budget, NASA is thinking of creative ways to make things work and to successfully complete future space missions.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on August 20, 2015, 06:03:18 AM
It doesn't sound like the kind of thing that would cost much, relatively speaking. It's kind of sad that NASA has to raid museum pieces to meet their current budget, over something that seems so basic.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 20, 2015, 06:07:45 AM
It doesn't sound like the kind of thing that would cost much, relatively speaking. It's kind of sad that NASA has to raid museum pieces to meet their current budget, over something that seems so basic.

That's what I was thinking as well, but then I remember it's for space. I feel like anything, no matter what it is, must cost a small fortune. These tanks are probably made of some crazy material that prevents even the smallest amount of vapor from escaping the container, and there's probably some funky stuff required for micro gravity.

I too think it's sad, but even if NASA's budget was strong, I still don't think I'd hate this. Let's say these tanks cost $75,000 a piece (I'm basing that estimate on nothing). The money they just saved could higher two quality engineers for a year that they otherwise might not have been able to bring on board.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on August 20, 2015, 06:11:56 AM
As I said, relatively speaking. I assume everything has to be engineered to a much higher standard from better materials for use in space, and a lot of it is custom or specialized stuff, so would cost a lot to have made.
I have nothing against them doing it, I just wish they weren't in a position where they had to do it to stretch their budget further.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 20, 2015, 06:12:59 AM
I feel you.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 20, 2015, 06:18:49 AM
I too think it's sad, but even if NASA's budget was strong, I still don't think I'd hate this. Let's say these tanks cost $75,000 a piece (I'm basing that estimate on nothing). The money they just saved could higher two quality engineers for a year that they otherwise might not have been able to bring on board.
That's not a bad guess for cost.  My company makes tanks, and has made some for the shuttle and ISS (not this particular one).  The major cost is engineering development and qualification test programs.  It can cost half a million dollars or more to develop and qualify a new tank.  As for materials, it's probably nothing exotic; likely stainless steel or maybe titanium.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Jarlaxle on August 24, 2015, 09:43:39 AM
I'll ask this here since I'm likely to get an answer much faster than if I were to try to google it. If a planet had two moons (let's just use earth), one in the northern skies, the other in the southern, yet both were visible at the same time across the planet, and one was much larger than the other, would they have the same or different moon cycles? For simplicity, if the moon were twice as large would it then take twice the time to complete a lunar cycle? Is there any way that the moons would operate on different cycles?

Why I'm asking is Ive created a fantasy world with two moons. They have the same conditions I already included (one is much larger, in the opposite "sky"), and I wrote that one was waxing while the other was waning. I know very little on the subject, and want to have my facts a little more straight before I proceed any further.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 24, 2015, 09:48:49 AM
It would really depend on a lot of factors.

How big are they?
What are their distances from Earth? Are the similar, or does one have an orbit far outside the other?
What do their orbits look like?
How long do they take to do a full orbit?


Fun fact. Many scientists believe that we did have two moons at one point in our history. The theory is that they eventually collided and formed the single moon we have today.

Cool/related article;
https://www.universetoday.com/92148/what-if-the-earth-had-two-moons/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Jarlaxle on August 24, 2015, 10:02:42 AM
It would really depend on a lot of factors.

How big are they?
What are their distances from Earth? Are the similar, or does one have an orbit far outside the other?
What do their orbits look like?
How long do they take to do a full orbit?

Mars has two moons, but they are small enough where they don't seem to effect each other. Then you have gas giants with dozens of moons, and they heavily influence each other.

Fun fact. Many scientists believe that we did have two moons at one point in our history. The theory is that they eventually collided and formed the single moon we have today.

Cool/related article;
https://www.universetoday.com/92148/what-if-the-earth-had-two-moons/

Let's say moon one is more or less identical to ours in every way.

Moon two is 5 times as large, is a quite a bit further away than M1 (making it appear to be about 3 times larger) with a similar shaped orbit that is obviously larger with it being further away.

My initial thoughts are that with a larger orbit the lunar cycles would be different. With M2 being further away would the phases of each moon just last proportionately longer? One of the big reasons I ask this is not only to be correct with the logic of it, but because I had the idea of "what if they were both were either full or new at the same time?" We have all our phenomena that occur on one full moon, wouldn't the world go crazy during a double full moon? Especially since it's occurance would be extremely rare.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 24, 2015, 10:05:25 AM
I don't think it would be possible to technically have two full moons. You might have two moons that to the naked eye appear to be full, but one would be receiving more light than the other as they are not at the same point in space. I think.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Jarlaxle on August 24, 2015, 10:23:50 AM
Thanks Chino! That article was an interesting read as well.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 24, 2015, 01:25:23 PM
The orbital period is independent of the size of the moon(s), so you could make the periods anything you like in your fantasy world just by changing their distance.

The period is related to the 3/2 power of the distance from the planet:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_period#Calculation

For example, if M2 is 1.59 times further from the planet as M1, its period will be twice that of M1: 1.593/2 = 2.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 24, 2015, 01:35:35 PM
The orbital period is independent of the size of the moon(s), so you could make the periods anything you like in your fantasy world just by changing their distance.

I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm curious. I can understand how orbital periods would be independent of size given one moon, but wouldn't multiple moons throw that off? Pending their proximity and orbits, wouldn't that have an effect on their periods?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 24, 2015, 01:50:29 PM
Well, yeah, but that's a 3-body problem for which there are no good analytical solutions.  It would be interesting to see if this matters for a planet like Jupiter or Saturn, where the central body is so much more massive than the moons and the moons likely have little effect on eachother.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 24, 2015, 01:53:02 PM
Well, yeah, but that's a 3-body problem for which there are no good analytical solutions.  It would be interesting to see if this matters for a planet like Jupiter or Saturn, where the central body is so much more massive than the moons and the moons likely have little effect on eachother.

Jupiter's moon effect each other quite a bit, no?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 24, 2015, 01:56:01 PM
It doesn't sound like the kind of thing that would cost much, relatively speaking. It's kind of sad that NASA has to raid museum pieces to meet their current budget, over something that seems so basic.

That's what I was thinking as well, but then I remember it's for space. I feel like anything, no matter what it is, must cost a small fortune. These tanks are probably made of some crazy material that prevents even the smallest amount of vapor from escaping the container, and there's probably some funky stuff required for micro gravity.

I too think it's sad, but even if NASA's budget was strong, I still don't think I'd hate this. Let's say these tanks cost $75,000 a piece (I'm basing that estimate on nothing). The money they just saved could higher two quality engineers for a year that they otherwise might not have been able to bring on board.
I'll occasionally pop down to the local Pick&Pull to grab a minor part for a car, not to save money but because I feel like taking care of something right then and there. It's possible NASA was approaching it from the standpoint of turnaround time just as much as cost. My hunch is that ISS water tanks are probably not an off the rack item, so new fabrication could be time consuming.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 24, 2015, 02:04:40 PM
I'm disgusted that I spelled hire as 'higher' in that prior post.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 24, 2015, 02:12:55 PM
Jupiter's moon effect each other quite a bit, no?
Indeed (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_resonance).  Never thought about this before.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Jarlaxle on August 24, 2015, 07:51:09 PM
The orbital period is independent of the size of the moon(s), so you could make the periods anything you like in your fantasy world just by changing their distance.

The period is related to the 3/2 power of the distance from the planet:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_period#Calculation

For example, if M2 is 1.59 times further from the planet as M1, its period will be twice that of M1: 1.593/2 = 2.
Awesome, thanks!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 25, 2015, 08:30:15 AM
This is another useful point:

Quote from: https://www.askamathematician.com/2011/10/q-what-is-the-three-body-problem/
Basically, when you have several bodies orbiting a much larger body, the length of the orbits of the smaller bodies will tend to settle into simple-fraction (1/2, 2/3, 1/3, etc.) multiples of each other.  1 to 2 to 4 for Io, Europa, and Ganymede.  The slight ellipses of any real-life orbits cause the gravitational force of the moons, to “pulse” (becoming slightly stronger or weaker) along another moon’s orbit.  As a result (this is not at all obvious right off the bat) if the other moon slows down it gets pushed a little faster at regular intervals, and if it gets too fast it gets slowed down at regular intervals.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 27, 2015, 01:09:12 PM
Siiiick

https://www.gfycat.com/CrispFavorableDuckbillplatypus
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 27, 2015, 01:27:10 PM
Probably using this:

https://www.nowykurier.com/toys/gravity/gravity.html

I think that may have been posted here before.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on August 27, 2015, 01:52:56 PM
Probably using this:

https://www.nowykurier.com/toys/gravity/gravity.html

I think that may have been posted here before.

Yeah, this is fun!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 28, 2015, 10:12:32 AM
Probably using this:

https://www.nowykurier.com/toys/gravity/gravity.html (https://www.nowykurier.com/toys/gravity/gravity.html)

I think that may have been posted here before.
Quite entertaining and a great time waster at work. What it needs most is the ability to zoom out. A nice touch would be the ability to manually input velocity and vector.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 28, 2015, 12:22:41 PM
Here's an interesting read for the disaster fans and armchair accident investigators among us. As part of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board report, investigators assessed the possibility of rescue or repair of the orbiter assuming they had ascertained it's damage in time. They hypothesized an actual rescue mission which might have worked, but would have been insanely complicated and offered up a considerable amount of risk. This is fascinating to me because while I wouldn't trust NASA to take my car to get it washed, I'd have complete confidence in its ability to rescue me from certain death. NASA is as good at working contingency as it is terrible with complacency. It'd be nice if those guys had been given the opportunity to save themselves from their own incompetence.

Ars-Tecnica did a writeup on the thing: https://arstechnica.com/science/2014/02/the-audacious-rescue-plan-that-might-have-saved-space-shuttle-columbia/

And here's the actual document as an apendix to the CAIB report for the particularly geeky: https://www.globalsecurity.org/jhtml/jframe.html#https://www.globalsecurity.org/space/library/report/2003/caib-report_vol2-d13.pdf|||
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on August 28, 2015, 12:42:10 PM
I've had that article saved for a while now.  Usually I get rid of an article once I read it, but I kept this one because it was so interesting.  Audacious is certainly the right description.  It's interesting that they committed the resources and money to come up with this plan that absolutely zero utility.  I suppose it was a good exercise for NASA, though.

Reading that article, you imagine it as if NASA actually performed this mission, and how amazed and proud you would have felt.  It would have wound up being a huge boost to NASA's public perception.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 28, 2015, 01:27:34 PM
As I recall, part of the reason they didn't tell the Columbia crew or take further action was that they were of the opinion that there wasn't anything they could do about it anyway. It only makes sense to ascertain if NASA was correct in that regard. This contingency plan doesn't really answer that since it was such a crapshoot and we can't really even know if they would have risked the resources (human and material). What can be ascertained from this (and that includes the possible repair plans included in the report that AT doesn't delve into) is that there were certainly avenues to consider rather than taking the ostrich approach and hoping for the best.

Something that the report does mention is why other vehicles weren't an option. I'd always wondered why a Soyuz couldn't have been deployed with the necessary supplies, and that's covered. However, there was an Ariane 4 on the pad in French Guiana that was ready to deploy a satellite. According to the report it would have been difficult to get it refitted and reprogrammed, but that honestly seems like it'd at least be possible. All that was needed to buy them time was LiOH and O2. Certainly seems like something could be set up to deliver that within 30 days.

All of this also raises a fascinating ethical question. Would it be better to drag the thing out 30 days when the likelihood is that they'll probably burn up or suffocate anyway? It'd be awful for the crew and their families, and not so great for the public, either. All in all it's pretty remarkable that during the sixties neither us nor the Rooskies left any bodies on or orbiting the moon, or drifting off towards Andromeda. I suppose you'd have to take into consideration the possibility that you wind up with 7 dead astronauts orbiting the Earth for a while as you try to figure out how to handle such a situation, and that'd be pretty crappy.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 02, 2015, 11:40:19 AM
This was supposedly made with real pictures taken on the New Horizons mission.

(https://i.imgur.com/apC0emi.gif)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on September 02, 2015, 06:04:08 PM
 :omg:


I'll be camping out at Lassen Volcanic National Park this weekend and bringing my 10" Dobsonian with me. I've only ever used it in extreme light pollution which has limited my viewing to the moon, planets and (very few) stars, so I'm really excited to be able to point it at a truly dark site. Hoping to get some great views of galaxies, nebulae, and globular clusters!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 03, 2015, 11:37:32 AM
I have never facepalm:ed more to a video like this:

25 Flat Geo Earth claims that 'Rocked' my world view. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WPBDte2AfY)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on September 03, 2015, 04:25:28 PM
 :rollin  Wow, some people really are that dumb.  My favorite parts were, "we send satellites to Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto."  :lol  The other one was Earth spin and how you would have to travel twice as fast in a plane going from East to West against the spin.  :lolpalm:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 04, 2015, 05:51:05 AM
Enjoy.

https://www.theflatearthsociety.org/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 04, 2015, 06:22:27 AM
Enjoy.

https://www.theflatearthsociety.org/
Ohhh thank you very much!  :biggrin:

Quote
People have been into space. How have they not discovered that the earth is flat?

The most commonly accepted explanation of this is that the space agencies of the world are involved in a conspiracy faking space travel and exploration. This likely began during the Cold War's 'Space Race', in which the U.S.S.R and USA were obsessed with beating each other into space to the point that each faked their accomplishments in an attempt to keep pace with the others supposed achievements. However, since the end of the Cold War, the conspiracy is most likely motivated by greed rather than political gains. Thus opening up a tremendous amounts of funds to embezzle as it only takes a fraction of the total budget to fake space travel.

In light of the above, please note that we are not suggesting that space agencies are aware that the earth is flat and actively covering the fact up. They depict the earth as being round simply because that is what they expect it to be.

 :corn



Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Bolsters on September 04, 2015, 06:32:33 AM
Enjoy.

https://www.theflatearthsociety.org/
(https://i1337.photobucket.com/albums/o669/bolsters/nope_girl.gif~original)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 04, 2015, 06:36:08 AM
Enjoy.

https://www.theflatearthsociety.org/
Ohhh thank you very much!  :biggrin:

Quote
People have been into space. How have they not discovered that the earth is flat?

The most commonly accepted explanation of this is that the space agencies of the world are involved in a conspiracy faking space travel and exploration. This likely began during the Cold War's 'Space Race', in which the U.S.S.R and USA were obsessed with beating each other into space to the point that each faked their accomplishments in an attempt to keep pace with the others supposed achievements. However, since the end of the Cold War, the conspiracy is most likely motivated by greed rather than political gains. Thus opening up a tremendous amounts of funds to embezzle as it only takes a fraction of the total budget to fake space travel.

In light of the above, please note that we are not suggesting that space agencies are aware that the earth is flat and actively covering the fact up. They depict the earth as being round simply because that is what they expect it to be.

 :corn

I wonder what SpaceX's motivation is to fake space exploration?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on September 04, 2015, 07:57:25 AM
It's a joke/troll site, to my understanding.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 04, 2015, 08:06:02 AM
It's a joke/troll site, to my understanding.
Yea I think i've heard that to somewhere

Quote
Is this site a joke?

This site is not a joke. We are actively promoting the Flat Earth Movement worldwide. There are, admittedly, several non-serious flat earth posters, but they are fairly easy to identify.
That either confirms it or not, i'm a bit confused what to believe.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 04, 2015, 08:12:44 AM
Idk. I've spent a lot of time on those forums... that's a lot of dedicated trolls.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Calvin6s on September 06, 2015, 03:48:11 AM
Idk. I've spent a lot of time on those forums

Why?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 06, 2015, 04:27:03 AM
Because it's hysterical. Is that alright? Should I have consulted with you first?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Calvin6s on September 06, 2015, 01:56:15 PM
 :-X
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on September 07, 2015, 12:23:34 PM
The Earth is a sphere for the same reason every other heavenly body is.

Plus faked space pics or not - we have satellite pics of Earth and moon and every other planet - oh and they're all spheres. :lol

This theory - joke or not - has no legs at all.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 08, 2015, 06:11:17 AM
The Earth is a sphere for the same reason every other heavenly body is.

Plus faked space pics or not - we have satellite pics of Earth and moon and every other planet - oh and they're all spheres. :lol

This theory - joke or not - has no legs at all.

This is one of Mars' moons. Not a sphere.
(https://www.esa.int/images/115-051004-0756-6-co-02-Phobos_L.jpg)

How do you know the pics of the Earth, the moon, and every other planet aren't faked? We don't see the moon as a sphere in a picture, it's just a circle. If the Earth was flat, we could still get a pic that give the illusion of a sphere.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on September 08, 2015, 08:04:00 AM
:lol. Because it's been seen from more than one angle.


And that planetoid isn't a perfect sphere but it's still more of a ball than a disc.


Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on September 08, 2015, 10:23:52 AM
The Earth is a sphere for the same reason every other heavenly body is.

Plus faked space pics or not - we have satellite pics of Earth and moon and every other planet - oh and they're all spheres. :lol

This theory - joke or not - has no legs at all.

This is one of Mars' moons. Not a sphere.
(https://www.esa.int/images/115-051004-0756-6-co-02-Phobos_L.jpg)

How do you know the pics of the Earth, the moon, and every other planet aren't faked? We don't see the moon as a sphere in a picture, it's just a circle. If the Earth was flat, we could still get a pic that give the illusion of a sphere.

Cause I've been in a fucking airplane (and a jet, much higher than the commercial airliner) and can see with my own two eyeballs.

Oh, and I'm also not a brainless cunt. That helps too.

STOP THIS MADNESS CHINO! Go watch Avatar, buddy; clear your head.
(not that I think you're actually backing this but just entertaining the thought is insane, even if anyone is daft enough to think that there is any logical reason anyone would gain from faking all those pictures)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on September 08, 2015, 10:26:58 AM
We have time lapse fucking footage of earth rotating and it's a god damned mother fucking SPHERE.

The same as every other planet and star in our solar system which has been observed rotating.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 08, 2015, 10:30:12 AM
The Earth is a sphere for the same reason every other heavenly body is.

Plus faked space pics or not - we have satellite pics of Earth and moon and every other planet - oh and they're all spheres. :lol

This theory - joke or not - has no legs at all.

This is one of Mars' moons. Not a sphere.
*snip*

How do you know the pics of the Earth, the moon, and every other planet aren't faked? We don't see the moon as a sphere in a picture, it's just a circle. If the Earth was flat, we could still get a pic that give the illusion of a sphere.

Cause I've been in a fucking airplane (and a jet, much higher than the commercial airliner) and can see with my own two eyeballs.

Oh, and I'm also not a brainless cunt. That helps too.

STOP THIS MADNESS CHINO! Go watch Avatar, buddy; clear your head.
(not that I think you're actually backing this but just entertaining the thought is insane, even if anyone is daft enough to think that there is any logical reason anyone would gain from faking all those pictures)

https://wiki.tfes.org/Frequently_Asked_Questions

Quote
Quite simply you cannot. It is widely stated you would need to be at a height of at least 40,000 ft to get even a hint of curvature if earth were round. Commercial aircraft are not allowed to fly this high. They are only allowed to fly just under this altitude. 36,000ft might be typical. In addition, the windows on commercial aircraft are small and heavily curved. Even if they flew high enough for a person to see curvature, it would still not be visible to passengers.

Fact.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on September 08, 2015, 10:39:43 AM
Welp, I guess we live on a flat surface, bro. You got me.

Seriously though, why are you doing this?

Also, I know we didn't go 40,000ft. high, and it was a while back so I definitely don't remember the altitude but when I was in the jet, we went a shitload higher than commercial airlines do and it was pretty easy to tell that the Earth isn't flat from that high up. Could I see an actual sphere? No. But it'd be obvious if the rest of the world extended out beyond that. It'd look completely different. It's...y'know...man...I'm not gonna entertain this anymore, it's souring my good mood. Good job, Chino. You win. Have fun.

:facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:  :|

Ed: Just saw the funny thread post. Could've fooled me, you bastard. Damn it.  :corn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on September 08, 2015, 11:23:20 AM
According to QI - it's actually a myth that we ever thought the earth was flat.


Which makes the idea of Flat Earth believers even more hilarious.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on September 08, 2015, 11:26:19 AM
Seriously though, why are you doing this?
To hone your debating skills.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on September 08, 2015, 11:37:18 AM
 :lol

Or y'know, just to ruin my morning.  :metal (although after the morning shite I just had I was all "maybe the world IS flat!")

Srsly, dat green font doe. (but then it wouldn't be any fun)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 08, 2015, 11:45:08 AM
Srsly, dat green font doe. (but then it wouldn't be any fun)

Given my post history on these boards, I figured that it'd have been pretty obvious that I was joking.

I made that one super serious blue just in case  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on September 08, 2015, 11:47:54 AM
According to QI - it's actually a myth that we ever thought the earth was flat.

Nah, you go back far enough, I'm sure that at some point it was pretty common.  Cavemen, I'm sure, assumed the earth was flat.  Everything in their experience said so.  It's just a damned shame that some people haven't gotten any smarter.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on September 08, 2015, 11:48:12 AM
Ehhh, I blame it on the morning sleepies.

 :sadpanda:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: CDrice on September 08, 2015, 12:33:29 PM
According to QI - it's actually a myth that we ever thought the earth was flat.

Nah, you go back far enough, I'm sure that at some point it was pretty common.  Cavemen, I'm sure, assumed the earth was flat.  Everything in their experience said so.  It's just a damned shame that some people haven't gotten any smarter.

I would think that cavemen probably had way more important things to think about than whether Earth was flat or not. Like not getting killed by every single thing on this planet... or having sex.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 08, 2015, 12:37:01 PM
According to QI - it's actually a myth that we ever thought the earth was flat.

Nah, you go back far enough, I'm sure that at some point it was pretty common.  Cavemen, I'm sure, assumed the earth was flat.  Everything in their experience said so.  It's just a damned shame that some people haven't gotten any smarter.

I would think that cavemen probably had way more important things to think about than whether Earth was flat or not. Like not getting killed by every single thing on this planet... or having sex.

I was thinking the same thing. Despite their cleverness, I'm guessing caveman's view of the horizon wasn't much different than my dog's.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dream Team on September 08, 2015, 02:16:11 PM
Funny thing is, the book of Isaiah refers to the earth as a sphere and Psalms refers to it "hanging in space" hundreds of years before it was conjectured or proven, back when people thought it was supported by 4 giant elephants standing on the back of a turtle.  :lol No thread derail here, just tossing it in.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on September 08, 2015, 02:42:31 PM
It's turtles all the way down  :biggrin:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Big Hath on September 08, 2015, 02:48:52 PM
It's turtles all the way down  :biggrin:

YES!  Love that line.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Cyclopssss on September 11, 2015, 07:00:26 AM
New Hi-Res pics of Pluto and one of Charon. Oh my!

https://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2015/09/10/pluto_new_images_from_new_horizons.html (https://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2015/09/10/pluto_new_images_from_new_horizons.html)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 11, 2015, 07:05:03 AM
Those are phenomenal. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 11, 2015, 07:31:33 AM
Volcanoes on Io.

(https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/051407_loop-1041px.gif?itok=3CMV9UdO)

https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/io-volcano-tides

Quote
"This is the first time the amount and distribution of heat produced by fluid tides in a subterranean magma ocean on Io has been studied in detail," said Robert Tyler of the University of Maryland, College Park and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "We found that the pattern of tidal heating predicted by our fluid-tide model is able to produce the surface heat patterns that are actually observed on Io." Tyler is lead author of a paper on this research published June 2015 in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series.

Io is the most volcanically active world in the solar system, with hundreds of erupting volcanoes blasting fountains of lava up to 250 miles (about 400 kilometers) high. The intense geological activity is the result of heat produced by a gravitational tug-of-war between Jupiter's massive gravity and other smaller but precisely timed pulls from Europa, a neighboring moon to Io that orbits further from Jupiter. Io orbits faster, completing two orbits every time Europa finishes one. This regular timing means that Io feels the strongest gravitational pull from its neighbor in the same orbital location, which distorts Io's orbit into an oval shape. This modified orbit causes Io to flex as it moves around Jupiter, causing material within Io to shift position and generate heat by friction, just as rubbing your hands together briskly makes them warmer.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on September 11, 2015, 11:50:42 AM
:tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 11, 2015, 12:14:05 PM
New Hi-Res pics of Pluto and one of Charon. Oh my!

https://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2015/09/10/pluto_new_images_from_new_horizons.html (https://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2015/09/10/pluto_new_images_from_new_horizons.html)
Wow, beautiful pictures!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: splent on September 11, 2015, 12:15:49 PM
I can't wait to see the new pics of Nix and Hydra to be released... And I'm hoping for some pics of Styx and Keroboros
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 15, 2015, 01:46:06 PM
According to a post on Reddit, this quasar is 5000 light years long.

(https://i.imgur.com/pGCiWdf.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on September 15, 2015, 01:47:58 PM
Fuckin hell.

So basically - if you were travelling the speed of light - it would take you FIVE THOUSAND YEARS to travel from one end to the other. . .


 :o :|
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 15, 2015, 01:50:09 PM
Fuckin hell.

So basically - if you were travelling the speed of light - it would take you FIVE THOUSAND YEARS to travel from one end to the other. . .


 :o :|

Yes. If you were moving 186,000 miles per second, it'd still take 5000 years. It's hard to wrap your head around it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on September 15, 2015, 03:57:58 PM
Um, that's the gamma ray burst from the Quasar.  The gamma ray burst is 5000 LY long and still travelling.  The Quasar itself is a super massive black hole.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: splent on September 16, 2015, 12:49:31 PM
These kinds of numbers, thinking about how big space is, thinking about the edge of space or if it's infinite... This hurts my brain... Yet I can't stop thinking about it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on September 18, 2015, 02:20:32 PM
These kinds of numbers, thinking about how big space is, thinking about the edge of space or if it's infinite... This hurts my brain... Yet I can't stop thinking about it.

The wonders of life.  Cant wrap your head around it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on September 20, 2015, 12:45:43 PM
It's mad that this is our actual reality and yet we get bogged down with the minutiae of when is the new Dream Theater coming out and I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow.


:lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: splent on September 27, 2015, 08:58:39 PM
So... blood supermoon. Are you seeing it? It's awesome.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on September 27, 2015, 09:28:47 PM
Wasn't able to take a good shot of the blood moon tonight, all I could muster, with the 200 mm zoom lens.
(https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y159/faizoff/redmoon.jpg)

And this was last night with the full moon.
(https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y159/faizoff/fullmoon.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on September 28, 2015, 06:51:56 AM
Cloudy here in the northeast, so I only got a few glimpses here and there.  I didn't see any red color though.

Also, if the red color is caused by light passing through earth's atmosphere en route to the moon, why isn't every lunar eclipse red?  Isn't the edge of earth's shadow always fringed by its atmosphere?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 28, 2015, 09:40:08 AM
Liquid water confirmed on the surface of Mars!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: hefdaddy42 on September 28, 2015, 10:01:28 AM
Liquid water confirmed on the surface of Mars!!
Mars is better off than California.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on September 28, 2015, 10:07:54 AM
Damn!




(you're right, tho)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Cyclopssss on September 28, 2015, 12:13:54 PM
Well is that real liquid water, bicarbonated or dehydrated?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 28, 2015, 12:14:37 PM
Liquid water confirmed on the surface of Mars!!
That's pretty damn cool that water is most likely running on Mars at present day.

Quote
“This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water -- albeit briny -- is flowing today on the surface of Mars.”

NASA Confirms Evidence That Liquid Water Flows on Today’s Mars (https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-confirms-evidence-that-liquid-water-flows-on-today-s-mars)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on September 28, 2015, 06:52:11 PM
Nice discovery... but I was hoping they would announce they have found a black monolith of unknown origin instead. Lol!  ;D ;D
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Big Hath on September 28, 2015, 10:24:22 PM
well, they found one, but there is no way they're going to announce it
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on September 29, 2015, 06:09:33 AM
Liquid water confirmed on the surface of Mars!!
Mars is better off than California.

 :clap:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on September 29, 2015, 06:51:02 AM
The chances of anything liquid on mars are a billion to one they said.

But still...
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 29, 2015, 06:51:57 AM
The chances of anything liquid on mars are a billion to one they said.

Pretty sure no one has been saying that.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 29, 2015, 08:38:32 AM
Quote
“Our quest on Mars has been to ‘follow the water,’ in our search for life in the universe, and now we have convincing science that validates what we’ve long suspected,” said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water -- albeit briny -- is flowing today on the surface of Mars.”
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 29, 2015, 08:50:39 AM
My girlfriend made me this for our anniversary.

(https://i.imgur.com/eZOSEsC.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on September 29, 2015, 08:55:12 AM
My girlfriend made me this for our anniversary.

(https://i.imgur.com/eZOSEsC.jpg)

Awesome shirt!  :hat
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: hefdaddy42 on September 29, 2015, 08:56:36 AM
Nice!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on September 29, 2015, 09:20:34 AM
The chances of anything liquid on mars are a billion to one they said.

Pretty sure no one has been saying that.


:facepalm: :facepalm:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 29, 2015, 09:37:30 AM
The chances of anything liquid on mars are a billion to one they said.

Pretty sure no one has been saying that.


:facepalm: :facepalm:

Care to elaborate?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on September 29, 2015, 12:35:10 PM
https://www.metrolyrics.com/eve-of-the-war-lyrics-wayne-jeff.html


::)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: kirksnosehair on September 29, 2015, 12:39:30 PM
It's now official that Nasa has found evidence of "recent water flowing" on the surface of Mars.  (https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/09/28/mars-water-nasa/72971342/)


This is quite an incredible discovery.  :eek :eek
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 29, 2015, 12:41:58 PM
https://www.metrolyrics.com/eve-of-the-war-lyrics-wayne-jeff.html


::)

You said a billion to one.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 29, 2015, 01:12:28 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/CpAFrLy.gif)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on September 29, 2015, 03:16:40 PM
https://www.metrolyrics.com/eve-of-the-war-lyrics-wayne-jeff.html


::)

You said a billion to one.


Err.....Boo hoo ?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Bolsters on September 29, 2015, 09:31:12 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/CpAFrLy.gif)
Well, that explains why no one has bothered to go to any of those other places yet.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Calvin6s on September 29, 2015, 09:58:52 PM
I hope they fix this before the manned mission to mars
(https://i.stack.imgur.com/BdZTV.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 01, 2015, 01:51:41 AM
Not sure if it's an act or not but it's cringy to watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy7GOO7Y96Y
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on October 01, 2015, 04:14:43 AM
I had to stop watching. That's disgusting.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on October 01, 2015, 10:43:21 AM
Uh...yeah, me too...couple of dipshits. For once the top Youtube comments are spot on. Verily. Now THAT is bad.

Jeeeeezus effing christ on a cracker...
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on October 01, 2015, 12:29:53 PM
New Charon photo released. Wild.

(https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2015/10/nh-charon-neutral-bright-release.jpg&w=1484)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on October 01, 2015, 12:53:21 PM
Photo shopped as Death Star in 3....2....1....
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on October 01, 2015, 12:58:49 PM
Uh...yeah, me too...couple of dipshits. For once the top Youtube comments are spot on. Verily. Now THAT is bad.

Jeeeeezus effing christ on a cracker...

Even if it is all an act - I can't bear people all shouting at once.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on October 01, 2015, 01:08:00 PM
Uh...yeah, me too...couple of dipshits. For once the top Youtube comments are spot on. Verily. Now THAT is bad.

Jeeeeezus effing christ on a cracker...

Even if it is all an act - I can't bear people all shouting at once.

I can't bear when a show brings a guest on, asks him a question, and then interrupts him literally 5 or 6 times before he can get the first sentence out.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on October 01, 2015, 03:07:48 PM
It's all bad. All of it. Poor Bill.. I can only imagine him thinking the absolute (amazingly) horrible things about them. I'm sure the guy thought it'd be an actual talk show and not a circle jerk of inbreds.

It's funny how he was talking to them like they weren't fucking brain dead. "I know you guys are just messing with me". No, Bill. Nope...they're really, REALLY not. Gawdamn.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on October 02, 2015, 11:57:03 AM
Terrible interview which was setup for laughs at the expense of interesting scientific discussion. Glad I stayed until the end for Bill's unintentional(?) slam.

Bill: "Mars has 40% of Earth's gravity."
Michelle: "Ok, 40%, so what's that?"
Bill: "It's less than half".

 :rollin
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 02, 2015, 12:10:11 PM
New Charon photo released. Wild.

(https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2015/10/nh-charon-neutral-bright-release.jpg&w=1484)
:tup :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on October 02, 2015, 01:27:51 PM
Terrible interview which was setup for laughs at the expense of interesting scientific discussion. Glad I stayed until the end for Bill's unintentional(?) slam.

Bill: "Mars has 40% of Earth's gravity."
Michelle: "Ok, 40%, so what's that?"
Bill: "It's less than half".

 :rollin

She probably wanted that converted to pounds.  So, let say she's 300 lbs on Earth.  That's 120 lbs on Mars.   :lol :lol  Good to go on that sex tape she asked about.   :rollin
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 05, 2015, 07:17:16 AM
This is pretty cool. If I understand correctly this is the raw tile they use on the shuttles to protect during reentry. As you can see it dissipates the heat extremely well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp9Yax8UNoM
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on October 05, 2015, 10:08:04 AM
Going to Mars is one thing. After reading this article, I now realized it is even harder than I thought to get out of there.

How Will We Get Off Mars?

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/10/151002-mars-mission-nasa-return-space/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 08, 2015, 05:16:14 PM
Quote
The first color images of Pluto’s atmospheric hazes, returned by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft last week, reveal that the hazes are blue.

“Who would have expected a blue sky in the Kuiper Belt? It’s gorgeous,” said Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), Boulder, Colorado.

The haze particles themselves are likely gray or red, but the way they scatter blue light has gotten the attention of the New Horizons science team. “That striking blue tint tells us about the size and composition of the haze particles,” said science team researcher Carly Howett, also of SwRI. “A blue sky often results from scattering of sunlight by very small particles. On Earth, those particles are very tiny nitrogen molecules. On Pluto they appear to be larger — but still relatively small — soot-like particles we call tholins.”



(https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/blue_skies_on_pluto-final-2.png?itok=I4-pLTkc)

https://www.nasa.gov/nh/nh-finds-blue-skies-and-water-ice-on-pluto
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on October 08, 2015, 06:57:22 PM
^An absolutely mindblowing pic.  :hefdaddy
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on October 09, 2015, 09:47:49 AM
Yeah. That one's gorgeous.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on October 12, 2015, 01:57:17 PM
DT13?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on October 12, 2015, 03:47:42 PM
Dude yes. Finally. I haven't even heard a second of DT12 and it is literally the first thing that popped in my mind. I was gonna post it but given I'm more of a fan of DT's past work than a 'current' fan, I figured someone would eventually say something. Thweet! It really is uncanny.  :lol :tup :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on October 15, 2015, 12:09:53 PM
First pics of Enceladus' north pole from yesterday's Cassini flyby:
https://www.universetoday.com/122871/cassinis-close-flyby-of-enceladus-yields-surprising-perplexing-imagery/ (https://www.universetoday.com/122871/cassinis-close-flyby-of-enceladus-yields-surprising-perplexing-imagery/)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Calvin6s on October 15, 2015, 03:14:54 PM
Looks interesting (https://arxiv.org/pdf/1509.03622v1.pdf)
Sorry, I don't have time to check this out right now, but I'm told it is very interesting.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on October 24, 2015, 03:50:52 PM
There's an astronomy thread? wow, I'm even more glad now to have joined after months of lurking.

I love astronomy, I find it teaches humility while still showing how many extraordinary things are out there.  Pictures from space are always awesome and mindblowing!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on October 24, 2015, 05:30:52 PM
Astronomy :coolio  :tup :eek





Astrology :rollin  :tdwn NO
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on October 24, 2015, 05:47:14 PM
 ???
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on October 24, 2015, 05:49:24 PM
Astronomy = studying the planets and stars and the cosmos.



Astrology = thinking that two people born in the same month will lead identical lives right down to the good luck thy'll receive on a daily basis :rollin
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on October 24, 2015, 06:08:29 PM
Oh I know what it is, my confusion is why it was brought up, unless someone mentioned it and I missed something... just seemed kind of random to throw it out there from left field.

But I do agree, I'm just not sure where it came from.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on October 25, 2015, 04:04:11 AM
Astronomy :coolio  :tup :eek





Astrology :rollin  :tdwn NO

Sir, you have a new board friend in me. Consider yourself toasted with a virtual beer.  :hat
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 29, 2015, 03:20:34 AM
If Russia is serious on sending humans to the moon I think the great space race 2.0 will commence and that might be the kick in ze butt the US gov needs. Unless Russia lands on Apollo 11s landing zone and replace it with a Russian flag and WW3 commence or something like that.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on October 29, 2015, 03:37:47 AM
I think we'd sooner see the new hit TV show "Moon Wars".  :metal :police:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on October 29, 2015, 05:52:25 AM
If Russia is serious on sending humans to the moon I think the great space race 2.0 will commence and that might be the kick in ze butt the US gov needs. Unless Russia lands on Apollo 11s landing zone and replace it with a Russian flag and WW3 commence or something like that.

Could you imagine how apeshit shit this country would go if Russia or China did that? I'm almost certain it would turn into an interplanetary game of capture the flag.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on October 29, 2015, 06:32:31 AM
Speaking of Russians and the moon: The Luna 3 mission, which returned the first pictures of the far side of the moon, used radiation-hardened film captured from US spy balloons (they didn't know how to make radiation resistant film), which was exposed and developed on-board the spacecraft, then scanned and "faxed" to earth.

https://www.damninteresting.com/faxes-from-the-far-side/#read-more

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Luna_3_moon.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Cyclopssss on October 29, 2015, 07:39:39 AM
https://www.universetoday.com/123045/saturns-yin-yang-moon-iapetus/ (https://www.universetoday.com/123045/saturns-yin-yang-moon-iapetus/)

Is it me or are the moons of Saturn turning out to be pretty freaking amazing?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 29, 2015, 08:29:36 AM
If Russia is serious on sending humans to the moon I think the great space race 2.0 will commence and that might be the kick in ze butt the US gov needs. Unless Russia lands on Apollo 11s landing zone and replace it with a Russian flag and WW3 commence or something like that.

Could you imagine how apeshit shit this country would go if Russia or China did that? I'm almost certain it would turn into an interplanetary game of capture the flag.
Yea it would be one giant "poke in the eye" move from Russia towards the US.
Serious question though: Is the landing site or flag protected by something like world heritage or something?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on October 29, 2015, 10:21:28 AM
Astronomy :coolio  :tup :eek





Astrology :rollin  :tdwn NO

*glances down at own signature*

It's not what it looks like, I swear!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on October 30, 2015, 06:57:11 AM
I read yesterday that Russia's moon mission will have an all-female crew. I hope that's enough to trigger some kind of response from the US.


What a picture!

Enceladus
(https://cdn.ndtv.com/tech/images/gadgets/enceladus_nasa.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on October 30, 2015, 07:00:47 AM
I read yesterday that Russia's moon mission will have an all-female crew. I hope that's enough to trigger some kind of response from the US.

I'm in the U.S., and my response is: I wonder if any of them will be hot.







Sorry.   :sad:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on October 30, 2015, 08:38:51 AM
(https://fbcdn-photos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xtf1/v/t1.0-0/p235x350/12036949_940948845961295_8976316601960725010_n.jpg?oh=173aafab2eedc2b30eb6b74b2f19a373&oe=56C9BBF2&__gda__=1456539100_4ddcc5f83442608bbb380ef456323e1c)

Some of them are not bad.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on October 30, 2015, 11:41:20 AM
A. I believe the US flag is solid white now; bleached from the sun.
B. I'm pretty sure it blew over from the blow-back of the LM launching.
C. Under treaty nobody can lay claim to the moon. I suppose that'd make the flag something along the line of jetsam under maritime law.
D. Even during the height of the cold war, our respective space programs were highly respectful towards each other. Akin to English and German combatants in the early days of WWI. I suspect you'd hear some pretty loud Russian balking if one of them were asked to do that. Like asking one scientist to walk over and kick another one in the nuts for being a damn Belgian.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on October 30, 2015, 12:59:43 PM
(https://fbcdn-photos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xtf1/v/t1.0-0/p235x350/12036949_940948845961295_8976316601960725010_n.jpg?oh=173aafab2eedc2b30eb6b74b2f19a373&oe=56C9BBF2&__gda__=1456539100_4ddcc5f83442608bbb380ef456323e1c)

Some of them are not bad.

Agreed.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 03, 2015, 06:51:06 AM
Spectacular footage:

NASA | Thermonuclear Art – The Sun In Ultra-HD (4K) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tmbeLTHC_0)

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on November 03, 2015, 10:51:39 AM
Oh man, that is freakin' awesome!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on November 04, 2015, 11:23:04 AM
Spectacular footage:

NASA | Thermonuclear Art – The Sun In Ultra-HD (4K) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tmbeLTHC_0)



Amazing stuff.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on November 04, 2015, 08:14:06 PM
Spectacular footage:

NASA | Thermonuclear Art – The Sun In Ultra-HD (4K) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tmbeLTHC_0)



Amazing stuff.

Man that is awesome!!! can't stop watching and looking at that. I don't think I'll ever fall out of fascination with our Sun.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on November 04, 2015, 09:34:04 PM
Spectacular footage:

NASA | Thermonuclear Art – The Sun In Ultra-HD (4K) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tmbeLTHC_0)



Amazing stuff.

Man that is awesome!!! can't stop watching and looking at that. I don't think I'll ever fall out of fascination with our Universe.

FTFY  :angel:

Never! It's incomprehensible and ever awesome.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 11, 2015, 08:03:18 AM
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Expedition_45_%27Return_of_the_Jedi%27_crew_poster.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on November 11, 2015, 08:15:12 AM
I hate that you type in " The Sun " in Google to read up on it and all the results are about a shitty gossipy fearmongering sensationalist tabloid.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 11, 2015, 08:19:23 AM
What are you looking to learn about in particular?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on November 11, 2015, 08:21:50 AM
Jus' Browsing mainly :)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 11, 2015, 08:23:01 AM
The sun is my favorite planet. It's like the king of planets.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on November 11, 2015, 08:30:28 AM
The sun is my favorite planet. It's like the king of planets.

It's like The Pandora of planets :chino:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on November 11, 2015, 08:32:06 AM
The sun is my favorite planet. It's like the king of planets.

Looks like Kotowboy isn't the only one who needs to Google the sun. :P
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 11, 2015, 08:50:26 AM
(https://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/Harry+caray_02b8b0_4766649.jpg)

(https://imagesmtv-a.akamaihd.net/uri/mgid:file:http:shared:mtv.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/harry-caray-1436973016.gif)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on November 11, 2015, 08:51:29 AM
Thank god for that. :lol I've only seen that once, when someone linked it last time it came up, so pardon my forgetting.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 11, 2015, 08:52:38 AM
Thank god for that. :lol I've only seen that once, when someone linked it last time it came up, so pardon my forgetting.

It might be my favorite Will Farrell skit of all time.

"Hey!! If you had the choice of being the top scientist in your field or getting mad cow disease, which would you pick?"   :rollin
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on November 11, 2015, 12:51:56 PM
I wish for someone to go back to the Moon with a worldwide live stream only for them to say to the whole world "Now try and say we didn't go either".  ;D

Anyway, I found it weird that they'd plant a flag on the Moon only to blow it away departing, but it looks like that's what may have happened, I found this article online about the flags on the Moon:

https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/ApolloFlags-Condition.html
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on November 11, 2015, 12:54:57 PM
The sun is my favorite planet. It's like the king of planets.

Looks like Kotowboy isn't the only one who needs to Google the sun. :P

it be big and hot and yella (https://downloadpolitics.com/images/smilies/tard.gif)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 12, 2015, 05:48:09 AM
https://www.ibnlive.com/news/tech/astronomers-spot-most-distant-object-in-solar-system-1163349.html

Quote
Astronomers have discovered a mysterious dwarf planet that is three times farther away than Pluto and believed to be the most distant object in our solar system.
The discovery of the dwarf planet known as V774104 was announced on Tuesday at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society near the US capital and could indicate the presence of more rogue planets in our celestial neighborhood.

The dwarf planet currently sits 15.4 billion kilometers (9.6 billion miles) from the Sun.
It is believed to be between 310 and 620 miles across.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on November 12, 2015, 06:04:54 AM
Good thing they're not called the American Space Society :neverusethis:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: SeventhDegree on November 15, 2015, 02:09:35 PM
Just 644 days to go until the Total Solar Eclipse in the United States.  There has not been a Total Eclipse of the Sun in the Continental U.S. since 1979.  It takes place on August 21st, 2017.

More info: https://www.eclipse2017.org/eclipse2017_main.htm
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on November 22, 2015, 08:47:17 PM
I've been at my company for 10 years, which gets me a piece of swag. Getting a telescope! Very excited. It's a Meade 70 Infinity.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on November 22, 2015, 08:47:59 PM
Did you get the telescope from your work, or get money which you're using for a telescope? (I don't know how life works) Either way, pretty cool.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on November 22, 2015, 08:50:16 PM
I had to choose from a small booklet, the telescope was the best item. So, I'm not paying for it, no.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on November 22, 2015, 08:56:28 PM
Nice. Your 10 year gift is the power of the peeping tom. :neverusethis:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on November 22, 2015, 09:24:13 PM
Everybody is saying that!!!!  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: splent on November 22, 2015, 10:31:56 PM

(https://imagesmtv-a.akamaihd.net/uri/mgid:file:http:shared:mtv.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/harry-caray-1436973016.gif)

I know I would, I'd have seconds, then polish it off with a tall, cool, Budweiser
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MetalJunkie on November 22, 2015, 10:32:15 PM
I believe the US flag is solid white now; bleached from the sun.
So it looks like France went to the moon.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on November 23, 2015, 07:12:14 AM
I had to choose from a small booklet, the telescope was the best item. So, I'm not paying for it, no.
Thanks for the reminder!  I just had a work anniversary, and a telescope is one of the choices.  I just put the booklet down, and forgot about it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: kaos2900 on November 23, 2015, 07:28:06 AM
Just 644 days to go until the Total Solar Eclipse in the United States.  There has not been a Total Eclipse of the Sun in the Continental U.S. since 1979.  It takes place on August 21st, 2017.

More info: https://www.eclipse2017.org/eclipse2017_main.htm

When I read this I immediately thought of The Strain.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 24, 2015, 05:59:41 AM
Woooww

If I'm not mistaken, this was their first attempt.

https://money.cnn.com/2015/11/24/technology/jeff-bezos-rocket-landing/index.html?iid=hp-toplead-dom

Quote
But Bezos said his rocket performed exactly as planned, traveling into the edge of outerspace before returning. The rocket's engines reignited at 5,000 feet above ground to slow descent, and it was traveling at only 4.4 mph during its final 100 feet. It landed only 4-1/2 feet off the dead center of the the landing pad.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on November 24, 2015, 09:34:45 PM
Woooww

If I'm not mistaken, this was their first attempt.

https://money.cnn.com/2015/11/24/technology/jeff-bezos-rocket-landing/index.html?iid=hp-toplead-dom

Quote
But Bezos said his rocket performed exactly as planned, traveling into the edge of outerspace before returning. The rocket's engines reignited at 5,000 feet above ground to slow descent, and it was traveling at only 4.4 mph during its final 100 feet. It landed only 4-1/2 feet off the dead center of the the landing pad.
Amazing stuff!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on December 01, 2015, 11:10:58 PM
I must be the only person who sees space travel for the sole purpose of tourism as a major ecological issue.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 02, 2015, 06:17:03 AM
I must be the only person who sees space travel for the sole purpose of tourism as a major ecological issue.

Yeah. I don't love the idea of that either. Unfortunately, it's the only way to entice companies to pursue this technology.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 02, 2015, 09:45:52 AM
https://www.popsci.com/spacex-will-attempt-next-rocket-landing-at-cape-canaveral

(https://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/screen_shot_2015-01-27_at_5.17.00_pm.png?itok=oMHsmOlA)

Quote
SpaceX has attempted to land a rocket gently before, but those attempts were made on giant floating platforms in the ocean (which just missed). Then, last week, competitor Blue Origin managed to land it's own reusable rocket safely on the ground, amping up the public pressure on SpaceX to successfully land their own rocket.
Since one of their rockets exploded in June, SpaceX has been grounded as they troubleshoot. The company is also upgrading their rockets with new engines that can carry heavier loads.
Florida Today reported that SpaceX's next launch could happen as early as December 15, but that remains unconfirmed.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on December 03, 2015, 03:09:42 PM
Atlas V launch with Cygnus ISS resupply ship scheduled in about 30 minutes (5:36 EST), but weather is looking like a bust.

https://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 10, 2015, 01:50:48 PM
Pretty shameful that we can't allocate enough funds for both.

https://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/space/article/Report-NASA-plans-to-leave-International-Space-6686526.php

Quote
In the interest of saving money, NASA is planning to cut its ties to the International Space Station, which has maintained a continuous human presence in low-Earth orbit for 15 years.
According to ARS Technica, NASA's head of human spaceflight said the agency plans to leave the space station as soon as possible. Earlier this year, the U.S. Congress agreed to extend funding for the ISS from 2020 to 2024.
William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for human exploration and operations, addressed the space station topic Dec. 1 at a meeting of the NASA Advisory Council at Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Gerstenmaier said NASA can't afford to continue work on the ISS, which is maintained by 15 countries, if it wants to pursue its goal of sending people to Mars by 2035.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on December 10, 2015, 07:10:03 PM
That's terrible, especially with how important the ISS has been to learning more about extended time in space.
As badly as I want to see humans land on Mars in my lifetime, I think it's going to be very difficult with this level of support.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on December 13, 2015, 03:39:39 AM
Thrilled that we get to learn more about this mysterious planet!
https://www.space.com/31324-venus-arrival-by-japan-akatsuki-spacecraft.html (https://www.space.com/31324-venus-arrival-by-japan-akatsuki-spacecraft.html)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 22, 2015, 03:33:45 AM
So SpaceX also nailed the landing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B6oiLNyKKI&feature=youtu.be&t=5s
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 22, 2015, 05:39:23 AM
I couldn't be happier this morning. Victoria and I were watching the live stream. Very well done and super entertaining. I wish more people watched it. I legitimately threw my hands up, clapping and cheering while all kinds of weird sounds of joy came out of my mouth. I almost cried. I'd put what SpaceX did last night right up there with the moon landing. We have officially entered the next phase of space exploration. Also, all the employees going into a "USA USA" chant made me really happy.

I'm really curious if this rocket will be reused or if this was basically the POC that a vertical landing was possible. That's their next milestone; land and reuse.

Here's a long exposure image of the rocket taking off and landing.
(https://i.space.com/images/i/000/052/289/i02/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-landing-long-exposure.jpg?1450763656)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on December 22, 2015, 08:05:37 AM
:clap: That's so awesome! I'm so excited to see where this takes us.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on December 22, 2015, 08:48:52 AM
Really great technical achievement by Spacex last night.  It was pretty impressive that they managed to achieve all the mission objectives.  I wonder why they were able to forego the barge landing and go for a full return to launch site landing.  I know this vehicle was a bit more powerful than previous Falcon 9's, so that might be it.  I haven't found much more detail about that.

With regard to the re-usability (I'm sure Spacex wouldn't be going after this method if it wasn't economical to do so) I wonder what the comparison is in cost between re-qualifying used hardware and building new hardware?  You don't just dust it off and fill 'er up.  The space shuttle was "re usable" and went through unbelievable refurbishment between flights, including replacement of many components, disassembly of major systems, inspections, re-qual, etc.  A first stage booster is a much simpler machine than the shuttle, however.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 22, 2015, 08:54:24 AM
Really great technical achievement by Spacex last night.  It was pretty impressive that they managed to achieve all the mission objectives.  I wonder why they were able to forego the barge landing and go for a full return to launch site landing.  I know this vehicle was a bit more powerful than previous Falcon 9's, so that might be it.  I haven't found much more detail about that.

With regard to the re-usability (I'm sure Spacex wouldn't be going after this method if it wasn't economical to do so) I wonder what the comparison is in cost between re-qualifying used hardware and building new hardware?  You don't just dust it off and fill 'er up.  The space shuttle was "re usable" and went through unbelievable refurbishment between flights, including replacement of many components, disassembly of major systems, inspections, re-qual, etc.  A first stage booster is a much simpler machine than the shuttle, however.

A Falcon 9 costs just shy of $60 million dollars to build. There will still be refurbishing with these, but it won't be anything like having to refurbish a rocket that's been corroded by salt water. The retrieval process from the ocean costs a small fortune as well. This eliminates that.

As for getting to skip the barge, that's probably because they hit it both times they attempted. They proved that they at least had control of the rocket during decent, even if they couldn't land it. They showed they could do it over land safely.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on December 22, 2015, 08:55:47 AM
As for getting to skip the barge, that's probably because they hit it both times they attempted. They proved that they at least had control of the rocket during decent, even if they couldn't land it. They showed they could do it over land safely.
My question is really one of energy.  Continuing downrange to land requires much less fuel than reversing your velocity to return to the launch site.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 22, 2015, 09:50:08 AM
Interesting interview with NASA's Chief Technologist. Dr. Miller:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqndNdkYKtg

The part about NASAs approach on the first mission to Mars would only be in orbit of Mars and then back just like Apollo 8 is interesting. Of course it makes sense to do it in steps but yea it's along way before we reach the surface atleast if that's the plan NASA will stick to.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 22, 2015, 09:53:26 AM
Interesting interview with NASA's Chief Technologist. Dr. Miller:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqndNdkYKtg

The part about NASAs approach on the first mission to Mars would only be in orbit of Mars and then back just like Apollo 8 is interesting. Of course it makes sense to do it in steps but yea it's along way before we reach the surface at least if that's the plan NASA will stick to.

I think we should put a space station in orbit around mars. Let the Astronauts chill up there and drive an army of rovers around in real time with no delay.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 22, 2015, 10:04:03 AM
I approve  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 23, 2015, 08:37:42 AM
(https://i.imgur.com/ATkpdAX.png)

Both are impressive of course and given it was as far as I know Blue Orgins first attempt it's pretty epic. Space Xs trajectory was a bit more complicated from the looks of it but the end results on actually landing the rocket was the same I guess.

One things for sure the epic space race is upon us!  :corn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 26, 2015, 02:02:28 AM
SpaceX - Our Destiny Lies Above Us (https://youtu.be/TD0PES_hyhA)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Vandalism on January 06, 2016, 01:23:25 AM
I must be the only person who sees space travel for the sole purpose of tourism as a major ecological issue.

Yeah. I don't love the idea of that either. Unfortunately, it's the only way to entice companies to pursue this technology.

Asteroid Mining? Anyone??

Neil DeGrasse Tyson says that the first Trillionare of the world would be in Asteroid Mining Business!

Seems good to me, considering the Rare Earth Metals are called so because they are rare here not out there.

P.S - Hey m new here really stoked to find this thread, its my favorite now (m still on page 6)!

P.P.S - Speaking of Asteroid Mining, has anyone been watching 'The Expanse' out here. I think its pretty good.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on January 06, 2016, 06:55:28 AM
I still can't imagine that it would be more economical to mine asteroids than the earth.  Rare earth elements aren't "rare"; they are pretty common in the earth's crust but aren't found in high concentrations like other metals.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 06, 2016, 07:00:39 AM
I still can't imagine that it would be more economical to mine asteroids than the earth.  Rare earth elements aren't "rare"; they are pretty common in the earth's crust but aren't found in high concentrations like other metals.

Maybe not today, but in 200 years, who knows what the world's demand for materials is going to be. Also, if we are building shit on Mars and the moon, being able to tow an asteroid into orbit and just send chunks down to whatever celestial body we're working on would be pretty cool.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 08, 2016, 08:42:01 AM
Space X will will attempting landing at sea again on the 17th.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/spacex-plans-drone-ship-rocket-landing-jan-17-launch-n492471
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jonny108 on January 08, 2016, 01:50:19 PM
Event horizon snapshot due in 2017

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35258378 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35258378)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Vandalism on January 12, 2016, 04:55:23 AM
The new album Trailer animations made me think of Cosmos and in turn this thread!

So lets tell our favourite Cosmos episode..........mine is S01E07 The Clean Room.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 12, 2016, 05:45:46 AM
The new album Trailer animations made me think of Cosmos and in turn this thread!

So lets tell our favourite Cosmos episode..........mine is S01E07 The Clean Room.


If we're talking the original series, the very first episode, "The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean" is probably my favorite. It might not be the best episode, but I remember being absolutely in awe the first time Sagan described how Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the Earth. The last episode, "Who Speaks For Earth" is a close second.

If we're talking the NDT reboot, I really liked "The Lost Worlds of Planet Earth".
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Vandalism on January 12, 2016, 06:18:31 AM
Yes I need to watch the original one! I just came across the new one and I liked it so much that NdT's Startalk is always playing when I m at work. Thx for the reply!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 12, 2016, 06:34:27 AM
Yes I need to watch the original one! I just came across the new one and I liked it so much that NdT's Startalk is always playing when I m at work. Thx for the reply!

Star Talk is fantastic. I listen to it at work as well. There are two I'd highly recommend. Search for the ones with Seth McFarlane and Penn Jillette. Those are my favorite. He has one that's just a discussion with God that's really funny and he's got one with the myth busters that's really good too. Check out the one with Edward Snowden while you're at  it as well.

If you can get your hands on the original Cosmos, I'd highly recommend buying it. It used to be on Netflix but got taken down a few years ago. As much as I liked the new Cosmos, I think is pales in comparison to the original. There's something magical about it that no amount of CGI and galaxy images can compensate for.

I can't link it at work, but search youtube for "Carl Sagan Teaching at His Former School". It's a 3:07 clip from an episode of the original Cosmos. That clip says it all.


Seems a little pricey at $63, but I don't think there's any better value in the Universe. This is one of the few pieces of content that I wanted a physical form of. I don't know what streaming will be like in the future and my children will watch this.

https://www.amazon.com/Cosmos-Carl-Sagan/dp/B000055ZOB/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1452605397&sr=8-2&keywords=carl+sagan+cosmos
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 20, 2016, 03:06:29 PM
9th planet in our solar system? (https://youtu.be/6poHQ2h00ZA)

Has nothing to do with either Planet X, Nibiru or Pluto.  :P
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on January 20, 2016, 03:35:32 PM
So what's the difference between this and the dozens of other Kuiper belt objects? The video didn't really say anything other than its approximate size.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on January 20, 2016, 03:52:22 PM
So what's the difference between this and the dozens of other Kuiper belt objects? The video didn't really say anything other than its approximate size.

This planet would be much further out for a start. The size is also directly important, because it indicates that unlike Pluto and other Kuiper belt objects, it has cleared its orbital path and isn't influenced strongly by other forces, which is where they all fail the definition of a planet. In fact, I believe the gravitational influence on some of the Kuiper belt objects is what has led to them theorizing this additional planet.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Vandalism on January 22, 2016, 04:25:04 AM
Lets call it Pluto's Wrath! Watch out NdT!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Cyclopssss on January 22, 2016, 07:21:48 AM
Plan(et) 9 From Outer Space.....
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on January 22, 2016, 08:05:58 AM
I got my cheap (free) telescope a few weeks ago, and have been using it to look at the moon and jupiter.  I was surprised to point it at what I thought was jupiter, and after a bit of focusing I was able to see its moons.  It's pretty tough to see with the tiny field of view, but I was just barely able to see jupiter's cloud bands, though not too clearly.  It also traverses the field of view pretty quickly with the high power eyepiece, and since the mounting is rather crude, its really hard to track.  There are simple ways to make equatorial mounts so I might try that.

The view isnt quite as good as this, but if look at this picture about 6 feet from your screen, that should give a decent idea:

(https://d1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/jupitermoons20050513composite.gif)

I can get a pretty good look at the moon, and was able to stick my DSLR behind the telescope for a shot.  Since I don't have an adapter, there is a lot of light leakage even in a dark room, and its hard to focus.  I figure with a bit of messing around I can get a really good shot of the moon.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 22, 2016, 08:10:44 AM
That's awesome. I almost invested in a 10" telescope a few years ago. I was ready to buy but started house shopping. The house I bought is not in good location for star gazing unfortunately.

One day.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Vandalism on January 22, 2016, 03:17:08 PM
I got my cheap (free) telescope a few weeks ago, and have been using it to look at the moon and jupiter.  I was surprised to point it at what I thought was jupiter, and after a bit of focusing I was able to see its moons.  It's pretty tough to see with the tiny field of view, but I was just barely able to see jupiter's cloud bands, though not too clearly.  It also traverses the field of view pretty quickly with the high power eyepiece, and since the mounting is rather crude, its really hard to track.  There are simple ways to make equatorial mounts so I might try that.

The view isnt quite as good as this, but if look at this picture about 6 feet from your screen, that should give a decent idea:

(https://d1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/jupitermoons20050513composite.gif)

I can get a pretty good look at the moon, and was able to stick my DSLR behind the telescope for a shot.  Since I don't have an adapter, there is a lot of light leakage even in a dark room, and its hard to focus.  I figure with a bit of messing around I can get a really good shot of the moon.

I will never forget this scene. This was the first thing I ever saw through a telescope!

Can't help but have the all too cheesy thought of Galileo looking at the same thing and discovering the existence of more moons and much more!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 23, 2016, 06:29:40 AM
That's awesome. I almost invested in a 10" telescope a few years ago. I was ready to buy but started house shopping. The house I bought is not in good location for star gazing unfortunately.

One day.
Pretty much my situation to, have to drive pretty far to get a good view of the night sky without light pollution.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on January 23, 2016, 10:16:28 AM
I will never forget this scene. This was the first thing I ever saw through a telescope!

Can't help but have the all too cheesy thought of Galileo looking at the same thing and discovering the existence of more moons and much more!
I was thinking the same thing, and wondering how much worse his telescope must have been compared even to a cheap 21st (or 20th) century telescope.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Vandalism on January 23, 2016, 09:04:43 PM
I think they have a replication of what he saw on one of those YT documentaries.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 27, 2016, 07:51:20 AM
So the Opportunity Mars Rover was supposed to have a 90 day mission life. It celebrated it's twelfth year two days ago  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Sacul on January 27, 2016, 09:51:39 AM
Science, bitch!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: DarkLord_Lalinc on January 27, 2016, 09:53:19 AM
(https://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/517/111/fbd.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on January 27, 2016, 10:22:51 AM
30 years since the Challenger disaster. My wife and I watched a program on Monday where it was all the complied footage of the whole thing....the months/days leading up to the launch and all the footage and stuff after the disaster.

I remember watching a program also where basically the makers of the 'O' rings were pleading with NASA for a week straight not to launch because they couldn't guarantee the performance of the o-rings in cold weather. But, (at least this program) implied that NASA was a tad cocky because of how successful they'd been to that point and basically ignored them.

One of the most horrifying things about that disaster is that those people didn't die in the explosion....it was either on impact of hitting the water or drowning. How horrible that must have been as they just fell to the ocean....
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on January 27, 2016, 12:01:41 PM
Yeah, there is a lot of evidence that some or all of the crew survived to ocean impact.  I have a book of various case studies geared toward program managers and it has a very detailed account of the challenger disaster and investigation.  Thiokol engineers (makers of the solid boosters) were very loudly opposed to the launch during teleconferences between them and Marshall SFC.  The engineers then left the room at which point Thiokol management finally relented and agreed to launch.  Marshall was really hot and heavy to demonstrate frequent launch capability of the shuttle to win air force support, which would give the shuttle program exclusive access to "high value" Air Force payloads.  The Air Force would agree to fund shuttle rather than their own efforts for launch capability.

One of my favorite people to read about, Richard Feynman, was on the Rogers commission to investigate Challenger.  He has a book called "What Do You Care What Other People Think?", and about half of the book is his first person account of his experiences on that commission.  Really excellent perspective on the subject.

Quote
Let us make recommendations to ensure that NASA officials deal in a world of reality, understanding technological weaknesses and imperfections well enough to be actively trying to eliminate them. They must live in a world of reality in comparing the costs and utility of the shuttle to other methods of entering space. And they must be realistic in making contracts and in estimating the costs and difficulties of each project. Only realistic flight schedules should be proposed—schedules that have a reasonable chance of being met. If in this way the government would not support NASA, then so be it. NASA owes it to the citizens from whom it asks support to be frank, honest, and informative, so that these citizens can make the wisest decisions for the use of their limited resources. For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on February 06, 2016, 08:00:56 AM
https://youtu.be/dYw4meRWGd4?t=4m10s

POV footage of Felix Baumgartner's freefall.

I actually gasped at 4:10  :omg: :omg:

It reminded me of the black hole sequence form Interstellar a bit.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 06, 2016, 08:26:18 AM
I actually thought he was still at the ballon until I saw the earth getting closer and later the sound of the atmopshere when he enters the Kármán line. Actually hearing the beginning of the atmosphere is by itself pretty cool when you think about it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on February 06, 2016, 08:52:09 AM
The thing I love the most about it is that he arrived ON HIS FEET. People tumble down after a jump from 50 cm, and he landed on his feet arriving from freaking SPACE  :hefdaddy
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on February 07, 2016, 08:13:18 AM
The thing I love the most about it is that he arrived ON HIS FEET. People tumble down after a jump from 50 cm, and he landed on his feet arriving from freaking SPACE  :hefdaddy

Well a parachute jump is a parachute jump. He slowed down to terminal velocity as he got closer to earth. Then he was able to land like any other parachutist would.

Once you reach terminal velocity - you cannot fall any faster - in normal atmosphere. And lots of parachutists can land on their feet.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on February 07, 2016, 08:15:27 AM
The thing I love the most about it is that he arrived ON HIS FEET. People tumble down after a jump from 50 cm, and he landed on his feet arriving from freaking SPACE  :hefdaddy

Well a parachute jump is a parachute jump. He slowed down to terminal velocity as he got closer to earth. Then he was able to land like any other parachutist would.

Once you reach terminal velocity - you cannot fall any faster - in normal atmosphere. And lots of parachutists can land on their feet.

That's true, although the extra wear from falling for so long in more difficult conditions could have had an impact on his ability to land nicely, so it's still impressive.
I can't even land on my feet getting out of bed.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 07, 2016, 10:19:13 AM
The thing I love the most about it is that he arrived ON HIS FEET. People tumble down after a jump from 50 cm, and he landed on his feet arriving from freaking SPACE  :hefdaddy

Well a parachute jump is a parachute jump. He slowed down to terminal velocity as he got closer to earth. Then he was able to land like any other parachutist would.

Once you reach terminal velocity - you cannot fall any faster - in normal atmosphere. And lots of parachutists can land on their feet.

That's true, although the extra wear from falling for so long in more difficult conditions could have had an impact on his ability to land nicely, so it's still impressive.
I can't even land on my feet getting out of bed.
I woke myself brutally once by falling out of bed and dragging a lamp with me and no I wasn't hangover, instead I blame it on a small bed. Nothing to do with space so please continue...
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 07, 2016, 06:46:35 PM
The thing I love the most about it is that he arrived ON HIS FEET. People tumble down after a jump from 50 cm, and he landed on his feet arriving from freaking SPACE  :hefdaddy

Well a parachute jump is a parachute jump. He slowed down to terminal velocity as he got closer to earth. Then he was able to land like any other parachutist would.

Once you reach terminal velocity - you cannot fall any faster - in normal atmosphere. And lots of parachutists can land on their feet.

That's true, although the extra wear from falling for so long in more difficult conditions could have had an impact on his ability to land nicely, so it's still impressive.
I can't even land on my feet getting out of bed.
I woke myself brutally once by falling out of bed

Come back when you fall of something for real :p
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 11, 2016, 09:06:19 AM
Apparently they have found proof of gravitational waves which is a huge discovery if true. Some announcement will happen later today.

https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/news/ligo20160211
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TempusVox on February 11, 2016, 09:56:17 AM
Yes, this was the final proof of Einstein's Theory; so it now becomes, "Einstein's Principle of Relativity". The "Theory of Relativity" is no more.

Somewhere, Albert is looking down and saying, "Suck it!" Or more likely, "Saugen sie!"
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 11, 2016, 10:03:59 AM
Yes, this was the final proof of Einstein's Theory; so it now becomes, "Einstein's Principle of Relativity". The "Theory of Relativity" is no more.

Somewhere, Albert is looking down and saying, "Suck it!" Or more likely, "Saugen sie!"

I'm not disagreeing or arguing, just curious. Why don't we say the "principle of gravity"?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TempusVox on February 11, 2016, 12:18:21 PM
Yes, this was the final proof of Einstein's Theory; so it now becomes, "Einstein's Principle of Relativity". The "Theory of Relativity" is no more.

Somewhere, Albert is looking down and saying, "Suck it!" Or more likely, "Saugen sie!"

I'm not disagreeing or arguing, just curious. Why don't we say the "principle of gravity"?

Oh sure! Go ahead...Just cut Einstein out of it altogether now!!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 11, 2016, 12:29:49 PM
Yes, this was the final proof of Einstein's Theory; so it now becomes, "Einstein's Principle of Relativity". The "Theory of Relativity" is no more.

Somewhere, Albert is looking down and saying, "Suck it!" Or more likely, "Saugen sie!"

I'm not disagreeing or arguing, just curious. Why don't we say the "principle of gravity"?

Oh sure! Go ahead...Just cut Einstein out of it altogether now!!!

I didn't mean that lol. I mean we still say "the theory of gravity" like we say "the theory of evolution". Why aren't we saying "the principle of gravity"?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: kaos2900 on February 11, 2016, 12:57:58 PM
I love stories like this because it's a nice reminder that really don't know all that much. And as much as space is cool, it still blows mind that we know more about space than the bottom of the oceans.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 11, 2016, 01:03:32 PM
it still blows mind that we know more about space than the bottom of the oceans.

Not me. Space is easy, it's empty. Getting to the bottom of the ocean with any kind of scientific instruments is significantly more challenging.

There's a documentary on Netflix called Deepsea Challenge. It follows the building of, and expedition with, the submersible James Cameron built to reach the deepest part of our oceans.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2332883/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on February 11, 2016, 02:30:07 PM
it still blows mind that we know more about space than the bottom of the oceans.

Not me. Space is easy, it's empty. Getting to the bottom of the ocean with any kind of scientific instruments is significantly more challenging.

There's a documentary on Netflix called Deepsea Challenge. It follows the building of, and expedition with, the submersible James Cameron built to reach the deepest part of our oceans.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2332883/

Maybe so, but the idea that we have explored more of space than the deepest depth of our oceans on our own planet is somewhat perplexing just to think about even if I agree that the science to get to space is easier than to get to the bottom of the ocean.  It's quite amazing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on February 11, 2016, 03:13:28 PM
The thing I love the most about it is that he arrived ON HIS FEET. People tumble down after a jump from 50 cm, and he landed on his feet arriving from freaking SPACE  :hefdaddy

Well a parachute jump is a parachute jump. He slowed down to terminal velocity as he got closer to earth. Then he was able to land like any other parachutist would.

Once you reach terminal velocity - you cannot fall any faster - in normal atmosphere. And lots of parachutists can land on their feet.

That's true, although the extra wear from falling for so long in more difficult conditions could have had an impact on his ability to land nicely, so it's still impressive.
I can't even land on my feet getting out of bed.


This is also the reason - on Mythbusters - if they ever needed to test something based on terminal velocity - they'd drop something from *just* high enough for it to reach Terminal Velocity.

Any higher would be inefficient and would not generate any different data.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 11, 2016, 06:09:11 PM
Great video explaning the discovery and how they did it:

LIGO Detects Gravitational Waves (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4XzLDM3Py8&feature=youtu.be)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on February 12, 2016, 12:31:54 PM
https://patch.com/new-jersey/mahwah/watch-nj-astronaut-parts-earth-look-sick-0 (https://patch.com/new-jersey/mahwah/watch-nj-astronaut-parts-earth-look-sick-0)

From my local news, a comment from an American Astronaut who has been in space longer than any other American.  Pretty sad, if from above you can tell things don't look right.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on February 12, 2016, 01:51:21 PM
Ugh... :|

Pathetic.

Just about every year that goes by I am more fearful for the world my year-old niece will be living in... I can't possibly imagine.

Funny...I'm listening to Earth Day from Devy... The fact we have a single day where we're not supposed to be killing Earth (but still totally are) is a testament to how fucked our species is. Totally fucking fucked.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Big Hath on February 12, 2016, 02:43:53 PM
Quote
Kelly said that there are parts of Asia and Central America that when look at them, you’re always looking through a haze of pollution.

can you imagine the level of cancer and other serious medical conditions that are going to present themselves in the coming decades in this part of the world?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 22, 2016, 12:34:46 PM
China's kicking it into high gear.

https://gbtimes.com/china/china-racing-make-2020-launch-window-mars

Quote
Nasa’s Mars 2020 mission may well have company along the way, with teams in China working urgently to ready their first independent mission to the Red Planet.
 
“We are aiming to use the launch window of 2020,” says Dr Wu Ji, director-general of the National Space Science Centre (NSSC) in Beijing. “If we miss that window, it will be 2022. So it is quite urgent.”
 
The NSSC is managing the development and integration of all the science payloads for China’s Mars Mission, which will, ambitiously, combine an orbiter, lander and a rover.
 
This effectively means China will be integrating two steps into one. For its Moon exploration program, the Chinese first launched orbiters before attempting – successfully – to soft-land its Chang’e-3 probe on the lunar surface.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on February 22, 2016, 12:58:08 PM
https://patch.com/new-jersey/mahwah/watch-nj-astronaut-parts-earth-look-sick-0 (https://patch.com/new-jersey/mahwah/watch-nj-astronaut-parts-earth-look-sick-0)

From my local news, a comment from an American Astronaut who has been in space longer than any other American.  Pretty sad, if from above you can tell things don't look right.

My favorite quote about space is the Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan.

My second favorite one is this by Edgar Mitchell, about seeing Earth from space:

“You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch.”

These are the things the human leaders should care about, preserving our planet and fighting off the diseases on it, the rest are just petty problems not worth killing each other over.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 22, 2016, 01:01:23 PM
https://patch.com/new-jersey/mahwah/watch-nj-astronaut-parts-earth-look-sick-0 (https://patch.com/new-jersey/mahwah/watch-nj-astronaut-parts-earth-look-sick-0)

From my local news, a comment from an American Astronaut who has been in space longer than any other American.  Pretty sad, if from above you can tell things don't look right.

My favorite quote about space is the Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan.

My second favorite one is this by Edgar Mitchell, about seeing Earth from space:

“You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch.”

These are the things the human leaders should care about, preserving our planet and fighting off the diseases on it, the rest are just petty problems not worth killing each other over.

"Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and in triumph they could become the Momentary masters of a Fraction of a Dot"

I love that Sagan quote as well. Might be my favorite of all time.
 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on February 22, 2016, 01:56:15 PM
https://patch.com/new-jersey/mahwah/watch-nj-astronaut-parts-earth-look-sick-0 (https://patch.com/new-jersey/mahwah/watch-nj-astronaut-parts-earth-look-sick-0)

From my local news, a comment from an American Astronaut who has been in space longer than any other American.  Pretty sad, if from above you can tell things don't look right.

My favorite quote about space is the Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan.

My second favorite one is this by Edgar Mitchell, about seeing Earth from space:

“You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch.”

These are the things the human leaders should care about, preserving our planet and fighting off the diseases on it, the rest are just petty problems not worth killing each other over.

"Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and in triumph they could become the Momentary masters of a Fraction of a Dot"

I love that Sagan quote as well. Might be my favorite of all time.

Nice quotes, honestly whenever I have some down time to myself and it's a nice night out, I like to stargaze in my hammock or if I am lucky enough to be somewhere else that has less light polution and just look up... it ALWAYS makes me feel like all the BS in life is "petty"  Quite an amazing feeling actually to be put in place.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 22, 2016, 02:00:54 PM
https://patch.com/new-jersey/mahwah/watch-nj-astronaut-parts-earth-look-sick-0 (https://patch.com/new-jersey/mahwah/watch-nj-astronaut-parts-earth-look-sick-0)

From my local news, a comment from an American Astronaut who has been in space longer than any other American.  Pretty sad, if from above you can tell things don't look right.

My favorite quote about space is the Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan.

My second favorite one is this by Edgar Mitchell, about seeing Earth from space:

“You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch.”

These are the things the human leaders should care about, preserving our planet and fighting off the diseases on it, the rest are just petty problems not worth killing each other over.

"Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and in triumph they could become the Momentary masters of a Fraction of a Dot"

I love that Sagan quote as well. Might be my favorite of all time.

Nice quotes, honestly whenever I have some down time to myself and it's a nice night out, I like to stargaze in my hammock or if I am lucky enough to be somewhere else that has less light polution and just look up... it ALWAYS makes me feel like all the BS in life is "petty"  Quite an amazing feeling actually to be put in place.

The worst part about moving out and buying my own house was losing the night sky. My parents lived at a pretty high elevation on what used to be part of a large farm in town. The lots were large and there was no main anything for miles. Light pollution wasn't even a thing out there. I used to love getting off work and standing in the driveway for a few minutes just staring up. I can't see shit from my house now. I'm not far from the main areas of Waterbury, light pollution is an issue, and my property is covered by massive oak trees that block out nearly all sky.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on February 22, 2016, 02:21:45 PM
There's a lot of light pollution by me, but I have a decent view from my backyard with no trees and can see a surprisingly amount of stars considering where I live, I have one of those star map apps too which is fun.  Also love looking at full moons. There is just something eerily peaceful about staring at the night sky.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on February 23, 2016, 06:24:46 AM
So after mentioning this last night, I had no idea it was actually a full moon until I left work and saw the bright yellow full moon over the Empire State building.  It wasn't too cold either so I grilled some sausages for dinner and chilled for about a half hour on my hammock.  I don't have a great camera or anything, just my phone so I snapped a couple shots of the Moon and you can also clearly see Jupiter as well.  It was pretty cloudy, but really awesome how bright those two were to be able to be seen and caught on my phone camera.

(https://i63.tinypic.com/6qlml0.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Hyperplex on February 24, 2016, 09:21:15 AM
https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1606/

Quote
A spectacular new image of the Milky Way has been released to mark the completion of the APEX Telescope Large Area Survey of the Galaxy (ATLASGAL). The APEX telescope in Chile has mapped the full area of the Galactic Plane visible from the southern hemisphere for the first time at submillimetre wavelengths — between infrared light and radio waves — and in finer detail than recent space-based surveys. The pioneering 12-metre APEX telescope allows astronomers to study the cold Universe: gas and dust only a few tens of degrees above absolute zero.

The images are amazing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 24, 2016, 09:32:12 AM
Wow. Those are stunning.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on March 11, 2016, 07:19:11 AM
Schematic diagram of exploration missions of our solar system:

(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0211/4926/files/P-Space_Zoom.jpg)

Apparently its for sale (https://www.popchartlab.com/products/the-chart-of-cosmic-exploration)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 11, 2016, 07:29:19 AM
That's too cool.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on March 11, 2016, 08:25:48 AM
Very cool indeed  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 11, 2016, 08:30:11 AM
^^That's really cool, I wan't one!

Would be cool to have this one too:

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/PIA17172_Saturn_eclipse_mosaic_bright_crop.jpg)
https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/figures/PIA17172_fig1.jpg

Have to be one of the coolest photos of a planet i've seen. The brightest spot to the right of Saturn below the rings is Earth.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TioJorge on March 12, 2016, 02:58:36 AM
So friggin' mesmerizing and incomprehensible.


I swear, every time I come into this thread I'm all    :o   mmm....SPACE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCbeutFkN8I).
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on March 16, 2016, 08:40:01 AM
On the lighter side, vintage space "travel" posters created by JPL free for download:

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/visions-of-the-future/

(https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/visions-of-the-future/images/grand_tour.jpg)

(https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/visions-of-the-future/images/venus.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 16, 2016, 08:40:54 AM
The girlfriend and I are getting a few of those blown up on nice print at Costco.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on March 16, 2016, 10:22:59 AM
I've only downloaded the PDF versions, not the high res TIFF files (my work connection is barely 1Mbps download).  It has a white border with the NASA logo in the corner and some footnotes on the bottom.  Do the TIFFs have this too?  I think the prints would look nice with the border.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Vandalism on March 28, 2016, 11:12:29 AM
Check this out. Interesting!

https://news.discovery.com/space/alien-life-exoplanets/has-kepler-discovered-an-alien-megastructure-151014.htm
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on April 01, 2016, 07:57:32 AM
In 1973, before the Concorde was operational, scientists convinced Aerospatiale to use a prototype aircraft to chase a solar eclipse across the Sahara desert.

https://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-concorde-and-the-longest-solar-eclipse

Some of my favorite lines from the article:

"Turcat would later deliberate about whether to file the flight as a day or night one."

"veteran American airborne eclipse chaser Donald Liebenberg"
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 05, 2016, 03:54:09 AM
This is a 58 shot, 150MP image someone took recently of the Milky Way over Guilderton Lighthouse in Western Australia:

(https://i.imgur.com/rzMZRFt.jpg)

Pretty stunning photo.

I found this answer on why the Milky Way often looks curved on photos which I think is interesting, I hadn't really thought about it that much myself.

https://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2014/01/10/ask-ethan-19-why-does-the-milky-way-look-curved/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on April 08, 2016, 09:47:22 AM
Bigelow inflatable module being launched to ISS today on a Falcon 9.  I think this is a pretty cool development in space habitat technology and I'm interested to see how it develops.  As I understand, once docked it will be mostly isolated by airlock from the rest of the ISS, but will be periodically accessed by astronauts.  I've also heard that astronauts are eager for some new air (this module will have to bring additional air to inflate) because the smell is rather unpleasant on board.

(https://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/bigelow-gif.gif?w=625&h=352)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 08, 2016, 09:53:15 AM
Bigelow inflatable module being launched to ISS today on a Falcon 9.  I think this is a pretty cool development in space habitat technology and I'm interested to see how it develops.  As I understand, once docked it will be mostly isolated by airlock from the rest of the ISS, but will be periodically accessed by astronauts.  I've also heard that astronauts are eager for some new air (this module will have to bring additional air to inflate) because the smell is rather unpleasant on board.

There's a lot of awesome stuff on that rocket heading to the ISS. I'm very much looking forward to the results of the fungi tests that are being sent up. The inflatable habitat going up there is the third one from this company to be sent to space, I believe. The first two just hung out in orbit, and this is the first one that will physically be attached to the space station. It won't be used for anything related to ISS operations. It is primarily up there just to provide data related to it's durability and longevity in space. Definitely a cool step in the right direction, especially seeing as we can't bring large objects up with the shuttle anymore.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on April 08, 2016, 03:29:04 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pUAydjne5M&t=35m50s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pUAydjne5M&t=35m50s)

Timestamped to see the spacex rocket land in open water.  Pretty impressive.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on April 08, 2016, 10:10:10 PM
Seen this linked all over my news feed today. Damn impressive to see. Congrats to them!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on April 09, 2016, 01:14:22 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pUAydjne5M?t=1594 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pUAydjne5M&t=35m50s)

Timestamped to see the spacex rocket land in open water.  Pretty impressive.

Fixed the timestamp.

But this is so amazing. It's unreal how well that went.  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 13, 2016, 04:51:55 AM
Quote
"Can we literally reach the stars, and can we do it in our lifetime?"

Milner is backing the $100 million R&D program necessary to get this to work. Existing technology won't do; New Horizons is the fastest spacecraft we've ever launched, and it would take 78,000 years to get to any of the stars in Alpha Centauri, a nearby three-star system. The plutonium in its power systems alone weighs 11kg and would require staggering amounts of energy to accelerate to the necessary speeds.

Instead, Breakthrough Starshot plans to build what's essentially a spacecraft on a chip, which Milner called a nanocraft. A gram-scale wafer will include "cameras, photon thrusters, power supply, navigation and communication equipment." The technology behind the power supply wasn't mentioned; communications at these distances will require something with pretty considerable power, even when using the optical communication that Breakthrough Starshot plans to rely on.

Each device would cost roughly the same as a high-end smartphone to make, allowing a massive number to be sent on the journey, providing some significant redundancy. Milner held up an early prototype during the announcement.

Propulsion will be outsourced to a facility on Earth. The small spacecraft will be equipped with a light sail, and a phased array of lasers in the 100GW range will provide the sail with enough push to get the craft moving at roughly 20 percent the speed of light in just a matter of minutes.

He noted that we can sacrifice ships to hit closer targets, mentioning that it would take only three days for these craft to reach Pluto, and we could drive one right into Saturn's rings to sample the material there. Worden later agreed that the basic technology could help move things around within the Solar System, possibly including moving heavier hardware at a somewhat slower pace.

https://arstechnica.co.uk/science/2016/04/breakthrough-starshot-alpha-centauri-spaceship-details/

Yea we'll see about this but it sounds interesting though.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Bolsters on April 13, 2016, 04:56:40 AM
That's insane if it will actually work as intended. 20% the speed of light? Three days to Pluto? It sounds too good to be true really.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on April 13, 2016, 05:14:26 AM
Awesome idea. Hope they can pull it off.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on April 13, 2016, 07:57:00 AM
I want to believe!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: axeman90210 on April 13, 2016, 08:15:40 AM
Was just coming in here to post that. Incredibly cool.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on April 13, 2016, 11:50:30 AM
That massive Milky Way pic above is awesome!!! I'd love for the night sky to be visible to the naked eye like that, without all the light pollution...
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 29, 2016, 02:27:15 AM
https://www.iflscience.com/space/surprising-spacex-announcement-reveals-mission-mars-2018

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 29, 2016, 05:37:28 AM
https://www.iflscience.com/space/surprising-spacex-announcement-reveals-mission-mars-2018

Really cool stuff. This has been a long time coming. I still argue that all of this is rooted in Elon's dream of going to Mars. I think he's doing all of this, in part, so he can personally visit the red planet. If having to open aerospace company is what it takes, he has no problem doing it. It's like James Cameron agreeing to make the movie Titanic just so he could get the funding to go visit the wreck for himself. That's the only reason he made that movie.

Though I do believe Elon is complete genuine in his intentions of bettering and advancing the human species.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 04, 2016, 02:00:33 PM
If anyone haven't checked out Space Engine yet, I highly recommend it.

https://en.spaceengine.org/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on June 15, 2016, 07:37:18 AM
It's a bit past peak time, but on June 3 Saturn was at its closest approach to earth.  I broke out my cheapo telescope and was able to see its rings.  I tried to wake up my wife (it was about 1am) but she wasn't interested.  Very cool to see it for the first time with my own eyes, even though we have lots of great pictures.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on June 15, 2016, 09:08:28 AM
I'll have to remember to check that out this weekend! I'm always amazed at the detail you can get of Jupiter and Saturn even with low powered telescopes or binoculars.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Sir GuitarCozmo on June 30, 2016, 11:30:40 AM
Jupiter Orbital Insertion, coming soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2fknqVk2yk
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on June 30, 2016, 11:36:03 AM
I hope that acronym was intentional.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on June 30, 2016, 11:42:51 AM
I just think "orbital insertion" sounds kinduv interesting.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 30, 2016, 11:53:06 AM
JOI

Du du duuun!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on July 03, 2016, 03:20:47 AM
Can't wait for some gorgeous new pics of Jupiter!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on July 04, 2016, 08:03:34 AM
As I am typing this, the Juno spacecraft should be plunging into Jupiter's orbit... we should know if it survive within the next 12 - 14 hours.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on July 04, 2016, 11:04:17 PM
Juno's officially in orbit! Another incredible achievement for NASA/JPL!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on July 04, 2016, 11:08:20 PM
Awesome news! Would love to learn more about the polar aurora and the Great Red Spot.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 05, 2016, 03:43:49 AM
Quote
"If Jupiter's magnetosphere glowed in visible light, it would be twice the size of the full moon as seen from Earth," Kurth said. And that's the shorter dimension of the teardrop-shaped structure; the dimension extending outward behind Jupiter has a length about five times the distance between Earth and the sun.
So what they mean is that Jupiter and it's magnetosphere if visible would be twice the seize of the moon if seen from earth?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on July 05, 2016, 06:37:43 AM
Quote
"If Jupiter's magnetosphere glowed in visible light, it would be twice the size of the full moon as seen from Earth," Kurth said. And that's the shorter dimension of the teardrop-shaped structure; the dimension extending outward behind Jupiter has a length about five times the distance between Earth and the sun.
So what they mean is that Jupiter and it's magnetosphere if visible would be twice the seize of the moon if seen from earth?
Yes.  And twice the size of the sun, since the moon and sun are the same apparent size viewed from earth.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 05, 2016, 07:47:39 AM
Quote
"If Jupiter's magnetosphere glowed in visible light, it would be twice the size of the full moon as seen from Earth," Kurth said. And that's the shorter dimension of the teardrop-shaped structure; the dimension extending outward behind Jupiter has a length about five times the distance between Earth and the sun.
So what they mean is that Jupiter and it's magnetosphere if visible would be twice the seize of the moon if seen from earth?
Yes.  And twice the size of the sun, since the moon and sun are the same apparent size viewed from earth.
That's really cool!  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on July 05, 2016, 04:16:06 PM
Anybody paying attention to the positions of Mars and Saturn in relation to the constellation Scorpius?  From our perspective, it looks like they are moving from left to right when they are actually moving from right to left in their solar orbits.  This will continue for a limited time and it will appear that Mars does a complete 180 moving to the left again.  I'm curious if anybody ever notice that before and how many actually know the reason why.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on July 05, 2016, 08:40:17 PM
It's called Mars retrograde. Here is a good animation:

https://mars.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/nightsky/retrograde/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on July 06, 2016, 02:59:27 AM
Didn't see it mentioned... Nasa called the Spacecraft Juno, to explore Jupiter and discover all of its secret.

Who was Juno in ancient mythology? Jupiter's wife.

And what do Jupiter's satellites get their names from? Jupiter's many lovers.

So what Nasa did? SHE SENT JUPITER'S WIFE TO SPY ON HIM AND HER LOVERS  :biggrin: :lol :rollin


And people think science is boring!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Cyclopssss on July 06, 2016, 03:44:12 AM
 :hefdaddy
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on July 06, 2016, 07:05:03 AM
That's pretty cool.  No, I hadn't seen that pointed out before.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on July 06, 2016, 02:46:14 PM
Didn't see it mentioned... Nasa called the Spacecraft Juno, to explore Jupiter and discover all of its secret.

Who was Juno in ancient mythology? Jupiter's wife.

And what do Jupiter's satellites get their names from? Jupiter's many lovers.

So what Nasa did? SHE SENT JUPITER'S WIFE TO SPY ON HIM AND HER LOVERS  :biggrin: :lol :rollin


And people think science is boring!

Wow, I didn't realized NASA was a she.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Prog Snob on July 15, 2016, 06:21:33 PM
I don't know if this was posted already. It's pretty mind-blowing.  :omg:

https://www.engadget.com/2016/07/15/astronomers-map-1-2-million-galaxies-in-colossal-3d-image/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on July 17, 2016, 11:18:34 PM
Been waiting for NASA to do this for a long time. Super-excited!
https://www.universetoday.com/129899/finally-sending-ears-mars/ (https://www.universetoday.com/129899/finally-sending-ears-mars/)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on August 14, 2016, 01:24:55 PM
https://www.universetoday.com/130276/earth-like-planet-around-proxima-centauri-discovered/ (https://www.universetoday.com/130276/earth-like-planet-around-proxima-centauri-discovered/)

If confirmed, this would be absolutely incredible news!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 23, 2016, 04:11:23 AM
Huh even I didn't know that. Poor Uranus though, not much love was direct towards Uranus. Seems to be cold at Uranus. Look at that kid pointing at Ur... I should stop now.

Sweden has the largest scale model of the solar system in the world stretching 950km across the country (https://imgur.com/a/pHP2O#D2E221r)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on August 23, 2016, 07:33:44 AM
Very cool!  I was thinking that even though we have more room, we could never do something like that in the U.S., as it wouldn't last a week before being vandalized.  Then I saw the Uranus had been vandalized and Eros was stolen.  Human nature.  :(
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on August 23, 2016, 07:52:35 AM
That's really cool, sounds like it could be a fun (and long) road trip across Sweden to find all the planets.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 24, 2016, 11:41:59 AM
https://www.universetoday.com/130276/earth-like-planet-around-proxima-centauri-discovered/ (https://www.universetoday.com/130276/earth-like-planet-around-proxima-centauri-discovered/)

If confirmed, this would be absolutely incredible news!
This will probably be invisible in media but it's really interesting news. Here's an update:

https://www.universetoday.com/130427/habitable-terrestrial-exoplanet-confirmed-around-nearest-star/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 27, 2016, 04:43:11 PM
Cool photo of Europa infront of Jupiter:

(https://i.imgur.com/Tg2Im.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on August 27, 2016, 07:31:33 PM
Jupiter and Venus very close to each other tonight low in western sky after sunset.  Check it out.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on August 27, 2016, 11:32:25 PM
https://www.universetoday.com/130276/earth-like-planet-around-proxima-centauri-discovered/ (https://www.universetoday.com/130276/earth-like-planet-around-proxima-centauri-discovered/)

If confirmed, this would be absolutely incredible news!
This will probably be invisible in media but it's really interesting news. Here's an update:

https://www.universetoday.com/130427/habitable-terrestrial-exoplanet-confirmed-around-nearest-star/
So cool!! This and the confirmation of gravitational waves make 2016 one of the best years ever for science imo.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on August 28, 2016, 09:24:56 AM
Went to the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC yesterday, really cool and intense show Dark Universe was what we saw.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Sir GuitarCozmo on August 30, 2016, 08:52:53 PM
https://observer.com/2016/08/not-a-drill-seti-is-investigating-a-possible-extraterrestrial-signal-from-deep-space/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Cyclopssss on August 31, 2016, 01:45:38 AM
That happened a year ago. Strange we're only hearing about it now. (cue X-Files music)  :coolio
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 31, 2016, 03:22:57 AM
Quote
“The signal conceivably fits the profile for an intentional transmission from an extraterrestrial source,"
Would like to hear more about what makes the signal fit that type of profile.

Until then:
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41nvkwg1GCL._AC_UL320_SR214,320_.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 01, 2016, 04:31:53 PM
Pretty epic footage of the SpaceX failure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BgJEXQkjNQ

Beware, it's pretty loud!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on September 02, 2016, 08:48:39 AM
Supposedly second stage LOx filling umbilical.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on September 02, 2016, 11:02:42 PM
First ever view of Jupiter's north pole, amazing stuff.
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/jupiter-s-north-pole-unlike-anything-encountered-in-solar-system
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on September 05, 2016, 11:45:10 AM
Philae located!

(https://m.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2016/09/philae_found/16114810-1-eng-GB/Philae_found_highlight_mob.jpg)

https://m.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Philae_found
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 05, 2016, 03:08:23 PM
That's epic!  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Cyclopssss on September 06, 2016, 02:16:38 AM
I say: Rescue Mission! Sends some old farts up there to fetch the bloody thing! Hell, I'm up for it!  :yarr
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 06, 2016, 06:19:40 AM
That's amazing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 15, 2016, 04:20:14 AM
Quote
The ESA's Rosetta comet orbiter has found complex, solid organic molecules in dust particles that came of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, lending credence to the theory that organic compounds, or even life itself came from the stars.

https://futurism.com/first-ever-discovery-complex-organic-molecules-found-on-rosettas-comet/

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Cyclopssss on September 16, 2016, 02:27:27 AM
"Some believe...that life itself....began somewere...OUT THERE"
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 23, 2016, 12:07:26 PM
Backed this on Kickstarter yesterday. Some of you might dig it.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ozmarecords/voyager-golden-record-40th-anniversary-edition?ref=nav_search
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 24, 2016, 03:16:29 PM
Quote
“Fifty-five years after President Kennedy challenged the nation to put a man on the moon, the Senate is challenging NASA to put humans on Mars. The priorities that we’ve laid out for NASA in this bill mark the beginning of a new era of American spaceflight,” said an optimistic Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, senior Democrat on the Commerce panel.

https://futurism.com/its-official-were-going-to-mars/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on September 26, 2016, 03:50:56 PM
Constellation Orion coming back around.  Always miss it during the spring and summer months.  One of my favs.  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jonny108 on September 26, 2016, 06:06:07 PM
Very exciting.  They need to send something there immediately.

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-hubble-spots-possible-water-plumes-erupting-on-jupiters-moon-europa (https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-hubble-spots-possible-water-plumes-erupting-on-jupiters-moon-europa)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on September 26, 2016, 06:38:31 PM
Quote
“Fifty-five years after President Kennedy challenged the nation to put a man on the moon, the Senate is challenging NASA to put humans on Mars. The priorities that we’ve laid out for NASA in this bill mark the beginning of a new era of American spaceflight,” said an optimistic Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, senior Democrat on the Commerce panel.

https://futurism.com/its-official-were-going-to-mars/
As a second step I'd love to see it happen. At the same time I have my doubts. Putting a man on the moon cost $20B in 1960s dollars. While this is clearly just the first installment, getting to Mars is going to take that much money every year until we get there, and I'm not sure the determination is quite to that point yet. Priorities change all the time. Apollo happened at a time when you could organize an enormous concerted national effort. I don't think we have that spirit right now. In 1961 the presidents says "I've decided we're going to the moon," and people stop discussing the merits and start discussing the practicalities. If Obama asked me to pick up a Snicker's wrapper off the ground, depending on the tone of his voice I might well tell him to go fuck his mother. Without the existential threat that Sputnik represented and the attitude sitcktogetherness that the cold war brought, I just can't see us completing such a thing.

Consider that most of that $19B will probably be spent just in the planning stage. It'll be a year or two before anything is actually done, and that's time where people can change their mind tax-free, so to speak.

On the flip, and less cynical side, It's nice to see this bill getting bipartisan support. Space exploration is valuable far, far beyond the exploration of space.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 29, 2016, 01:24:55 PM
^^Well said and yea it's gonna cost alot. Funny though because I was just about to ask what everyone thinks of SpaceX recent announcement about going to Mars in 2022?

https://www.geekwire.com/2016/spacex-elon-musk-colonize-mars/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on September 29, 2016, 02:12:54 PM
^^Well said and yea it's gonna cost alot. Funny though because I was just about to ask what everyone thinks of SpaceX recent announcement about going to Mars in 2022?

https://www.geekwire.com/2016/spacex-elon-musk-colonize-mars/
Sounds awesome. Hopefully they can actually pull it off.

At this point though I really don't care who gets to Mars first just as long as someone actually does and soon.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on September 29, 2016, 06:10:46 PM
Without the existential threat that Sputnik represented and the attitude sitcktogetherness that the cold war brought, I just can't see us completing such a thing.
I really don't think this can be overstated.  This was a rare alignment of history, politics and culture coming together to make this happen.  I don't doubt that if that trajectory had been continued, we would have humans on Mars 10 or 20 or more years ago.  Technology is rarely if ever the limiting factor.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 01, 2016, 12:56:39 PM
Quote from: Elon Musk about going to Mars

"Ultimately, I'd suspect you'd see Mars transit times of as little as 30 days in the distant future," he said, noting it's a lot different than the estimates of six months or more that are often passed around.

"During the journey, he wants to set up the spaceship's crew compartment so that passengers can play zero-gravity games, watch movies, and more."

"It will be, like, really fun to go," Musk said. "You'll have a great time."
Sweeeet, where do I sign up?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on October 06, 2016, 06:49:59 AM
Blue Origin put on a hell of a show yesterday  :metal I'm thrilled to see the private sector making such great progress.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: metropofreak on October 11, 2016, 11:36:12 AM
Very exciting.  They need to send something there immediately.

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-hubble-spots-possible-water-plumes-erupting-on-jupiters-moon-europa (https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-hubble-spots-possible-water-plumes-erupting-on-jupiters-moon-europa)

This is much more convincing than the first set of Hubble observations. Hopefully it'll boost/maintain funding for the Europa Clipper mission.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on October 12, 2016, 11:41:42 PM
Wife presented me with a Celeston powerseeker 127 EQ series telescope for my birthday. My first telescope ever! I haven't had a chance to play with it due to cloudy skies almost every night along with hurricane Mathew weather. Going to try it one of these nights.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on October 13, 2016, 05:10:42 AM
Sucks that we're centuries away from anything resembling an actual Uss Enterprise.


We're nowhere near even taking passengers into space.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on October 13, 2016, 07:02:34 AM
Wife presented me with a Celeston powerseeker 127 EQ series telescope for my birthday. My first telescope ever! I haven't had a chance to play with it due to cloudy skies almost every night along with hurricane Mathew weather. Going to try it one of these nights.

Nice :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on October 13, 2016, 11:26:21 PM
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/oct/13/hubble-telescope-universe-galaxies-astronomy (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/oct/13/hubble-telescope-universe-galaxies-astronomy)
And just when my mind was already completely boggled by the vastness of space this come along.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 03, 2016, 06:53:12 PM
Speaking of Hubble, the building of it's substitue the James Webb telescope is apparently done and will be launched in 2018. Can't wait to see what mystery of the universe it will unfold. Ultra Deep Field ×10 perhaps.

https://www.space.com/34593-james-webb-space-telescope-complete-2018-launch.html
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: adace on November 03, 2016, 11:48:35 PM
Speaking of Hubble, the building of it's substitue the James Webb telescope is apparently done and will be launched in 2018. Can't wait to see what mystery of the universe it will unfold. Ultra Deep Field ×10 perhaps.

https://www.space.com/34593-james-webb-space-telescope-complete-2018-launch.html
Stoked for that too. Should bring back some amazing results.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 04, 2016, 03:10:54 AM
20 years of build time, hopefully it won't blow up at launch, that would be a bit salty for the engineers. :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 08, 2016, 01:57:24 PM
Man, 2016 just won't quit.

(https://www.collectspace.com/images/news-082199a.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Samsara on December 08, 2016, 02:09:14 PM
RIP John Glenn, indeed. 2016...man.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on January 25, 2017, 09:41:40 AM
I just stumbled across this great video about nVidia using computer graphics to debunk moon landing hoax arguments about photos taken on the moon. Even if you don't know CGI or lighting, it's well worth skimming to gain some understanding of the principles involved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syVP6zDZN7I
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on January 29, 2017, 09:10:36 AM
I liked the Mythbusters episode of Moon Landing hoaxes.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 19, 2017, 03:56:30 PM
Awesome footage of the recent Falcon 9 landing. Seeing a rocket land like that feels very sci-fi.  :tup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glEvogjdEVY
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on February 19, 2017, 09:28:59 PM
I watched the live stream, and it was both tense and exciting. I was hoping nothing would go wrong after they aborted the day before out of precaution, and that landing was amazing to see. Congrats to them!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Cyclopssss on February 23, 2017, 12:00:10 AM
Given the system's name, at first I thought this was a joke, but no:

https://www.space.com/35790-seven-earth-size-planets-trappist-1-discovery.html (https://www.space.com/35790-seven-earth-size-planets-trappist-1-discovery.html)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 23, 2017, 12:56:28 AM
It's cool but again, whenever they discover new exoplanets which seems to be all the time I can't help but feel a bit meh when I know we will never get there in our lifetime. The discovery itself is still amazing. I think when the James Webb telescope is operational stuff will get even more interesting.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Phoenix87x on February 23, 2017, 03:07:14 AM
neil degrasse tyson was just on the Joe rogan podcast. Lots of very interesting conversation subjects space related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhHtBqsGAoA
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 23, 2017, 07:41:01 AM
It's cool but again, whenever they discover new exoplanets which seems to be all the time I can't help but feel a bit meh when I know we will never get there in our lifetime. The discovery itself is still amazing. I think when the James Webb telescope is operational stuff will get even more interesting.

Still cool though. I'm sure Galileo wasn't thinking of something like Cassini when he was observing Saturn through his telescope. We're laying down the pavement for future generations. I dig it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Samsara on February 23, 2017, 01:50:03 PM
I read when the news broke about the latest exoplanets, that scientists believe we'll be able to know if there's life on any of those worlds in about a decade or so. I'm not sure about that however -- I mean, we still can't confirm if there is life anywhere in our solar system yet, much less something light years away.

I hope they can do it, however. It was an exciting discovery. Those who follow it more closely -- am I accurately recalling that, in addition to the fact that the planets are so close together, that gravity impacts all of them from each other, that only one side of them faces the star?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on February 24, 2017, 06:46:31 AM
I accurately recalling that, in addition to the fact that the planets are so close together, that gravity impacts all of them from each other, that only one side of them faces the star?

Yes, they are all tidally-locked to the star, so only one side faces the light from the star at any point. This means that each side of the respective planet either always has day or always has light.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Samsara on February 24, 2017, 11:11:08 AM
I accurately recalling that, in addition to the fact that the planets are so close together, that gravity impacts all of them from each other, that only one side of them faces the star?

Yes, they are all tidally-locked to the star, so only one side faces the light from the star at any point. This means that each side of the respective planet either always has day or always has light.

Thanks for confirming for me. Interesting. Obviously, the possibility for life in that situation exists, but man, I wonder just how different it may be. Good stuff for some science fiction writing too.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 24, 2017, 11:19:03 AM
I accurately recalling that, in addition to the fact that the planets are so close together, that gravity impacts all of them from each other, that only one side of them faces the star?

Yes, they are all tidally-locked to the star, so only one side faces the light from the star at any point. This means that each side of the respective planet either always has day or always has light.

Thanks for confirming for me. Interesting. Obviously, the possibility for life in that situation exists, but man, I wonder just how different it may be. Good stuff for some science fiction writing too.

If there are oceans of water and assuming organisms consume one another for energy, I think it is likely we will see creatures very similar to the fish on Earth, at least in regards to their shape. Granted we have some creatures like the octopus and jellyfish that don't fit the mold, but the bulk of sea life shares the torpedo shape. This wasn't due to evolutionary chance, it was due to physics. We've seen fish and mammals from independent evolutionary lines arrive at the same shape (sharks and dolphins) because of evolution's drive for efficiency. If you need to move through water fast for survival, the torpedo is the shape, and if you need to steer, fins are easy to make and light weight relative to the body.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on February 24, 2017, 12:33:48 PM
Its interesting to me that we can make some assumptions about alien life that are reasonable, which are based on physics rather than the specific conditions on earth.  Even though our imaginations are limited to life on earth, the universality of physics places some limits on forms life can take in the universe.

https://nautil.us/issue/34/adaptation/can-a-living-creature-be-as-big-as-a-galaxy
Quote
Remarkably, the constraints of environment on physical bodies also constrain life to be roughly the same size that intelligence requires. The height of the tallest redwoods is limited by their inability to pump water more than 100 meters into the sky, a limit set by a combination of the force of gravity on the Earth (which pulls the water down) and transpiration, water adhesion, and surface tension in the plant xylem (which pushes it up).
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 26, 2017, 11:04:44 AM
Found this nice photo of the Andromeda Galaxy:

Quote
"Andromeda Galaxy and Sunset over the unique rock formations of White Pocket, Arizona."
(https://i.redd.it/ijvcsk7isqny.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on March 26, 2017, 05:35:14 PM
Holy Crap!

Wait, you can see the Andromeda with the naked eye?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Phoenix87x on March 26, 2017, 06:34:53 PM
That is utterly incredible. I had no idea you could see it with the naked eye.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Adami on March 26, 2017, 06:36:02 PM
You have to be naked to see Andromeda?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on March 26, 2017, 07:32:04 PM
Everything's better when naked.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on March 26, 2017, 10:11:43 PM
Holy Crap!

Wait, you can see the Andromeda with the naked eye?

The photo probably had to be taken in a particularly clear area away from civilization and probably with a really long exposure. Fantastic picture regardless though. :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 27, 2017, 02:00:03 AM
It looks kind of "close" but when you start thinking that what you see is not another star in the nightsky but an entire new galaxy the distance to it starts to get a bit too abstract. We humans can't grasp the distance to Andromeda other than to read and imagine a giant number.  We can't even wrap our heads around the seize of our own galaxy, it's to abstract and Andromeda is an entire diffrent galaxy. It's scary when you think about it but also beautiful.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on March 27, 2017, 06:23:04 AM
Everything's better when naked.

this is true.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on March 27, 2017, 06:25:55 AM
It looks kind of "close" but when you start thinking that what you see is not another star in the nightsky but an entire new galaxy the distance to it starts to get a bit too abstract. We humans can't grasp the distance to Andromeda other than to read and imagine a giant number.  We can't even wrap our heads around the seize of our own galaxy, it's to abstract and Andromeda is an entire diffrent galaxy. It's scary when you think about it but also beautiful.

The more I think about outer space and the fact that we are LITERALLY on a massive rock in an infinite void hurtling around a gargantuan ball of fire....

And Earth is the right distance from the sun for us to live and the moon is the right distance to keep our oceans in place etc etc...

And how vast Space is and everything...

I just can't bring myself to accept it was just an accident.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on March 27, 2017, 06:39:11 AM
All things considered, I don't know how you could consider such chaos to not be an accident. An incredible one though.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 27, 2017, 07:06:17 AM
The way I see it despite what I said about distance being too abstract for us to grasp I still think that because of the unimaginable scale of the universe the likelyhood that we're NOT alone is greater and even if the human race never finds intelligent lifeforms in it's lifetime, that still dosen't mean we're alone or that we exist by accident no matter how depressing it may sound.

Of course I base my opinion on my doctors exam in farts.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Phoenix87x on March 27, 2017, 03:28:52 PM
In my opinion, there's life everywhere. we just are WAY too far away to explore/study/discover it. And when I say life, I aint talking little green men or klingons. Extremophile bacteria is almost certainly in other places with-in this galaxy (perhaps even this solar system).

There are 100 billion stars in our galaxy alone, and then there are 100 billion galaxies in the known universe. Each one of those stars has stuff orbiting around it. Bacteria? absolutely. Fully evolved intelligent life? perhaps. Will it be anything like humans? I doubt it. 

Finding life somewhere else wouldn't surprise me all that much. Discovering what happened before the big bang, now that's another story. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on April 13, 2017, 09:41:16 AM
Anybody hear the latest theory about dying stars?  Evidently, astronomers aren't seeing enough supernovae in their observations.  At least not as many as they think they should be seeing (based on how many stars are out there).  Apparently (or not) some super giant stars are just disappearing.  They don't explode but just collapse into a black hole immediately without any critical mass being reached which would cause an explosion.  However, the conditions have to be "just right" for this to happen.  So, this is the latest theory from astronomers and they are called "Un-Novas" or "Un-Novae" as they say.

Doesn't this violate some law of relativity?  I thought critical mass explosions are what caused black holes to form if the star of course is large enough.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jonny108 on April 13, 2017, 11:51:30 AM
https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive (https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive)

Live stream starting in 10 minutes regarding new results regarding ocean worlds in our Solar System.  Exciting.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on April 13, 2017, 01:02:10 PM
Anybody hear the latest theory about dying stars?  Evidently, astronomers aren't seeing enough supernovae in their observations.  At least not as many as they think they should be seeing (based on how many stars are out there).  Apparently (or not) some super giant stars are just disappearing.  They don't explode but just collapse into a black hole immediately without any critical mass being reached which would cause an explosion.  However, the conditions have to be "just right" for this to happen.  So, this is the latest theory from astronomers and they are called "Un-Novas" or "Un-Novae" as they say.

Doesn't this violate some law of relativity?  I thought critical mass explosions are what caused black holes to form if the star of course is large enough.

I don't know anything about it, but I think this just goes to show how little we know about our universe even though we've learned so much.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on April 13, 2017, 09:37:00 PM
https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive (https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive)

Live stream starting in 10 minutes regarding new results regarding ocean worlds in our Solar System.  Exciting.

I kid you not, I was just watching a re-run of NASA Unexplained File or something on the Discovery Channel about Enceladus the night before... and when I woke up I read about it... wow! Wondering what a space sea bass might look like, lol!  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 14, 2017, 06:37:39 AM
https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive (https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive)

Live stream starting in 10 minutes regarding new results regarding ocean worlds in our Solar System.  Exciting.

I kid you not, I was just watching a re-run of NASA Unexplained File or something on the Discovery Channel about Enceladus the night before... and when I woke up I read about it... wow! Wondering what a space sea bass might look like, lol!  :lol

I've mentioned this before, but as long as the lifeforms' chances of survival are increased based on their speed, whether it be to hunt, to flee, or to get to an energy source by a certain time, we can expect them to look relatively similar to sea creatures on Earth. The torpedo shape of the vast majority of our sea life is no accident. It's the most efficient shape when traveling through a fluid, and it's reinforced by the fact that both fish and the mammals that came later (whales and dolphins) arrived at near identical designs.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on April 14, 2017, 03:09:57 PM
Anybody hear the latest theory about dying stars?  Evidently, astronomers aren't seeing enough supernovae in their observations.  At least not as many as they think they should be seeing (based on how many stars are out there).  Apparently (or not) some super giant stars are just disappearing.  They don't explode but just collapse into a black hole immediately without any critical mass being reached which would cause an explosion.  However, the conditions have to be "just right" for this to happen.  So, this is the latest theory from astronomers and they are called "Un-Novas" or "Un-Novae" as they say.

Doesn't this violate some law of relativity?  I thought critical mass explosions are what caused black holes to form if the star of course is large enough.

I don't know anything about it, but I think this just goes to show how little we know about our universe even though we've learned so much.

True.  The fact that they call black holes singularities is because they don't know what else to call them.  :rollin
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 27, 2017, 02:29:40 PM
It's just amazing that a spacecraft launched 20 years ago are still in service and sending data back. Cassini is approaching it's last epic mission, crashing into the atmosphere of Saturn, while taking the closest pictures ever of the Planet.

Quote
NASA's Cassini spacecraft grabbed this raw image of a "giant hurricane" in Saturn's atmosphere during its first dive between Saturn and its rings on April 26.
(https://img.purch.com/h/1400/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zcGFjZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzA2NS8yNzYvb3JpZ2luYWwvY2Fzc2luaS1naWFudC1odXJyaWNhbmUtc2F0dXJuLmpwZz8xNDkzMzA5NTI0)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on April 27, 2017, 03:15:42 PM
Yeah, NASA tends to do remarkably well when complacency isn't a factor. In the meantime, Opportunity is driving North and still sending back pictures, 13 years after it was supposed to die.

(https://mars.nasa.gov/imgs/2017/04/PIA21493-MAIN_Sol4654B_Rocheport_L257atc-br2.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on April 28, 2017, 09:57:28 AM
This is happening:

(https://i.imgur.com/MlslL9n.jpg)

https://ideas.lego.com/blogs/1-blog/post/137

https://imgur.com/a/Uan8W
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: millahh on April 28, 2017, 10:04:23 AM
Is that a diagram of the Up-Goer 5 in blue?   :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 28, 2017, 10:06:11 AM
This is happening:

(https://i.imgur.com/MlslL9n.jpg)

https://ideas.lego.com/blogs/1-blog/post/137

https://imgur.com/a/Uan8W

Sign me up. That's sweet.

Yeah, NASA tends to do remarkably well when complacency isn't a factor. In the meantime, Opportunity is driving North and still sending back pictures, 13 years after it was supposed to die.

That fact always blows my mind. Spirit had a really good run too. It's a shame that is got permanently stuck in some soft sand and then slowly died. But still, the thing drove more than 10X the distance it was designed to.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on April 28, 2017, 11:23:13 AM
Is that a diagram of the Up-Goer 5 in blue?   :lol
I thought the same  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on April 29, 2017, 08:16:43 PM
This is happening:

(https://i.imgur.com/MlslL9n.jpg)

https://ideas.lego.com/blogs/1-blog/post/137

https://imgur.com/a/Uan8W

Cute. For the hell of it, they should also release a "conspiracy theorist" add-on edition that, comes with studio lights, cameras and such, lol!  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Prog Snob on April 29, 2017, 08:24:20 PM
...and a George Noory action figure.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 01, 2017, 03:12:30 AM
A bit Deja-vu because it feels like i've been reading about plans like this for the last 20 years but now it seems more official than ever.

https://futurism.com/its-official-humans-are-going-to-mars-nasa-has-unveiled-their-mission/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Phoenix87x on May 01, 2017, 05:41:25 AM
(https://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x459/phoenix87x/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-01%20at%207.39.46%20AM_zps8jzixpjo.png) (https://s1182.photobucket.com/user/phoenix87x/media/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-01%20at%207.39.46%20AM_zps8jzixpjo.png.html)


I am down with any type of beyond Earth exploration. Space is the place  :hat
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on May 01, 2017, 01:21:13 PM
A bit Deja-vu because it feels like i've been reading about plans like this for the last 20 years but now it seems more official than ever.

https://futurism.com/its-official-humans-are-going-to-mars-nasa-has-unveiled-their-mission/

yes, Trump signed a bill to put NASA spending towards sending humans to Mars about a month or so ago.  Probably the coolest thing he's done as President.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 01, 2017, 01:30:37 PM
A bit Deja-vu because it feels like i've been reading about plans like this for the last 20 years but now it seems more official than ever.

https://futurism.com/its-official-humans-are-going-to-mars-nasa-has-unveiled-their-mission/

yes, Trump signed a bill to put NASA spending towards sending humans to Mars about a month or so ago.  Probably the coolest thing he's done as President.

I'll get excited once we see vehicle designs and the allocating of funds to specific mission needs. We've had these plans come out several times in the past, and even though congress approved that funding, they still get final say how and if it can be spent. If NASA proposes a crucial piece of equipment, say something like an orbiting habitat around Mars, congress can come come back and say "nah bros, we don't see that as a good enough use of the money we set aside for you. We're not signing off on that".
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on May 01, 2017, 02:00:17 PM
I think the date is 2033 set for humans on Mars.  I guess we will just continue to wait and see.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 01, 2017, 02:01:32 PM
I think the date is 2033 set for humans on Mars.  I guess we will just continue to wait and see.

For NASA. I know Elon is confident he'll beat that by at least 5 years.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on May 01, 2017, 02:07:44 PM
I think the date is 2033 set for humans on Mars.  I guess we will just continue to wait and see.

For NASA. I know Elon is confident he'll beat that by at least 5 years.

We will see.  Elon says a lot of stuff will happen in the near future...
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 12, 2017, 05:10:53 AM
https://www.engadget.com/2017/05/11/nasa-mars-mission-year-long-moon/

It looks like NASA will ask for help from private companies to get things done faster and cheaper.  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 12, 2017, 05:55:29 AM
https://www.engadget.com/2017/05/11/nasa-mars-mission-year-long-moon/

It looks like NASA will ask for help from private companies to get things done faster and cheaper.  :tup

I assumed this day would come, and I'm glad this is the direction it's going. This is how it should be. We need a global effort with both the government and private sector contributing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on May 13, 2017, 01:54:07 PM
The sooner we can get off this planet the better.

People who didn't vote for Trump or Brexit should get top priority.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on May 15, 2017, 08:50:37 AM
The sooner we can get off this planet the better.

People who didn't vote for Trump or Brexit should get top priority.

You mean the Russians? Lol!  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 28, 2017, 01:35:45 AM
Some amazing photos of Jupiter by NASAs Juno:

https://vimeo.com/219216194
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on May 28, 2017, 07:02:33 AM
:omg:

Gas giants are so cool.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 07, 2017, 11:41:15 AM
^^Yea they really are!


CRS-11 | Landing aerial footage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrP3jHuLQ9o&feature=youtu.be)
That's what I call a smooth landing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on June 09, 2017, 08:29:22 AM
Did the designing team get their idea of that rocket from Dr.Evil's? Lol! J/K  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Kotowboy on June 09, 2017, 03:29:39 PM
I'll say it again...

The very nature of our galaxy blows my fucking mind. We're ACTUALLY on a massive ball of rock floating in an infinite void circling a gargantuan ball of fire ( essentially )...

THATS FACT.

Also there are stars in the galaxy so far away that by viewing them - we're actually looking thousands of years into the past. Like...WTF.

Also - because some stars are so far away - we can see them..BUT THEYRE NOT THERE.

Damn nature you cray cray etc.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on June 09, 2017, 04:07:26 PM
Also the night is only dark because the infinite number of stars are so far away, much of the light as yet to reach since the existence of the universe.
 :o
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on June 10, 2017, 01:42:18 AM
I'll say it again...

The very nature of our galaxy blows my fucking mind. We're ACTUALLY on a massive ball of rock floating in an infinite void circling a gargantuan ball of fire ( essentially )...

THATS FACT.

Also there are stars in the galaxy so far away that by viewing them - we're actually looking thousands of years into the past. Like...WTF.

Also - because some stars are so far away - we can see them..BUT THEYRE NOT THERE.

Damn nature you cray cray etc.

That's something too many people in the world forget, especially politicians.

I love astronomy, it teaches humility.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on June 12, 2017, 04:41:20 PM
Not sure if it's been discussed yet, and I'm not scrolling through to find out, but does anyone else have plans for the eclipse on Aug 21? It's solely on the continental US, with the path of totality going from the Oregon coast to the South Carolina coast....

(https://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/maps/whole-us.jpg)

Here's a cool site with a sweet interactive map....

https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/ (https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/)

Personally, I'm driving up to Portland on the 20th, then heading down to Madras, Oregon to watch the event (hotel rooms are nearly non-existent in the path of totality, and those that are available are at ridiculous prices (like $1500 for one night in a Day's Inn).





Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on June 12, 2017, 04:48:39 PM
I once flew my Lear jet up to Nova Scotia to see a total eclipse of the sun.  I'm where I should be, all the time.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on June 12, 2017, 05:19:29 PM
I had to google it. Total old guy failure.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on June 12, 2017, 05:47:43 PM
Not your fault.  I thought twice about posting a smartass remark in an otherwise more serious thread, but figured what the fuck...
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on June 13, 2017, 12:23:30 AM
Made a plan to drive down to see the eclipse in a spot with total coverage. Im really looking forward to it!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 07, 2017, 07:55:00 AM
Boop

(https://i.redditmedia.com/JDB30_on3yEoHermQL3Gm5vB_dCDsOM0K8R8rUbV1S0.png?w=1024&s=1282c16db7a38002cfa782fd5d0a4637)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on July 07, 2017, 01:20:01 PM
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/825642/Moon-meteor-biggest-explosion-NASA-video-impact (https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/825642/Moon-meteor-biggest-explosion-NASA-video-impact)

The video is not impressive, but the subject of the article is still pretty interesting.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Phoenix87x on July 15, 2017, 07:37:40 AM
So I always figured that all life would end after the eventual heat death of the universe, but here goes an interesting video that discusses the possibility of farming black holes as potential energy source after all stars extinguish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qam5BkXIEhQ
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on July 21, 2017, 02:08:59 AM
Hail to the heroes of the Apollo mission, on this day that marks the anniversary of the moon landing!  :metal

Hooray for one of the greatest endeavors ever in the history of humanity, there's a small piece of the Moon in exhibition at the Science and Technology museum of Milan and seeing it overwhelmed me with emotion. It was  the damn Moon!!! our satellite there for me to see!  :hat
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: ReaperKK on July 21, 2017, 05:18:16 AM
I'm really excited for the eclipse. It'll be during my vacation and I'll be sitting on the beach waiting for it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on July 21, 2017, 07:20:22 AM
Ill be visiting Nashville for the next several days, but unfortunately the eclipse is next month.  Nashville lies right on the center of the eclipse path.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on August 06, 2017, 04:40:16 PM
Double thinking my plans for it since they're expecting millions of people to drive into Oregon from  Wa. and Ca. May stay south of the path and ditch in and out really quick like...
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on August 06, 2017, 05:38:00 PM
If you look at the path, St. Louis and particulary just south where i live is in direct path of the eclipse. The schools are making a big deal out of it and setting up cool events, my work is having a huge 'eclipse' party.....it's pretty neat.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on August 10, 2017, 08:33:11 AM
The Superintendent of the School District cancelled all schools on the 21st. There is an influx of 1-1.5 Million people expected in our County on that day being that we are located at a prime spot....so after discussing it with the Missouri Department of Transportation and all the EMS Services he decided to cancel schools based off of not knowing IF there was an emergency with a student in school what the response time would be.

So...the kiddos will be with me at my work party.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 10, 2017, 08:42:06 AM
The Superintendent of the School District cancelled all schools on the 21st. There is an influx of 1-1.5 Million people expected in our County on that day being that we are located at a prime spot....so after discussing it with the Missouri Department of Transportation and all the EMS Services he decided to cancel schools based off of not knowing IF there was an emergency with a student in school what the response time would be.

So...the kiddos will be with me at my work party.

They should have cancelled anyway IMO. Let the kids enjoy that day. I'm pissed I'm going to have a shit view.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on August 10, 2017, 09:01:59 AM
The Superintendent of the School District cancelled all schools on the 21st. There is an influx of 1-1.5 Million people expected in our County on that day being that we are located at a prime spot....so after discussing it with the Missouri Department of Transportation and all the EMS Services he decided to cancel schools based off of not knowing IF there was an emergency with a student in school what the response time would be.

So...the kiddos will be with me at my work party.

They should have cancelled anyway IMO. Let the kids enjoy that day. I'm pissed I'm going to have a shit view.

I'm bummed for you as well knowing how 'in' to this type of thing you are.....and also knowing that there are going to be a ton of people in this area who don't care one bit about it not really paying attention to it....not understanding just how neat an opportunity this is.

I agree about the schools being closed....should have never been an issue anyway. My work is really going all out that day with a huge BBQ, tons of games and so forth so I'm glad they'll be able to be here with me during it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 10, 2017, 09:32:29 AM
In third grade our teacher forgot to take us outside for the last solar eclipse. Still annoyed by it (though it was pretty cloudy and not so thrilling down here). Anywho, I'll be camping a few hundred klicks East of Nashville roundabout the Cumberland River.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: mike099 on August 10, 2017, 12:07:57 PM
Ill be visiting Nashville for the next several days, but unfortunately the eclipse is next month.  Nashville lies right on the center of the eclipse path.

I will be downtown Nashville at work.  I plan to take a long lunch and enjoy.  Probably about 50-50 that the clouds will obstruct the experience.  A bunch of folks in my building are going to stay home and not fight the additional traffic expected this day.   
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 10, 2017, 01:33:24 PM
Ill be visiting Nashville for the next several days, but unfortunately the eclipse is next month.  Nashville lies right on the center of the eclipse path.

I will be downtown Nashville at work.  I plan to take a long lunch and enjoy.  Probably about 50-50 that the clouds will obstruct the experience.  A bunch of folks in my building are going to stay home and not fight the additional traffic expected this day.
BBQ recommendation? Something towards the NE, perhaps?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: chknptpie on August 12, 2017, 07:34:57 AM
I find this photo totally amazing.
(https://scontent.fphx1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/20664827_1539198176146358_2553865238024549633_n.jpg?oh=bfc8dba64f65310ae198ed2b6d019652&oe=59EB7CC4)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on August 16, 2017, 10:34:34 AM
 :omg:




Watched a PBS special last night, Totality. Now I'm officially overhyped for this thing, can't wait to hit the road on Sunday!!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on August 16, 2017, 01:06:09 PM
What are those things?  Sunspots?  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 21, 2017, 07:38:19 AM
(https://i.redditmedia.com/jIpNDihL0hVU27W6zaUX-Au8ms5k3BpricyGiwKOxUo.jpg?w=663&s=322ac0590ba9181b7e8de9609b59517d)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on August 21, 2017, 09:49:19 AM
My, how things have not changed.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on August 21, 2017, 10:30:52 AM
I was living in Oregon during the 1979 eclipse.  It got really dark but didn't see the actually totality because in Oregon, it's usually cloudy about 90% of the time.  :lol  Good luck this time.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: ReaperKK on August 21, 2017, 10:42:06 AM
In a little bummed I'm not home. We were getting 97% obstruction at my home, at the beach here it'll be around 85%
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on August 21, 2017, 11:04:30 AM
Only 69% here in Phx.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on August 21, 2017, 11:53:19 AM
Had zero desire to deal with the traffic, saw a video of miles and miles of standstill, so I cancelled my plans. Got about 75% here. I'll plan better for 2024 when it goes through Texas.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Cool Chris on August 21, 2017, 12:23:40 PM
Was around 90+ here in the PNW. Was as about underwhelmed going in to this as Nick Saban (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75SNDiUseFg), but got my special glasses and was checkign it out periodically throughout the morning. Pretty amazing site. But as I hate driving and traffic, I can't really imagine driving more than 10 minutes to check it out.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on August 21, 2017, 12:31:27 PM
We got to see totality and it was pretty awesome! I wish I had brought a better camera to have captured what it looked like but I got to see about a minute and a half of totality and it was incredible.

And I am so thankful to have gotten to experience it with my kiddos.....they were pumped big time and loved it!



(https://i.imgur.com/tvsUAb9.jpg) (https://imgur.com/tvsUAb9)


(https://i.imgur.com/ySQXJ7E.jpg) (https://imgur.com/ySQXJ7E)


(https://i.imgur.com/uOhbGay.jpg) (https://imgur.com/uOhbGay)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 21, 2017, 01:01:39 PM
The amount of people I just saw outside staring at the sun with no eye protection truly baffles me. I must have heard at least 100 times over the last week to not look at it without the special glasses.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: AngelBack on August 21, 2017, 02:02:25 PM
About 98% where I live north of Atlanta.  Not as dark as I thought it might be. 

And at the peak I hear a hissing sound as my 18 year old was lighting bottle rockets.... :facepalm:
Celestial event of the decade and he is channeling his inner redneck....
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on August 21, 2017, 02:22:05 PM
Made the trip to Carbondale and took mostly farm roads. Not much traffic. The eclipse was unreal. Words and pictures simply cannot do it justice.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on August 21, 2017, 03:09:19 PM
Best shot I've seen so far...a NASA photographer captured the ISS in transit across the sun during the eclipse...



(https://tu9srvbirvvtmjiky25lddmuy2jzaxn0yxrpyy5jb200.g00.cnet.com/g00/2_d3d3LmNuZXQuY29t_/TU9SRVBIRVVTMjIkaHR0cHM6Ly9jbmV0My5jYnNpc3RhdGljLmNvbS9pbWcveHZpMzd6Z2Q0d3lGM3N5enhScVRFLU8xOFhrPS8yMDE3LzA4LzIxLzVkY2U3MzYxLWVmYmYtNDlhMS05NjFjLTEyODE2M2RlZTUzZC9uYXNhaXNzZWNsaXBzZS5qcGc%2FaTEwYy5tYXJrLmltYWdlLnR5cGU%3D_$/$/$/$/$/$/$/$)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on August 21, 2017, 04:13:36 PM
The amount of people I just saw outside staring at the sun with no eye protection truly baffles me. I must have heard at least 100 times over the last week to not look at it without the special glasses.

I was listening to Howard Stern this morning talk about how he should have invested in walking canes for all the future blind people after today  :lol However, from my understanding (and I could be wrong) , it's actually OK to look at quickly, it's staring at it that will do damage because people are more likely to stare at the sun today vs. any other day so that is why they just say not to look at it all or use the glasses.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on August 21, 2017, 05:04:41 PM
The amount of people I just saw outside staring at the sun with no eye protection truly baffles me.



(https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/20994073_1482603655149795_6304148676261956114_n.jpg?oh=fadd6a13b780567b16874fc9cbca53df&oe=5A32AA40)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on August 21, 2017, 06:36:16 PM
^ that! Lol!  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: KevShmev on August 21, 2017, 06:44:14 PM
Very cool stuff today.  The boss ordered pizzas for us today so no one had the leave office at work, and then almost all of us went outside with glasses (that one of the ladies bought for us to wear) on and watched it.  Looking up at the sky during the moment of totality was pretty bad ass.  :coolio
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: ReaperKK on August 21, 2017, 08:15:02 PM
Awesome view today. Spent it at the beach, my brother had some extra glasses which made it a lot more enjoyable.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 21, 2017, 10:30:27 PM
After seeing it in person I can understand why our ancient elders freaked the fuck out when these things happened. That never made much sense to me. I always figured it was just one or two minutes of unexpected darkness. You'd say "huh, that's peculiar" and then get back to your farming and cholera. It's far more dramatic than I was expecting. At 99% it's still the freaking sun and you still can't look at it, so it hits very suddenly without warning. Then you look up and there's a God damned hole in the sky. It's like somebody pulled the drain plug and the galaxy is pouring away. If you're just some serf tilling the fields, that's the end of the freaking universe and a pretty fine time to go on a kill-crazy rampage. Cracking heads and feasting on the goo inside. I'd be curious to know just how many people have up and dropped dead after being caught by one unaware. I can certainly see how many people have, now.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Tick on August 22, 2017, 05:42:07 AM
(https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s480x480/21032522_10203824264203118_8566976425434607351_n.jpg?oh=f1e2ea59cd075fe4a709afe318eaf70a&oe=5A60D077)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 22, 2017, 05:44:25 AM
(https://imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img924/534/27ieyo.png)

Wasn't able to see shit in CT. Best I was able to get was the eclipse in a lense flare
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on August 22, 2017, 05:47:33 AM
That's not a lens flare, that's a spirit orb.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 22, 2017, 05:48:18 AM
(https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s480x480/21032522_10203824264203118_8566976425434607351_n.jpg?oh=f1e2ea59cd075fe4a709afe318eaf70a&oe=5A60D077)

Please please please don't tell me you've bought into the "eclipses are just a government conspiracy" bullshit  :-X

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/08/do-you-believe-the-eclipse-is-going-to-happen/537090/

On August 21, the “moon” will pass between the Earth and the sun, obscuring the light of the latter. The government agency NASA says this will result in “one of nature’s most awe-inspiring sights.” The astronomers there claim to have calculated down to the minute exactly when and where this will happen, and for how long. They have reportedly known about this eclipse for years, just by virtue of some sort of complex math.

This seems extremely unlikely. I can’t even find these eclipse calculations on their website to check them for myself.

Meanwhile the scientists tell us we can’t look at it without special glasses because “looking directly at the sun is unsafe.”

That is, of course, unless we wear glasses that are on a list issued by these very same scientists. Meanwhile, corporations like Amazon are profiting from the sale of these eclipse glasses. Is anyone asking how many of these astronomers also, conveniently, belong to Amazon Prime?

Let’s follow the money a little further. Hotels along the “path of totality”—a region drawn up by Obama-era NASA scientists—have been sold out for months. Some of those hotels are owned and operated by large multinational corporations. Where else do these hotels have locations? You guessed it: Washington, D.C.

In fact the entire politico-scientifico-corporate power structure is aligned behind the eclipse. This includes the mainstream media. How many news stories have you read about how the eclipse won’t happen?

Meanwhile the newspaper owner Jeff Bezos is out there buying all of Seattle with the revenue from these “eclipse glasses.”

You’d think there would be a balanced look at even considering the idea that the eclipse isn’t going to happen. It’s like no one is even thinking to question this.


 :facepalm: :facepalm:

I guess ancient texts going back centuries documenting these very events mean absolutely nothing. Obama must have conspired with the Chinese 4700 years ago.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on August 22, 2017, 06:37:26 AM
He did.  I am the Chinese, and I was there.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Tick on August 22, 2017, 06:47:02 AM
(https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/s480x480/21032522_10203824264203118_8566976425434607351_n.jpg?oh=f1e2ea59cd075fe4a709afe318eaf70a&oe=5A60D077)

Please please please don't tell me you've bought into the "eclipses are just a government conspiracy" bullshit  :-X

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/08/do-you-believe-the-eclipse-is-going-to-happen/537090/

On August 21, the “moon” will pass between the Earth and the sun, obscuring the light of the latter. The government agency NASA says this will result in “one of nature’s most awe-inspiring sights.” The astronomers there claim to have calculated down to the minute exactly when and where this will happen, and for how long. They have reportedly known about this eclipse for years, just by virtue of some sort of complex math.

This seems extremely unlikely. I can’t even find these eclipse calculations on their website to check them for myself.

Meanwhile the scientists tell us we can’t look at it without special glasses because “looking directly at the sun is unsafe.”

That is, of course, unless we wear glasses that are on a list issued by these very same scientists. Meanwhile, corporations like Amazon are profiting from the sale of these eclipse glasses. Is anyone asking how many of these astronomers also, conveniently, belong to Amazon Prime?

Let’s follow the money a little further. Hotels along the “path of totality”—a region drawn up by Obama-era NASA scientists—have been sold out for months. Some of those hotels are owned and operated by large multinational corporations. Where else do these hotels have locations? You guessed it: Washington, D.C.

In fact the entire politico-scientifico-corporate power structure is aligned behind the eclipse. This includes the mainstream media. How many news stories have you read about how the eclipse won’t happen?

Meanwhile the newspaper owner Jeff Bezos is out there buying all of Seattle with the revenue from these “eclipse glasses.”

You’d think there would be a balanced look at even considering the idea that the eclipse isn’t going to happen. It’s like no one is even thinking to question this.


 :facepalm: :facepalm:

I guess ancient texts going back centuries documenting these very event mean absolutely nothing. Obama must have conspired with the Chinese 4700 years ago.
Dear god, Chino, I'm making a joke from a guy in Connecticut who didn't see shit! I had no glasses. My sense of humor is not funny to most.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 22, 2017, 06:54:51 AM
Gotcha, just had to make sure  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on August 22, 2017, 06:57:06 AM
But now that we're on the subject, an eclipse would be the perfect time to lay down some sweet chem-trails on a bunch of unsuspecting bystanders.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on August 22, 2017, 07:10:11 AM
It took me over 13 hours to get home from Carbondale, a trip that's normally under 6 hours. Got a few hours of sleep and now have to go to work.  :'(
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 22, 2017, 02:42:41 PM
It took me over 13 hours to get home from Carbondale, a trip that's normally under 6 hours. Got a few hours of sleep and now have to go to work.  :'(
Mine was only about 8.5 hours for a 5.5 hr trip to my midway point. Most of that was because of the Tennessee highway department, though. Maybe when you know there's going to be twice as many people on the road than usual you knock of the construction early, but that's just me thinking. Bad part was that TN does theirs during the day which put me into AK right about 8pm when they start their construction.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on August 22, 2017, 02:55:07 PM
Ouch. Construction basically left 57 unusable most of the way North. Normal congestion was insane coming out of town though. We stopped at a gas station after driving for about 3.5 hours, and my friend asked the attendant casually how far out of Carbondale we were. We knew all hope was lost when she responded, "about 25 minutes."
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 22, 2017, 03:46:04 PM
Ouch. Construction basically left 57 unusable most of the way North. Normal congestion was insane coming out of town though. We stopped at a gas station after driving for about 3.5 hours, and my friend asked the attendant casually how far out of Carbondale we were. We knew all hope was lost when she responded, "about 25 minutes."
I never saw anything like that. There was increased traffic into Nashville, but nothing too bad. Same outbound. It wasn't until I was approaching Memphis that things really started to turn ugly. At one point Mrs. Google added 30 minutes to my ETA due to worsening traffic. Then every 30 minutes thereafter she'd add 40 more for the same reason. I was actually moving backward in time while driving forward. That's kind of disheartening.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TAC on August 22, 2017, 03:50:18 PM
  I was actually moving backward in time while driving forward. 

 :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 23, 2017, 10:31:21 AM
(https://i.imgur.com/2Ooq8SL.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/n2Ietae.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/PH94BEd.jpg)

Last one was my temporary home on the Black River in the MTNF.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on August 23, 2017, 10:43:41 AM
Those your pics EB?  Looks awesome

I just realized in going through some pics I took Monday morning, that I, like Chino, actually got a decent shot of the eclipse though the lens flare.  I didn't even notice until I put them on my PC last night and zoomed in.  I was actually amazed to see that and I had quite a few to see the moon moving past too. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on August 23, 2017, 10:55:49 AM
Anyone else see this...Ozzy at Moonstock singing Bark at the Moon during totality...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfWoZ43CF9k (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfWoZ43CF9k)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on August 23, 2017, 11:06:49 AM
That's so badass! :metal I love how over the course of that one song, it starts out light, then becomes a night concert, and by the end of the song it's light again. THE DEVIL'S MUSIC SUMMONING THE DARKNESS
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on August 23, 2017, 11:07:16 AM
Nice!!   :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on August 23, 2017, 11:46:16 AM
Anyone else see this...Ozzy at Moonstock singing Bark at the Moon during totality...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfWoZ43CF9k (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfWoZ43CF9k)

 :metal :metal :metal that is so awesome
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on September 15, 2017, 04:54:24 AM
So, today Cassini ends his glorious run diving deep into Saturn. It's a noble sacrifice, the moons of Saturn have some kind of water and we cannot risk the craft eventually crashing into one of them and contaminating the system, so it's a sucide-by-planet for it.

Hooray for Cassini and all the beautiful pictures it sent us!  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: The Walrus on September 15, 2017, 06:49:53 AM
So, today Cassini ends his glorious run diving deep into Saturn. It's a noble sacrifice, the moons of Saturn have some kind of water and we cannot risk the craft eventually crashing into one of them and contaminating the system, so it's a sucide-by-planet for it.

Hooray for Cassini and all the beautiful pictures it sent us!  :metal

It's a great time to be alive and a space nerd  :biggrin:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on September 15, 2017, 07:17:20 AM
RIP
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on September 15, 2017, 08:59:30 AM
It was a spectacular mission finale to a GREAT mission! Thanks, Cassini  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 15, 2017, 06:45:19 PM
I'm so fascinated and amazed by the thought that this spacecraft been in space for 20 years and was still functional until the very end. Kind of puts things in perspective when you think about everything that's happend on Earth since it's launch in 97.
These types of spacecrafts and it's missions are such a monumental engineering and technical achievement that is not highlighted enough in mainstream media imo, atleast not the work behind the scenes. I can only imagine how emotional it must be for those people that worked on the mission from start to finish when the signal was finally lost.

Nice video about the mission:
https://youtu.be/aqSCoQJxbMI
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on September 15, 2017, 11:38:38 PM
^ lovely video, so well done... again, thank you Cassini.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on September 16, 2017, 04:52:25 AM
These types of spacecrafts and it's missions are such a monumental engineering and technical achievement that is not highlighted enough in mainstream media imo, atleast not the work behind the scenes. I can only imagine how emotional it must be for those people that worked on the mission from start to finish when the signal was finally lost.

Indeed, I've read a comment somewhere about it and if you really think about it, it's a day job for some people, and after all this time having no longer to follow the spacecraft, it's a bittersweet feeling.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 29, 2017, 12:29:12 PM
So what do you guys think about this:

SpaceX Intercontinental Transport System (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay9N7a_xA4I&feature=youtu.be)

It's a cool idea if it ever becomes reality but honestly, who's it for? I'm guessing rich people. Heard something about 50k for a ticket.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on September 29, 2017, 12:58:59 PM
All he is talking about is the possibility of using sub orbital flight to travel to other places on the globe.  This is easier than getting into orbit.  The trouble of course is in the details.  Spacex has made good progress in reusing first stage boosters, but its a very different thing to (economically) make reusable terminal stage vehicles, especially with the safety required for transporting civilian passengers.  You won't be boarding in your business suit and tie.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on November 16, 2017, 12:29:19 PM
I doubt many would find this anywhere near as interesting as I did, but on the off chance someone might, this thing really sucked me in last night. I wound up listening for 2 hours or so, well past my bedtime (and intend to continue it later). Somebody put together ~6 hours of the flight director loop from the Apollo 13 accident, beginning about five minutes prior to the kaboom. You basically hear everything that was done afterward, in real time, and from the perspective of the top dog; Krantz at first and Glenn Lunney for most of it. You hear CAPCOM and whichever astronaut he's talking to in the background (CAPCOM sat next to FLIGHT), but what you're listening to is FLIGHT and whichever controller he's engaging. We all know the story, but hearing it like this is both fascinating as hell and more than a little dramatic without the need for Imagine Entertainment to make it so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWfnY9cRXO4

Some quick takeaways:

The whole thing developed very slowly. Ron Howard and The Discovery Channel make it seem like they're all over it from the second it goes bang. In reality it was 3 or 4 minutes until anybody even brought it to FLIGHT's attention and another half hour before the reality of the situation started to set in.

The incident occurred with about an hour remaining in Krantz's white team shift. He gets all the attention now, because he's genuinely a stone cold badass, but there were a lot of supermen working this thing. Lunney, and in particular Sy Lybergot (EECOM), deserve way more credit than they'll ever get. Sy should have a freaking statue somewhere in the grounds of JSC, AFAIC.

It's amazing to me that 1 hour into a crisis situation Krantz just up and announces, "alright, time to let black team deal with this," and hands off the whole thing to the next crew who just arrived. If I were in his position I think they'd have to drag me out of there in a straight jacket.

Those people give new meaning to Grace Under Pressure. The situation slowly evolves from "maybe it's an instrumentation failure," to "whatever you don don't fuck up the moon landing," to "Christ, those guys might really die up there," and there's never a change in their tone or demeanor. It's all just problem solving to those guys. Quite remarkable.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 16, 2017, 12:36:14 PM
That sounds awesome. If I could get on the wifi at work I'd definitely listen to that in its entirety tomorrow.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on November 16, 2017, 12:41:55 PM
I downloaded them from Youtube and copied them over to my phone. Unfortunately whatever YT Downloader I use won't save them as MP3s, so they remain video files.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 16, 2017, 12:45:51 PM
I downloaded them from Youtube and copied them over to my phone. Unfortunately whatever YT Downloader I use won't save them as MP3s, so they remain video files.

Oh, that's fine. As long as I'm not chewing through my data. I have a 128GB microSD card in my phone just for occasions like this. I never thought to download the Youtube vid. Thanks for the suggestion.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Luoto on November 16, 2017, 03:35:17 PM
Lapland got a decent sized rock from space today, the air burst was well bright enough to turn night into day. The furthest observation was about 600 km away from the explosion.

Facebook video (https://www.facebook.com/auroraservicetours/videos/705114423020834/). Totally digging the thumbnail, because at this time of year it's not even possible for the day to be that bright without a fireball :D
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 02, 2017, 12:29:56 AM
I love reading about old missions still being active, must be a very special feeling and honor for scientists to work on a mission like Voyager, a true testament to the brilliant engineers that buildt the spacecraft 40 years ago.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/12/after-37-years-voyager-has-fired-up-its-trajectory-thrusters/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on December 04, 2017, 09:13:48 AM
Took this pic of the super moon last night with my new camera:

(https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/24313428_10115646802733784_4359586811523576428_o.jpg?oh=7ce6b532634b0755500762ce62c8cf34&oe=5A98F934)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on December 04, 2017, 09:57:37 AM
Pretty nice!

I've seen the moon. There's a fragment of it at the Science and Technology Museum of Milan. I would have never imagined seeing such a tiny rock would give me so much emotion!!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: The Walrus on December 04, 2017, 10:00:27 AM
That's an incredible shot, cram. Wow.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on December 04, 2017, 10:15:55 AM
That's an incredible shot, cram. Wow.

Im no photographer or anything, I hardly know how to use the basic settings of my new camera, but it has a really good zoom and just using the auto settings and handheld was easily able to snap this.  Helps to have a clear sky with a huge moon, but I'm happy with how simple and easy the camera is while being able to take a quality photo.  I actually took similar ones the last few nights leading up to the super moon hoping for a clear sky.  Flew home last night before taking that photo and the sky was sooo lit up and beautifully reflecting off the clouds below.  Definitely one of the best flights I've ever had.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Podaar on December 04, 2017, 10:44:36 AM
I'm impressed with the optical chip in your camera. I pulled your shot into photoshop and did some level tweaks and there is quite a bit of detail even in the white areas. Very nice.

(https://i.imgur.com/ADsOQRX.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 04, 2017, 10:57:07 AM
Nice photo Cram!  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on December 04, 2017, 11:04:35 AM
That's pretty cool Podaar!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Podaar on December 04, 2017, 11:11:17 AM
The detail in the giant craters on the upper right edge are fantastic.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on December 04, 2017, 01:35:48 PM
What the hell lens were you using to "just using the auto settings and handheld.'?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on December 04, 2017, 01:45:57 PM
This is the camera and deal I used to get it from costco.  I mainly bought it for filming concerts (worked wonderfully for that too, check out the DT tour threads if interested where I posted links).

https://www.costco.com/Panasonic-LUMIX-ZS60-Travel-Camera-Bundle.product.100354931.html (https://www.costco.com/Panasonic-LUMIX-ZS60-Travel-Camera-Bundle.product.100354931.html)

I'm no photographer.  This is my first time working with a non phone camera so I'm a total newb when it comes to shutterspeeds and aperture.  I am learning, but literally it was auto sensing and hand held so I am creditting the camera, not anything that I did to take that picture.  I did see a youtube review of the camera with someone zooming in and out of the moon to know this was possible though.  Otherwise I don't think I would have thought my camera would be able to take such a nice photo of the moon.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 05, 2018, 05:12:54 PM
This could easily only be a commercial or cinematic but the fact that a "crazy" billionare is actually going to do it is hilarious. NASA would never in a million years do it even if they wanted too. Good times to be a space nerd. :blob:

Hopefully it won't blow up although that would also be kind of awesome.

https://youtu.be/Tk338VXcb24
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on February 05, 2018, 05:38:34 PM
I gave very serious thought to flying out there to see this. Spent a couple of hours trip planning to see if I could pull it off. Seeing a rocket launch, and then ideally a rocket explosion, is very high on my list of things to do. This one stands a very good chance of meeting both requirements. Even Musk was kind of clear that it's got a decent chance of blowing up before reaching orbit. Also, SoA is playing the Wang this weekend, so it would have been a pretty good trip. The dealbreaker was that they extended the range saftey area to include the Playa Linda beach for this launch, so the best viewing locale is out. Outside of KSC tickets, which are already sold out, you can only get to within about 13 miles or so.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on February 05, 2018, 05:45:02 PM
Thanks for the heads up, I got the morning off, will make sure to tune it. :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on February 05, 2018, 06:42:46 PM
Seeing a rocket launch, and then ideally a rocket explosion, is very high on my list of things to do.

You evil you, lol!  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 05, 2018, 07:12:05 PM
I booked a meeting room tomorrow and blocked off my calendar for the launch. I plan on watching it on a huge projector. I'm effing stoked. I'm predicting a successful launch with both side boosters landing on land and the center core exploding on impact when it tries to touch down on Of Course I Still Love You.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 06, 2018, 04:20:52 AM
I'm rooting for 100% success just because that would be such a big win for the company and a big step forward for space aviation. Then again as long as the whole thing dosen't explode immediately and the main rocket survives all the stages one booster failure won't really be a big deal in the long run.

I booked a meeting room tomorrow and blocked off my calendar for a launch. I plan on watching it on a huge projector. I'm effing stoked. I'm predicting a successful launch with both side boosters landing on land and the center core exploding on impact when it tries to touch down on Of Course I Still Love You.
That would be best of both worlds in a way, the main rocket survives and heads for Mars while we get two awesome booster landings and everything ends with an epic explosion.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 06, 2018, 10:59:03 AM
Quote
Update: Falcon Heavy is scheduled to launch Feb. 6 at 2:20 pm E.T.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on February 06, 2018, 11:15:08 AM
So that's about an hour from now?

Damn, I'll probably have to watch this on my phone while in bed.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 06, 2018, 11:18:28 AM
I just read that it got pushed to 3:15 because of high altitude winds.  :-[ I have a meeting with a real asshole at 3:00 that I can't move or reschedule. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on February 06, 2018, 11:28:28 AM
Damn, I thought that time already was the pushed back time. Looks like I won't get to watch it live.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 06, 2018, 11:36:43 AM
I just read that it got pushed to 3:15 because of high altitude winds.  :-[ I have a meeting with a real asshole at 3:00 that I can't move or reschedule.

Scratch that.

3:05

My bad
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 06, 2018, 11:58:49 AM
Got bumped to 3:45.

No way this is happening today. Their launch window closes at 4:00
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on February 06, 2018, 12:41:15 PM
That's my take as well. If they are pushing it from 2:20 to 3:45, it's probably because they don't want to just pack it in, just in case there is a chance the wind will let up at the last minute.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on February 06, 2018, 12:41:39 PM
Got bumped to 3:45.

No way this is happening today. Their launch window closes at 4:00
Which is the other reason I didn't head out there to see it. And if you paid $250 to KSC to see this up close you just lost your money.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: rumborak on February 06, 2018, 12:43:32 PM
Is that so? When I went there to see a SpaceX launch, it was canceled for that day, but I got a voucher for another launch.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on February 06, 2018, 01:11:55 PM
Is that so? When I went there to see a SpaceX launch, it was canceled for that day, but I got a voucher for another launch.
If it's scrubbed before you board the bus then you can use the ticket for the next launch opportunity. If it's scrubbed after you board the bus you're SOL. They'll give you a voucher for another day at KSC, but it won't include the launch ticket.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 06, 2018, 01:16:50 PM
Quote
Jeff Foust‏
@jeff_foust
Starting to load liquid oxygen into the Falcon Heavy. T-45 minutes and counting.
Found this posted a couple of minutes ago although i'm not sure if that's a reassurance it's a go, maybe someone can explain?

Edit: Space X stream went live or atleast music started playing, atleast that's something :D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbSwFU6tY1c

Edit 2: It's happening or atleast it seems so
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on February 06, 2018, 01:52:36 PM
I've been pretty busy today but managed to catch this at launch and really cool to watch!  Going really well so far  :yarr
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on February 06, 2018, 01:54:35 PM
That was pretty fucking impressive.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 06, 2018, 01:57:01 PM
Lol Chino it might be exactly as you predicted...  :lol

Why did they cut the stream before mentioning what happened to the center booster?

Anyway that was beautiful and epic, so cool seeing the two boosters land next to eachother.  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on February 06, 2018, 01:59:01 PM
The two boosters landing in sync  :omg:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on February 06, 2018, 02:00:12 PM
The two boosters landing in sync  :omg:

Right? Fucking ridiculous... at first I though it was a replay of the animation.

Nailed it man.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 06, 2018, 02:04:37 PM
Lol Chino it might be exactly as you predicted...  :lol

Why did they cut the stream before mentioning what happened to the center booster?

Anyway that was beautiful and epic, so cool seeing the two boosters land next to eachother.  :metal

I had to watch on mute in a meeting with my phone between my legs. The twin lan landings were beautiful and it looked like the barge landing could have gone either way. I couldn't hear what the announcer people were saying. The barge cameras are notorious for cutting out due to the extreme vibrations of the booster coming down.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Luoto on February 06, 2018, 02:07:40 PM
Quote
38:30 of the countdown net audio feed says they lost the centre core.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on February 06, 2018, 02:08:32 PM


I had to watch on mute in a meeting with my phone between my legs.

I am so impressed with your commitment. :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 06, 2018, 02:12:22 PM
My buddy at SpaceX has confirmed the center core didn't make it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 06, 2018, 02:19:41 PM
Oh well, two out of three is pretty damn impressive. I wonder what happened to the center, did it miss the pad or explode. Hopefully we get some sort of footage.


(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DVYWR2IUQAAutMB.jpg:large)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 06, 2018, 02:43:33 PM
Take this flat earthers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBr2kKAHN6M

 :P
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on February 06, 2018, 02:49:56 PM
Take this flat earthers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBr2kKAHN6M

 :P

Fake news.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 06, 2018, 06:12:51 PM
This might be my favorite picture ever.

(https://i.imgur.com/s5In84C.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on February 06, 2018, 07:31:19 PM
The "Don't Panic" is a sheer stroke of genius....hope that guy got a fat pay raise.




Also, I just read that the hood ornament on the car is a Tesla roadster with a tiny Starman :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on February 07, 2018, 01:09:06 AM
Take this flat earthers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBr2kKAHN6M

 :P

I wish that was enough. There's the wonderful car picture posted below going round in my FB feed, and I've seen someone (not on my friend list, it was a random dude commenting the original photo a friend reposted) asking where are the satellites, the stars and the ozone layer.

People will never cease to be stupid.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 07, 2018, 01:50:20 AM
Take this flat earthers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBr2kKAHN6M

 :P

I wish that was enough. There's the wonderful car picture posted below going round in my FB feed, and I've seen someone (not on my friend list, it was a random dude commenting the original photo a friend reposted) asking where are the satellites, the stars and the ozone layer.

People will never cease to be stupid.
I think the only way to convince the hardcore followers is when public space travels become mainstream, only then will the argument die out. So many people don't trust anyone but themselfs so unless they see it with their own eyes they will not be convinced.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlobVanDam on February 07, 2018, 02:15:16 AM
I didn't get to watch the launch live, but I watched the video as soon as I woke up, and it was amazing. That booster landing looked fake, it was just so perfect. Shame about the core, but at least everything else went off without a hitch, so it was still a huge win. The view from the car was surreal.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Polarbear on February 07, 2018, 02:37:59 AM
Didn't catch the livestream, but I watched the launch afterwards!

That was epic! The boosters landing in perfect synchronization was like something straight out sci-fi movie.

Musk is pretty much a rockstar in the science community now!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 07, 2018, 06:38:27 AM
Awesome amateur footage of the two boosters landing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_kfM-BmVzQ
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Shooters1221 on February 07, 2018, 08:00:29 AM
Awesome amateur footage of the two boosters landing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_kfM-BmVzQ

Incredible!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on February 07, 2018, 08:28:24 AM
The sonic booms were pretty cool  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: bosk1 on February 07, 2018, 08:43:25 AM
Musk is pretty much a rockstar in the science community now!

What blows me away is that people have failed to connect the dots and draw the obvious conclusion about him.  And this particular generation, having been raised on comics, is especially well equipped to have figured it out.  Sad.  I mean, think about it:  He has more money than he knows what to do with.  He has some unidentifiable European accent.  He is always surrounded by hot chicks who silently do his bidding.  He launches rockets into outer space.  The conclusion is obvious: 
MUSK IS A SUPERVILLAIN!!!  :panicattack:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 07, 2018, 08:44:27 AM
Musk is pretty much a rockstar in the science community now!

What blows me away is that people have failed to connect the dots and draw the obvious conclusion about him.  And this particular generation, having been raised on comics, is especially well equipped to have figured it out.  Sad.  I mean, think about it:  He has more money than he knows what to do with.  He has some unidentifiable European accent.  He is always surrounded by hot chicks who silently do his bidding.  He launches rockets into outer space.  The conclusion is obvious: 


He's African
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Adami on February 07, 2018, 08:46:03 AM
And since when is Africa not a part of Europe?!?!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on February 07, 2018, 08:49:38 AM
Musk is pretty much a rockstar in the science community now!

What blows me away is that people have failed to connect the dots and draw the obvious conclusion about him.  And this particular generation, having been raised on comics, is especially well equipped to have figured it out.  Sad.  I mean, think about it:  He has more money than he knows what to do with.  He has some unidentifiable European accent.  He is always surrounded by hot chicks who silently do his bidding.  He launches rockets into outer space.  The conclusion is obvious: 
MUSK IS A SUPERVILLAIN!!!  :panicattack:

I have a friend who really hates him and thinks he's up to no good.  Maybe he is a super villain, but it's funny, how there are a lot of similarities.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: AngelBack on February 07, 2018, 09:00:08 AM
He puts his personal roadster into space playing David Bowie, then tells the world there's a 50/50 chance it blows to smithereens......I love this guy.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on February 07, 2018, 09:05:34 AM
Apparently his roadster is going to shoot past mars and into the Asteroid belt
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Shooters1221 on February 07, 2018, 09:08:21 AM
Musk is pretty much a rockstar in the science community now!

What blows me away is that people have failed to connect the dots and draw the obvious conclusion about him.  And this particular generation, having been raised on comics, is especially well equipped to have figured it out.  Sad.  I mean, think about it:  He has more money than he knows what to do with.  He has some unidentifiable European accent.  He is always surrounded by hot chicks who silently do his bidding.  He launches rockets into outer space.  The conclusion is obvious: 
MUSK IS A SUPERVILLAIN!!!  :panicattack:

Dr. Evil
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on February 07, 2018, 09:18:44 AM
He puts his personal roadster into space playing David Bowie, then tells the world there's a 50/50 chance it blows to smithereens......I love this guy.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on March 02, 2018, 08:00:50 PM
Visited the California Science Center a few weeks ago, and actually seeing the Orbiter Vehicle 105, aka the Space Shuttle Endeavour, in person, is an amazing experience.

(https://scontent.fhkg3-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/28471442_10156274263393453_4042807271828022513_n.jpg?oh=932ce43f6ad35d76c8db1fc208447a40&oe=5B496F5B)

And of course there is the Apollo-Soyuz Command Module... sadly they are in the process of building a plastic case for this module (already in place for both the Mercury and Gemini ones). It will be tough to photograph in the future.

(https://scontent.fhkg3-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/28337314_10156274263658453_6326877222631310683_o.jpg?oh=19aa7a34d202361e5a1bebff3835bf5a&oe=5B42E416)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on March 02, 2018, 08:49:27 PM
That's some cool stuff, there!  Stuff that has been in space.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: AngelBack on April 16, 2018, 07:00:01 AM
Space X scheduled to launch the TESS planet hunter this evening, 6:32 EST.  I watched a NASA press conference and they stated one of the specific goals was to find exo-planets with no more than 4X earth mass and determine the planets composition.  I'm not even smart enough to truly understand how smart these folks are.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on April 17, 2018, 07:23:57 AM
Something I've come to learn about this type of thing, is that it's not enough simply getting a bunch of smart people together.  Team organization is at least as important, if not more so, than having smart people on the team.  A group of the smartest people in the world won't accomplish much without good leadership and an understanding of their role and the role of others.  I'm sure others can speak more about leadership and teamwork than I can.

If the achievements of spacex are attributed just to intelligence, it artificially inflates the perceived intelligence of the people responsible almost to the point of hero worship.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: AngelBack on April 17, 2018, 07:35:43 AM
Something I've come to learn about this type of thing, is that it's not enough simply getting a bunch of smart people together.  Team organization is at least as important, if not more so, than having smart people on the team.  A group of the smartest people in the world won't accomplish much without good leadership and an understanding of their role and the role of others.  I'm sure others can speak more about leadership and teamwork than I can.

If the achievements of spacex are attributed just to intelligence, it artificially inflates the perceived intelligence of the people responsible almost to the point of hero worship.

Agreed, and with a few exceptions throughout history, the brilliant people of the day are standing on the shoulders of others who worked toward similar goals.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on April 17, 2018, 08:36:05 AM
I saw last night that John Young died back in January. Went right under the radar, apparently. Normally an accomplishment like walking on the freaking moon gets you a bit more attention when you croak. In his case he had actually done a whole lot more. This guy was prolific as an astronaut, flying twice for Gemini, twice for Apollo, and twice on the space shuttle. He went to the moon twice, once as CM pilot for the Apollo 10 dress rehearsal flight, and once as LM commander for Apollo 16. Ten years later he was the original test pilot for the shuttle program as the commander for STS-001. Suffice it to say he always struck me as a helluva guy.

Interesting side note. STS-001 suffered quite a few problems during launch due to a significant overpressure lifting off the pad. One of the problems was major enough that Young said later that had he known about it the Columbia would be at the bottom of the Atlantic right now, as there's no way he'd have flown it into orbit.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on April 17, 2018, 07:50:11 PM
Interesting side note. STS-001 suffered quite a few problems during launch due to a significant overpressure lifting off the pad. One of the problems was major enough that Young said later that had he known about it the Columbia would be at the bottom of the Atlantic right now, as there's no way he'd have flown it into orbit.

That’s an interesting story. I remember seeing 1 article and 15 seconds news segment when he died. I’m sure more articles were published not many on major news papers or news sites.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: BlackInk on June 21, 2018, 02:21:50 PM
Seriously, black holes have been driving me crazy lately. They are so much more strange than they seem and even more interesting than I even first thought. It began with me wanting to truly understand what it would be like to fall into one - what one would see or what someone else would see - but of course it wasn’t that simple. The coolest thing I found reading about them this time is that space and time switch places below the event horizon, which makes sense when you think avout it, but it’s still crazy.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on June 21, 2018, 02:28:35 PM
Seriously, black holes have been driving me crazy lately. They are so much more strange than they seem and even more interesting than I even first thought. It began with me wanting to truly understand what it would be like to fall into one - what one would see or what someone else would see - but of course it wasn’t that simple. The coolest thing I found reading about them this time is that space and time switch places below the event horizon, which makes sense when you think avout it, but it’s still crazy.

Ive always been fascinated by black holes as well.  Such a cool and interesting yet totally unknown really phenomenon. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: bosk1 on July 05, 2018, 08:30:30 AM
Visited the California Science Center a few weeks ago, and actually seeing the Orbiter Vehicle 105, aka the Space Shuttle Endeavour, in person, is an amazing experience.

Have you ever seen the Space Shuttle exhibit at Kennedy Space Center in FL?  It is indescribably awesome.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on July 05, 2018, 07:08:15 PM
Have you ever seen the Space Shuttle exhibit at Kennedy Space Center in FL?  It is indescribably awesome.

No sir, but I will keep that in mind... that being said, I have visited the Johnson Space Center near Houston, TX, and I would LOVE to revisit that place. Ideally also catching my Lakers @ Rockets, and witnessing how my Lakers crush them CP3 and Harden in the process... oops, off topic, sorry...  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: The Walrus on July 20, 2018, 08:37:58 AM
Check out these awesome photos. I think my favorite is the one called 'Daytime Moon.' Or 'First Impressions' because it looks like a killer album cover.

https://gizmodo.com/some-of-the-most-spectacular-astronomy-images-of-2018-1827695259
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on July 24, 2018, 09:54:56 AM
https://aichallenge.intel.com/space

Interesting challenge there
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on July 24, 2018, 10:44:07 AM
https://aichallenge.intel.com/space

Interesting challenge there
Leonard Nimoy told a story a while back about visiting CalTech back in the early 70s. They're walking him around showing him these new-fangled computers that can actually print a 16-bit picture on a piece of paper. All of these nerds are geeking out over meeting Spock and asking him questions about their projects. The fact that he was just some actor with no scientific expertise whatsoever was completely lost on them. They really wanted to hear his thoughts on computer engineering and whatnot. I get the impression that Picardo is now in the same boat. From what I've seen of the guy he seems really cool and it'd be fun to hang out with him, but his role in this seems pretty sensational.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Elite on July 24, 2018, 12:48:31 PM
Seriously, black holes have been driving me crazy lately. They are so much more strange than they seem and even more interesting than I even first thought. It began with me wanting to truly understand what it would be like to fall into one - what one would see or what someone else would see - but of course it wasn’t that simple. The coolest thing I found reading about them this time is that space and time switch places below the event horizon, which makes sense when you think avout it, but it’s still crazy.

*insert spoiler for the film Interstellar*
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on July 24, 2018, 06:52:43 PM
Leonard Nimoy told a story a while back about visiting CalTech back in the early 70s. They're walking him around showing him these new-fangled computers that can actually print a 16-bit picture on a piece of paper. All of these nerds are geeking out over meeting Spock and asking him questions about their projects. The fact that he was just some actor with no scientific expertise whatsoever was completely lost on them. They really wanted to hear his thoughts on computer engineering and whatnot. I get the impression that Picardo is now in the same boat. From what I've seen of the guy he seems really cool and it'd be fun to hang out with him, but his role in this seems pretty sensational.

I look at this way. I do work with developers and what not, and sometimes they do think too much within their little universe. They actually need to meet and talk with non-engineers (users) and gauge their interest as well as UI / UX opinion. In a way, I think those guys at CalTech were doing just that in some way.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on July 24, 2018, 08:51:40 PM
Seriously, black holes have been driving me crazy lately. They are so much more strange than they seem and even more interesting than I even first thought. It began with me wanting to truly understand what it would be like to fall into one - what one would see or what someone else would see - but of course it wasn’t that simple. The coolest thing I found reading about them this time is that space and time switch places below the event horizon, which makes sense when you think avout it, but it’s still crazy.

*insert spoiler for the film Interstellar*

There’s a theory about interstellar that I find pretty interesting. Some people (including me) believe that the last 20 or so minutes of the movie didn’t really happened. From the moment he started falling it was all in his head, just the final moments of his life seeing what he wanted to see. It was a way to give the movie a “happy ending” but leaving some things to the viewers imagination.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on August 22, 2018, 02:49:55 PM
There’s a theory about interstellar that I find pretty interesting. Some people (including me) believe that the last 20 or so minutes of the movie didn’t really happened. From the moment he started falling it was all in his head, just the final moments of his life seeing what he wanted to see. It was a way to give the movie a “happy ending” but leaving some things to the viewers imagination.

Yeah....I watched a Youtube video one night that went in to this theory.....made it's point pretty good but I still lean towards it all really happened for Cooper
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 23, 2018, 06:17:34 PM
So I like that we seem to be moving forward with the Space Launch System and the Lunar Orbital Platform Gateway. The SLS is what we should have been doing instead of wasting time with the shuttle. I do have reservations about why we're doing it based on who's doing it, though. The question I keep asking myself is if the Boy King actually understands that we don't own the moon. And if he understands that nobody should own the moon. The fact that Pence is leading pep-rallies for it so soon after announcing this Space Force nonsense, and hyping up the threats in space from China and Russia, gives me quite a bit of concern that he doesn't. I'd really like to know what he thinks America's role in space should be. I think the odds of him being of the Kennedy/Khrushchev mindset are pretty slim. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: chknptpie on September 22, 2018, 08:28:07 AM
 :omg:
https://www.iflscience.com/space/japan-has-successfully-landed-the-first-ever-rovers-on-an-asteroid/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on September 23, 2018, 06:48:51 PM
I am sure this is nothing new to some of you astronomy enthusiasts, but I have just now learned about the Boötes void. Just wow!  :hefdaddy
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on September 27, 2018, 11:26:09 AM
:omg:
https://www.iflscience.com/space/japan-has-successfully-landed-the-first-ever-rovers-on-an-asteroid/
This really is pretty amazing. I honestly had no idea this was going on.
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/10D88/production/_103600096_mediaitem103600095.jpg)
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/2774/production/_103600101_mediaitem103600100.jpg)

Here's a pretty detailed explanation of all of the various components. https://spaceflight101.com/spacecraft/hayabusa-2/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on September 27, 2018, 11:35:52 AM
That's pretty nuts.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 09, 2018, 09:35:53 AM
Quote
SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket can now launch NASA's most expensive and highest-priority science missions.
NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP) has certified the two-stage Falcon 9 as a "Category 3" rocket, SpaceX representatives announced Thursday (Nov. 8).

"LSP Category 3 certification is a major achievement for the Falcon 9 team and represents another key milestone in our close partnership with NASA," SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell said in a statement.

Only Category 3 rockets can launch the priciest, most important, most complex NASA missions — projects like the Hubble Space Telescope, the Mars rover Curiosity and the James Webb Space Telescope. (Hubble launched aboard the space shuttle Discovery in April of 1990, Curiosity flew atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in November of 2011 and Webb will ride an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket in March 2021.)

https://www.space.com/42387-spacex-falcon-9-rocket-nasa-certification.html

That's a huge milestone for SpaceX and I was about to say maybe Falcon 9 will launch the James Webb Telescope but literally in the next sentence it says Webb has already set which rocket it will use.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on November 10, 2018, 08:54:27 PM
Nothing about Bepi Colombo yet!
It's a joint ESA JAXA (Europe and Japan) spacecraft headed for Mercury, and will take 7 years.  My company supplied xenon tanks for the electric propulsion it will need to decelerate from solar orbit at Earth distance to Mercury's orbit.  Most of the deceleration will be via Earth and Venus gravity assists, but the propulsion system burns will be low thrust, lasting several months.

https://sci.esa.int/bepicolombo/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 14, 2018, 09:32:35 AM
Russia has revealed a nuclear spacecraft of the future.
(https://img.pravdareport.com/image/article/1/9/1/63191.jpeg)

Here's what the main ship in Avatar looked like.
(https://www.playerarena.net/download/avatar-moon-pandora_1920x1080_218-hd.jpg) 



Who stole whose idea?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on November 14, 2018, 10:54:07 AM
Well to be fair, they're not quite exactly the same.  Not quite.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on November 14, 2018, 01:27:33 PM
Is that Kerbal space program?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: axeman90210 on November 15, 2018, 11:12:51 AM
So now Avatar knows how Pocahontas feels :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 15, 2018, 11:16:00 AM
Is that Kerbal space program?

No idea. That was the photo on Fox.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 17, 2018, 08:20:07 AM
We Are NASA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeA7edXsU40&feature=youtu.be)

Yes we know. Stop hyping shit and go explore the universe, like you used to.





 :biggrin:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Phoenix87x on November 17, 2018, 06:41:00 PM
I am dying for some Europa exploration.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 19, 2018, 05:54:35 AM
I am dying for some Europa exploration.

This I hope to see in my life time above almost anything else in space exploration.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on November 19, 2018, 12:14:10 PM
   
I am dying for some Europa exploration.

This I hope to see in my life time above almost anything else in space exploration.
Europa clipper (https://europa.nasa.gov) is in the works, and may launch in 2023 or so.  I am also working on a component of this spacecraft.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 19, 2018, 12:24:19 PM
   
I am dying for some Europa exploration.

This I hope to see in my life time above almost anything else in space exploration.
Europa clipper (https://europa.nasa.gov) is in the works, and may launch in 2023 or so.  I am also working on a component of this spacecraft.

Clipper is cool, and will probably yield some neat surprises, but I mean actually get under that ice. I want to see footage of an alien whale and an alien mega squid fighting
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on November 19, 2018, 12:34:22 PM
   
I am dying for some Europa exploration.

This I hope to see in my life time above almost anything else in space exploration.
Europa clipper (https://europa.nasa.gov) is in the works, and may launch in 2023 or so.  I am also working on a component of this spacecraft.

Clipper is cool, and will probably yield some neat surprises, but I mean actually get under that ice. I want to see footage of an alien whale and an alien mega squid fighting
yeah that would be incredible. Pretty tough to land there, but not impossible (need lots of Delta v.  Getting into Jupiter orbit is much easier).  There is a poposed lander to compliment clipper, but who knows how far along that will get.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on November 19, 2018, 01:10:18 PM
   
I am dying for some Europa exploration.

This I hope to see in my life time above almost anything else in space exploration.
Europa clipper (https://europa.nasa.gov) is in the works, and may launch in 2023 or so.  I am also working on a component of this spacecraft.

Clipper is cool, and will probably yield some neat surprises, but I mean actually get under that ice. I want to see footage of an alien whale and an alien mega squid fighting
yeah that would be incredible. Pretty tough to land there, but not impossible (need lots of Delta v.  Getting into Jupiter orbit is much easier).  There is a poposed lander to compliment clipper, but who knows how far along that will get.


Any of you ever watched this movie....Europa Report?  I thought it was pretty cool.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2051879/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 19, 2018, 01:40:24 PM
   
I am dying for some Europa exploration.

This I hope to see in my life time above almost anything else in space exploration.
Europa clipper (https://europa.nasa.gov) is in the works, and may launch in 2023 or so.  I am also working on a component of this spacecraft.

Clipper is cool, and will probably yield some neat surprises, but I mean actually get under that ice. I want to see footage of an alien whale and an alien mega squid fighting
yeah that would be incredible. Pretty tough to land there, but not impossible (need lots of Delta v.  Getting into Jupiter orbit is much easier).  There is a poposed lander to compliment clipper, but who knows how far along that will get.


Any of you ever watched this movie....Europa Report?  I thought it was pretty cool.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2051879/
Is that the movie where the lander gets dragged down through the ice or something?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on November 19, 2018, 01:45:23 PM
Is that the movie where the lander gets dragged down through the ice or something?

just in case anyone wants to watch it......yeah....the ending sequence is the lander melting through the ice surface. the final survivor knew she wasn't going to make it back so she chose to broadcast her death back to earth to reveal there was life under the ice.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 19, 2018, 01:57:07 PM
Is that the movie where the lander gets dragged down through the ice or something?

just in case anyone wants to watch it......yeah....the ending sequence is the lander melting through the ice surface. the final survivor knew she wasn't going to make it back so she chose to broadcast her death back to earth to reveal there was life under the ice.
Ah that's right, I thought I seen it.  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on November 19, 2018, 02:06:18 PM
I thought the movie was well done. Nothing fancy....yet totally 'believable' as to how a manned mission like that would look.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on November 26, 2018, 06:54:41 AM
NASA's InSight is landing on Mars today around 3:00 EST.

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8391/nasas-insight-is-one-day-away-from-mars/?site=insight

Edit: corrected the time.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on November 26, 2018, 07:07:44 AM
NASA's InSight is landing on Mars today around 12:00 EST.

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8391/nasas-insight-is-one-day-away-from-mars/?site=insight

I thought it was landing yesterday, so I kept looking up on the net... actually I got the date wrong... either way, can't wait to know more about if Mars has any seismic activity.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on November 27, 2018, 03:27:13 AM
It's always great to see how far reaches mankind's curiosity and desire to explore and to know. After our ancestors crossed rivers, seas and found out continents, now the search goes on in the final frontier!  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on November 27, 2018, 08:33:29 AM
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ds-oxhaWoAEtzz9?format=jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 27, 2018, 08:37:00 AM
NASA's InSight is landing on Mars today around 12:00 EST.

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8391/nasas-insight-is-one-day-away-from-mars/?site=insight

I thought it was landing yesterday, so I kept looking up on the net... actually I got the date wrong... either way, can't wait to know more about if Mars has any seismic activity.

I can't wait to see more on this. If we don't detect any seismic activity, that would make the releasing and existence of methane plumes even more interesting.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 27, 2018, 08:50:01 AM
(https://preview.redd.it/ph82zs1fsv021.png?width=422&auto=webp&s=9cb76640d11964595c58967c4454d414eedb40dc)

Yes, I know the rover above isn't Insight.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on November 27, 2018, 09:57:11 AM
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ds-oxhaWoAEtzz9?format=jpg)

Such a plain picture. Some mechanical stuff and a boring landscape.

And then you think that it's ANOTHER PLANET... that we reached through a lander shot from our planet through the nothingness of space to reach Mars.... WOW!!!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 27, 2018, 10:01:50 AM
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ds-oxhaWoAEtzz9?format=jpg)

Such a plain picture. Some mechanical stuff and a boring landscape.

And then you think that it's ANOTHER PLANET... that we reached through a lander shot from our planet through the nothingness of space to reach Mars.... WOW!!!!

And to think that we got it onto the surface, autonomously, in one piece after having to slow it down from a top speed of 12,000+ mph.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on November 27, 2018, 05:48:59 PM
And then you think that it's ANOTHER PLANET... that we reached through a lander shot from our planet through the nothingness of space to reach Mars.... WOW!!!!

That boring, nothingness is specifically chosen for this mission. The main objective for this mission is to detect seismic activity and understanding of the core of Mars. A lander needs to land on some place flat like Kansas, but without the corn.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on November 28, 2018, 01:08:36 AM
I know, I wasn't questioning the chosen landed spot, I was pointing out how apparently it's such a plain and standard picture, that however holds a great meaning for science.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Polarbear on November 28, 2018, 03:49:04 AM
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ds-oxhaWoAEtzz9?format=jpg)

Such a plain picture. Some mechanical stuff and a boring landscape.

And then you think that it's ANOTHER PLANET... that we reached through a lander shot from our planet through the nothingness of space to reach Mars.... WOW!!!!

And to think that we got it onto the surface, autonomously, in one piece after having to slow it down from a top speed of 12,000+ mph.

That has to be the best picture ever taken from the surface of Mars! It looks very Earth like. It looks like the Namibian desert shot on a cloudy day, but it's from another planet! Incredible!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 28, 2018, 10:48:24 AM
Quote
https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-return-moon-mission-commercial-companies-announcement-2018-11?r=US&IR=T&utm_source=reddit.com

If NASA's stunning landing of a car-sized robot on Mars didn't already whet your appetite for space exploration this week, mark your calendar for 2 p.m. EST on Thursday.

That's when NASA plans to give an update about a program that aims to land privately developed spacecraft on the moon.

I hope this isn't empty words as it seems to always be because even though Mars is the bigger goal I do feel that in a way it seems just logical to do missions to the Moon even if it's just training missions for Mars. For me to be able to see people walk on the Moon or Mars again during my lifetime would be very exciting.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 05, 2018, 11:25:31 AM
Watching the live feed of Space X's launch and the falcon 9 just started spinning out of control on re-entry. They killed the feed. This could be a news day  :corn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on December 05, 2018, 11:42:53 AM
Watching the live feed of Space X's launch and the falcon 9 just started spinning out of control on re-entry. They killed the feed. This could be a news day  :corn
Interesting. Musk has said it "landed" at sea and is undamaged.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 05, 2018, 11:58:30 AM
Watching the live feed of Space X's launch and the falcon 9 just started spinning out of control on re-entry. They killed the feed. This could be a news day  :corn
Interesting. Musk has said it "landed" at sea and is undamaged.

I saw a fan video from the sidelines and it looked like a soft touchdown, but there were trees in the way. I couldn't see where it ultimately ended up. SpaceX has been really good about releasing their best footage regardless of the outcome of the event. Hoping for some good footage in the coming hours/days. Also, it wasn't supposed to be a water landing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on December 05, 2018, 12:20:21 PM
Watching the live feed of Space X's launch and the falcon 9 just started spinning out of control on re-entry. They killed the feed. This could be a news day  :corn
Interesting. Musk has said it "landed" at sea and is undamaged.

I saw a fan video from the sidelines and it looked like a soft touchdown, but there were trees in the way. I couldn't see where it ultimately ended up. SpaceX has been really good about releasing their best footage regardless of the outcome of the event. Hoping for some good footage in the coming hours/days. Also, it wasn't supposed to be a water landing.
Which is why I labeled it as interesting.  :lol

And he said they dispatched a boat to pick it up, so yeah, it's in the drink.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 05, 2018, 12:58:04 PM
Here's a good video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNpDWSfSd8k
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on December 20, 2018, 09:22:29 AM
(https://i.imgur.com/b1qIYu0.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on December 20, 2018, 09:35:40 AM
Poor Mars  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: ich bin besser on December 20, 2018, 09:59:10 AM
Very cool message from Alexander Gerst (latest commander of the ISS) to mankind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UfpkRFPIJk&feature=youtu.be
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 09, 2019, 06:10:51 AM
I'm building a 22" tall Falcon Heavy lamp for my office.

(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/465x620q90/922/V7fp0p.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on January 09, 2019, 07:01:09 AM
Really cool idea. And it looks awesome!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Adami on January 09, 2019, 08:29:31 AM
I assume that's what Ben Grimm's dick looks like.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 09, 2019, 11:10:41 AM
Sheeeiiiit

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DwagUcwXQAE6CN1.jpg)

SpaceX is making awesome progress on their Starhopper. This is going to be for their hop tests (what they used to do with the grasshoppers when they first started testing vertical landings for Falcon 9) that will eventually become the Starship. I knew this thing was going to be massive, but this blows my mind. Look at the size of that thing compared to everything else, and this is just the testing vehicle. Starship will be even bigger.


Looking at the pic below, the first craft (starhopper) is what is pictured above. The second craft is what what the final product will be (starship). The third craft is the rocket that will lift it. The fourth craft is the current Falcon 9. The fifth craft is the starship mounted on the Super Heavy booster. I can't wait to hear the sound this thing makes as it takes off.
(https://ourplnt.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Starhopper-Starship-Super-Heavy-Falcon-9.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 17, 2019, 05:42:22 AM
^^ :tup Things are definitely brewing at Space X.

This is SpaceX’s very first human crew (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJFlVsDjt_U)

Those pressure suits looks so movie like or something.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 17, 2019, 06:09:04 AM
^^ :tup Things are definitely brewing at Space X.

This is SpaceX’s very first human crew (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJFlVsDjt_U)

Those pressure suits looks so movie like or something.

For some reason, this is what it made me think of.

(https://guyonawire.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/rufus.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Architeuthis on January 21, 2019, 08:02:21 AM
(https://i.imgur.com/b1qIYu0.jpg)
After reading that comic, your sig ties in with it well.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on January 21, 2019, 10:06:31 AM
Anyone see the Blood moon last night? I couldn't do a proper focus with the tripod with my 200mm lens as the moon was directly above me and had to lie down on the grass to take the shot. I might have to upgrade to a 300mm lens soon.

(https://i.imgur.com/cvEQR3c.jpg?1)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on January 21, 2019, 08:55:26 PM
I hear you. I only have a 200mm as well. Need to shell out to get a 200-500 one of these days.

I took a pic though!

(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/361328053462499328/536781586876858368/DSC_4482.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on January 21, 2019, 10:14:22 PM
That's so much better than mine, so much sharper. I just couldn't focus correctly as it was really cold outside with the damn moon exactly above me. What settings did you end up with for that shot?
Mine was f/10 at 1/8 sec exposure and ISO 4000.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on January 21, 2019, 10:35:59 PM
I shot at 200mm on a tripod with a 1 second exposure, 400 ISO I think, at f/2.8. Manually focusing was a pain for sure.

Why were you stopped all the way down to f/10? Even most kit tele lenses open up to f/5.6.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on January 22, 2019, 01:16:18 AM
It was too early in the morning where I live... at least I saw it yesterday all big and shiny and yellowish, and even this morning it was still quite big and bright as I was going to work!

Also I have now a moon shaped lamp on my desk, which changes colors, it's quite cool actually, I saw it online and I couldn't resist buying it  ;D
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Architeuthis on January 22, 2019, 04:45:54 AM
I hear you. I only have a 200mm as well. Need to shell out to get a 200-500 one of these days.

I took a pic though!

(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/361328053462499328/536781586876858368/DSC_4482.jpg)
That's a really great shot!  Very clear and detailed of the moon, and the stars show up nicely. I seriously need to invest in a good camera.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on January 22, 2019, 06:14:28 AM
I shot at 200mm on a tripod with a 1 second exposure, 400 ISO I think, at f/2.8. Manually focusing was a pain for sure.

Why were you stopped all the way down to f/10? Even most kit tele lenses open up to f/5.6.

I took shots at many different settings but after I uploaded them to my computer saw the stops at 5.6 and lower were all out of focus. So the marginally good focus one was what I posted.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on January 22, 2019, 07:00:20 AM
Ah fair enough. It is a pain to manually focus on night sky objects. I took like 30-40 shots I think, refocusing every few and adjusting settings. That was the best one I think.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on January 22, 2019, 02:34:27 PM
Awesome pic Implode

Here are my before and after shots, and the after is not that great sicne my camera does not do well in the low light, and it was pretty tough to see this with my own eyes too.

(https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/50595945_379247115987214_4793206750993973248_o.jpg?_nc_cat=107&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=5ebe23cd57d397359ac69af0b56fda6e&oe=5CBEE08D)

(https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/50574228_379247085987217_8461135695388344320_o.jpg?_nc_cat=106&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=a49bcc27b12fa3656cc715d678b3f207&oe=5CF89C67)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on January 22, 2019, 07:35:02 PM
Saw this on Reddit. It's an area in the universe they call the Bootes void. There are no galaxies in this area that is 330 Million light years wide. Just another fascinating thing about the universe to add to the countless others.



(https://i.imgur.com/Bmem2ko.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 22, 2019, 11:47:26 PM
That's cool! Had a google, apparently the KBC void is the largest known void of 2 billion light years wide followed by 'The Giant Nothing' 1.8 billion and the 'Giant Void' 1.3 billion.
I love the names.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on January 23, 2019, 01:21:43 AM
Didn't know that! yes, indeed the universe is so full of many weird and fascinating thing. I wondered what the hell even happened there, to create such a void!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Polarbear on January 23, 2019, 04:23:02 AM
Didn't know that! yes, indeed the universe is so full of many weird and fascinating thing. I wondered what the hell even happened there, to create such a void!

I don't even want to think about it...

But yeah, still a beautiful picture.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 23, 2019, 05:43:02 AM
Awesome pic Implode

Here are my before and after shots, and the after is not that great sicne my camera does not do well in the low light, and it was pretty tough to see this with my own eyes too.

*Moon pics*



My favorite part about these two photos is the rotation of the moon between them.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on January 23, 2019, 07:15:33 AM
Didn't know that! yes, indeed the universe is so full of many weird and fascinating thing. I wondered what the hell even happened there, to create such a void!

There are some people who believe those spots represent areas where our universe "collided with another universe". Though I don't subscribe to those believe it's still fascinating to think about.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on January 23, 2019, 08:00:04 AM
My favorite part about these two photos is the rotation of the moon between them.

Yea I thought that was cool too, and I was looking at Implode's picture and seeing how his moon was rotated from mine too

And the Voids are really interesting to think about, but geeze is it also kind of startling of that vast seemingly nothingness. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on January 23, 2019, 08:20:07 AM
Didn't know that! yes, indeed the universe is so full of many weird and fascinating thing. I wondered what the hell even happened there, to create such a void!

There are some people who believe those spots represent areas where our universe "collided with another universe". Though I don't subscribe to those believe it's still fascinating to think about.
Based on my five minutes of astronomical research, I'd speculate that nothing whatsoever happened to create anything. There are still plenty of galaxies in there. There just aren't enough, close enough to create the glow we see all around it. Moreover, to get that glow we're seeing all of these galaxies in 3 dimensions. We're probably just pointing a camera to a position where there'e not a significant alignment of galaxies. If you walk along the edge of a forest there will be places where you see solid tree, places where you can see somewhat deep into the forest, and a couple of places where you can see the other side, even though there's probably a uniform consistency of trees. In a few billions years when the parallax has changed enough it'll probably look like the rest of the known universe, and new voids will have appeared.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on January 23, 2019, 02:00:13 PM
So apparently, a meteorite hit the moon while the eclipse was happening.

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/watch-moon-get-rocked-meteorite-during-weekend-s-lunar-eclipse-ncna961441
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Phoenix87x on January 29, 2019, 05:09:22 AM
If you want a cool conversation about the size and scope of the universe, here goes Physicist Brian Cox on Joe Rogan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wieRZoJSVtw

You may have to go back to the beginning of the video.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 29, 2019, 05:48:33 AM
If you want a cool conversation about the size and scope of the universe, here goes Physicist Brian Cox on Joe Rogan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wieRZoJSVtw

You may have to go back to the beginning of the video.

I can't wait to watch that later. I'm a huge fan of Brian Cox and his "Wonders of the ______" series.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 29, 2019, 12:53:18 PM
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2012/02/06/146490064/remembering-roger-boisjoly-he-tried-to-stop-shuttle-challenger-launch?fbclid=IwAR1voQB4HWpDqotoJuGxYYe-905o218sQGED6REGOA82g1d4U80rkscB7cY

Quote
The explosion of Challenger and the deaths of its crew, including Teacher-in Space Christa McAuliffe, traumatized the nation and left Boisjoly disabled by severe headaches, steeped in depression and unable to sleep. When I visited him at his Utah home in April of 1987, he was thin, tearful and tense. He huddled in the corner of a couch, his arms tightly folded on his chest.

"I'm very angry that nobody listened," Boisjoly told me. And he asked himself, he said, if he could have done anything different. But then a flash of certainty returned.

"We were talking to the right people," he said. "We were talking to the people who had the power to stop that launch."

Boisjoly testified before the Challenger Commission and filed unsuccessful lawsuits against Thiokol and NASA. He continued to suffer and was ostracized by some of his colleagues. One said he'd drop his kids on Boisjoly's doorstep if they all lost their jobs, according to his wife Roberta.

"He took it very hard," she recalls. "He had always been held in such high esteem and it hurt so bad when they wouldn't listen to him."

The story is nothing new but it's sad to hear how that haunted him for the rest of his life.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on January 29, 2019, 01:29:21 PM
I remember reading about some anonymous engineer(s) who worked on the shuttle, and how they'd tried to warn the powers-that-be.  The NPR article provides the details to a story I was already pretty sure I'd guessed.  Obviously something went very wrong, and it seemed basically impossible that nobody had any idea.  Therefore someone did know, and of course they'd tried to warn them.  Boisjoly didn't just try to warn them; he did, and NASA basically said "Nah, rescheduling would be a hassle.  Let's do this anyway."  Fucking bean counters.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 29, 2019, 03:04:18 PM
I always feel terrible for that guy, and I know it doesn't help, but he did all he could do.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 29, 2019, 03:05:31 PM
3D printing an Apollo astronaut.

(https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/50779153_10161325973060111_5818480517598674944_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&_nc_ht=scontent.fbed1-1.fna&oh=49381b028e144ef7ba1fe97b26caf380&oe=5CF2D139)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on January 29, 2019, 03:45:21 PM
I remember reading about some anonymous engineer(s) who worked on the shuttle, and how they'd tried to warn the powers-that-be.  The NPR article provides the details to a story I was already pretty sure I'd guessed.  Obviously something went very wrong, and it seemed basically impossible that nobody had any idea.  Therefore someone did know, and of course they'd tried to warn them.  Boisjoly didn't just try to warn them; he did, and NASA basically said "Nah, rescheduling would be a hassle.  Let's do this anyway."  Fucking bean counters.
Well, it was a little more than "rescheduling would be a hassle," but it was still highly flawed. NASA just has issues with complacency, and what the Apollo guys used to call go-fever. They look for reasons why what they do is safe, rather than why it's unsafe.

Boisjoly was the one raising flags, but his program director was the one pleading with NASA the night before. Al here now makes his living giving talks on ethics. Short but excellent interview and describes very well what went down before, during, and after, including when Thiokol demoted him during the investigation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbtY_Wl-hYI
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: millahh on January 29, 2019, 04:58:34 PM
I remember reading about some anonymous engineer(s) who worked on the shuttle, and how they'd tried to warn the powers-that-be.  The NPR article provides the details to a story I was already pretty sure I'd guessed.  Obviously something went very wrong, and it seemed basically impossible that nobody had any idea.  Therefore someone did know, and of course they'd tried to warn them.  Boisjoly didn't just try to warn them; he did, and NASA basically said "Nah, rescheduling would be a hassle.  Let's do this anyway."  Fucking bean counters.
Well, it was a little more than "rescheduling would be a hassle," but it was still highly flawed. NASA just has issues with complacency, and what the Apollo guys used to call go-fever. They look for reasons why what they do is safe, rather than why it's unsafe.

Boisjoly was the one raising flags, but his program director was the one pleading with NASA the night before. Al here now makes his living giving talks on ethics. Short but excellent interview and describes very well what went down before, during, and after, including when Thiokol demoted him during the investigation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbtY_Wl-hYI

I'm assuming most of this crowd would have read it before, but if you haven't, Feynman's minority report on the Challenger explosion is an absolute must-read.

https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/51-l/docs/rogers-commission/Appendix-F.txt
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on February 01, 2019, 07:40:59 AM
If you want a cool conversation about the size and scope of the universe, here goes Physicist Brian Cox on Joe Rogan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wieRZoJSVtw

You may have to go back to the beginning of the video.

I can't wait to watch that later. I'm a huge fan of Brian Cox and his "Wonders of the ______" series.

I've been watching 15-20 minutes or so of this at a time each night the past few nights. Utterly fascinating stuff. And, the way he handles/approaches the 'God talk' is extremely respectful and not condescending....which is not a common occurrence among really smart people like this guy.  Seems like a legit good all around person.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 01, 2019, 07:43:12 AM
If you want a cool conversation about the size and scope of the universe, here goes Physicist Brian Cox on Joe Rogan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wieRZoJSVtw

You may have to go back to the beginning of the video.

I can't wait to watch that later. I'm a huge fan of Brian Cox and his "Wonders of the ______" series.

I've been watching 15-20 minutes or so of this at a time each night the past few nights. Utterly fascinating stuff. And, the way he handles/approaches the 'God talk' is extremely respectful and not condescending....which is not a common occurrence among really smart people like this guy.  Seems like a legit good all around person.

Which series are you currently watching?

I think he's the closest living person we have to Carl Sagan in regards to presentation style and scientific expression/communication.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 01, 2019, 08:03:00 AM
If you want a cool conversation about the size and scope of the universe, here goes Physicist Brian Cox on Joe Rogan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wieRZoJSVtw

You may have to go back to the beginning of the video.

I can't wait to watch that later. I'm a huge fan of Brian Cox and his "Wonders of the ______" series.

I've been watching 15-20 minutes or so of this at a time each night the past few nights. Utterly fascinating stuff. And, the way he handles/approaches the 'God talk' is extremely respectful and not condescending....which is not a common occurrence among really smart people like this guy.  Seems like a legit good all around person.
Yea I really like Brian, he's probably one of my favourite science communicators.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on February 01, 2019, 10:50:02 AM
If you want a cool conversation about the size and scope of the universe, here goes Physicist Brian Cox on Joe Rogan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wieRZoJSVtw

You may have to go back to the beginning of the video.

I can't wait to watch that later. I'm a huge fan of Brian Cox and his "Wonders of the ______" series.

I've been watching 15-20 minutes or so of this at a time each night the past few nights. Utterly fascinating stuff. And, the way he handles/approaches the 'God talk' is extremely respectful and not condescending....which is not a common occurrence among really smart people like this guy.  Seems like a legit good all around person.

Which series are you currently watching?

I think he's the closest living person we have to Carl Sagan in regards to presentation style and scientific expression/communication.

I just followed that link to the Joe Roegan interview. That’s the first I’ve ever heard of him.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 01, 2019, 11:03:15 AM
If you want a cool conversation about the size and scope of the universe, here goes Physicist Brian Cox on Joe Rogan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wieRZoJSVtw

You may have to go back to the beginning of the video.

I can't wait to watch that later. I'm a huge fan of Brian Cox and his "Wonders of the ______" series.

I've been watching 15-20 minutes or so of this at a time each night the past few nights. Utterly fascinating stuff. And, the way he handles/approaches the 'God talk' is extremely respectful and not condescending....which is not a common occurrence among really smart people like this guy.  Seems like a legit good all around person.

Which series are you currently watching?

I think he's the closest living person we have to Carl Sagan in regards to presentation style and scientific expression/communication.

I just followed that link to the Joe Roegan interview. That’s the first I’ve ever heard of him.

Ahhh. Gotcha. He's got a couple of shows that I've watched probably a half dozen times each (late night in bed material):

- Wonders of the Universe:
- Wonders of the Solar System:
- Wonders of Life

All of them are excellent. I was just looking for them on Amazon and never realized they have a Blueray (dvd available) box set with all three series. I think I'm going to order it.

https://www.amazon.com/Collection-Wonders-System-Universe-Blu-ray/dp/B00GLXJWW2/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1549044094&sr=1-2&keywords=wonders+of+life 

Edit: That box set is region locked :(
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on February 14, 2019, 04:47:48 AM
Opportunity, the rover that was operating on Mars since 2004, has ceased operations. The sandstorms in which it got involved  influenced its operativity and since last August it was no longer possible to reconnect to it.

RIP Opportunity, thanks for all the postcards from Mars!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on February 14, 2019, 05:10:03 AM
Don’t know why, but this hurts.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 14, 2019, 06:32:07 AM
Can't really ask for anything more out of a machine. It did good.

Rover and out   :hat
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on February 14, 2019, 08:16:40 AM
I remember that when this started the ops crews that were supposed to keep them running were working on a 90 day plan. They were living off of junk food and planning for their next jobs as the rover program was clearly winding down. When days turned into years they didn't really have any sort of plan for it. Good problem to have, I suppose. Presumably at some point they were able to transition from cots and Doritos to something more like a real job. Certainly a big success story for JPL.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 14, 2019, 08:53:12 AM
I remember that when this started the ops crews that were supposed to keep them running were working on a 90 day plan.

This is something I've been trying to read up on and can't find much (mainly because of all the articles posted yesterday). I highly doubt the rover was only "designed" to last for 90 days like a lot of the articles imply. If that was the case, the engineers would have saved weight and material anywhere they could, and the thing would have fallen apart well before the decade mark. The wheels would have been thin as paper and would have disintegrated long ago if the hardware was to last for only 90 days. Rather, I think the primary mission was only planned to last 90 days. The rover had to function at 100% capacity for at least that period of time, but I'm pretty sure the engineers and NASA were planning on being able to use certain instruments for years if they were able to obtain the funding. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on February 14, 2019, 09:02:09 AM
I remember that when this started the ops crews that were supposed to keep them running were working on a 90 day plan.

This is something I've been trying to read up on and can't find much (mainly because of all the articles posted yesterday). I highly doubt the rover was only "designed" to last for 90 days like a lot of the articles imply. If that was the case, the engineers would have saved weight and material anywhere they could, and the thing would have fallen apart well before the decade mark. The wheels would have been thin as paper and would have disintegrated long ago if the hardware was to last for only 90 days. Rather, I think the primary mission was only planned to last 90 days. The rover had to function at 100% capacity for at least that period of time, but I'm pretty sure the engineers and NASA were planning on being able to use certain instruments for years if they were able to obtain the funding.
My take is that they weren't expecting to be able to power it beyond 90 days. The wind storms cleaning the solar panels was an unexpected bonus. Rather than shutting down once the first storm covered it with dust, it cleaned the panels and basically hit reset on the power supply. As for construction, they had to plan for it surviving in a very harsh environment. My hunch is that they built the thing to last 100 years. That just wasn't the limiting factor they were anticipating.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Samsara on February 14, 2019, 11:38:07 AM
Opportunity, the rover that was operating on Mars since 2004, has ceased operations. The sandstorms in which it got involved  influenced its operativity and since last August it was no longer possible to reconnect to it.

RIP Opportunity, thanks for all the postcards from Mars!

RIP OPP!

Man, what an incredible ride. Here's hoping we put people on Mars soon. Have to keep pushing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: chknptpie on February 15, 2019, 09:37:52 AM
Sad about the rover. What happens to @SarcasticRover now?

Got to see Captain Scott Kelly speak last night and he was great. If you ever get the chance, I would recommend seeing him.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 25, 2019, 11:51:46 AM
Quote
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - NASA gave its final go-ahead on Friday to billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX company to conduct its first unmanned test flight of a newly designed crew capsule to the International Space Station on March 2.

The approval cleared a key hurdle for SpaceX in its quest to help NASA revive America’s human spaceflight program, stalled since space shuttle missions came to an end in 2011.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-spacex-boeing/nasa-clears-spacex-test-flight-to-space-station-idUSKCN1QB2OT?utm_source=reddit.com

Always exciting when things go forward.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 25, 2019, 01:22:01 PM
Very excited for that launch. One of my oldest friends has been writing code for the Dragon 2 for about 2.5 years now.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 27, 2019, 12:10:43 PM
Very excited for that launch. One of my oldest friends has been writing code for the Dragon 2 for about 2.5 years now.
That's cool, do he work for SpaceX?
Must be quite the emotional ride when you worked on something for a long time knowing it might blow up in a sec.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 27, 2019, 12:19:03 PM
Very excited for that launch. One of my oldest friends has been writing code for the Dragon 2 for about 2.5 years now.
That's cool, do he work for SpaceX?
Must be quite the emotional ride when you worked on something for a long time knowing it might blow up in a sec.

Yeah, he's been there for about 6 or 7 years now. He worked at JPL prior to that. Everything he writes is for the pre-launch side of the mission. So when it comes to Falcon 9 and the Dragon 2 capsule, he writes code that handles all the safety checks in the minutes leading up to launch.

He gave me a tour of Space X on a Sunday once when I visited him out in Cali. This was several years before the grass hopper program, so the facility wasn't nearly as busy as it probably is on a Sunday today. He basically has these massive tables with every bit of electronic hardware that's on the rockets and capsules mounted in an orderly fashion. The 'on board' cpu(s) doesn't/don't know the difference between the table and a launchpad, and he simulates all kinds of scenarios with the hardware. A lot of the stuff he checks will help determine the go/no go for launch. It's pretty cool stuff.

He telecommutes now out of NYC. Kinda of bummed, I'd love to go back out there and see the facility a few years later.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on March 03, 2019, 08:59:56 AM
Go see the Apollo 11 IMAX documentary, if it's playing near you.  NASA apparently commissioned a documentary filed on 70mm film, but these were never used and have been in storage until now.  The found film was synced with audio recordings of crew and mission control transmissions, and the clips were shown in their entirety, rather than a few seconds here and there.  The on-board color film cameras show a large amount of mission detail, with the landing and Neil's first steps shown through the LM window in color, rather than the crap quality TV broadcast.  The whole film was arranged chronologically from launch to splashdown with no interviews or any other historical hyperbole.  You get a full picture of the entire mission sequence, with stage separations, engine burns, rendezvous and docking, landing, etc.

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/apollo-11-2019


https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/12/apollo-11-50th-year-anniversary
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 03, 2019, 09:09:42 AM
Yea i'm really eager to see that!

Very excited for that launch. One of my oldest friends has been writing code for the Dragon 2 for about 2.5 years now.
That's cool, do he work for SpaceX?
Must be quite the emotional ride when you worked on something for a long time knowing it might blow up in a sec.

Yeah, he's been there for about 6 or 7 years now. He worked at JPL prior to that. Everything he writes is for the pre-launch side of the mission. So when it comes to Falcon 9 and the Dragon 2 capsule, he writes code that handles all the safety checks in the minutes leading up to launch.

He gave me a tour of Space X on a Sunday once when I visited him out in Cali. This was several years before the grass hopper program, so the facility wasn't nearly as busy as it probably is on a Sunday today. He basically has these massive tables with every bit of electronic hardware that's on the rockets and capsules mounted in an orderly fashion. The 'on board' cpu(s) doesn't/don't know the difference between the table and a launchpad, and he simulates all kinds of scenarios with the hardware. A lot of the stuff he checks will help determine the go/no go for launch. It's pretty cool stuff.

He telecommutes now out of NYC. Kinda of bummed, I'd love to go back out there and see the facility a few years later.
Seems like everything went accordingly with Falcon 9 and Dragon.  :tup Saw the launch but missed the docking, never gets old seeing the boosters land. One thing I can't help wonder about is why they don't have a camera further away from the platform instead of on the platform because obviously the quality will be shit when a rocket lands a couple of meters away.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on March 04, 2019, 08:30:24 AM
Go see the Apollo 11 IMAX documentary, if it's playing near you.  NASA apparently commissioned a documentary filed on 70mm film, but these were never used and have been in storage until now.  The found film was synced with audio recordings of crew and mission control transmissions, and the clips were shown in their entirety, rather than a few seconds here and there.  The on-board color film cameras show a large amount of mission detail, with the landing and Neil's first steps shown through the LM window in color, rather than the crap quality TV broadcast.  The whole film was arranged chronologically from launch to splashdown with no interviews or any other historical hyperbole.  You get a full picture of the entire mission sequence, with stage separations, engine burns, rendezvous and docking, landing, etc.

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/apollo-11-2019


https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/12/apollo-11-50th-year-anniversary
Sounds like a modern version of For All Mankind (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_All_Mankind). That utilized mostly footage from the crew's cameras while they told their stories. The new one sounds like something I want to check out.



edit: When did IMAX become another word for "movie?"  Seems all we have around here are slightly wider, slightly curved screens. IMAX screens should be domed, or at the very least 8 stories tall. What a gyp.

This is what IMAX is supposed to look like:
(https://2kjg71jduj425tzze1k85t91-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/omni-header-960x467-e1526485397957.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on March 05, 2019, 06:13:18 PM
Yeah, the theater by me has a fake IMAX.  I don't see it being substantially different from a regular movie.  TBH, I don't even know if this is being shown in non IMAX theaters.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on March 06, 2019, 07:23:07 AM
Yea, it seemed like IMAX was a special theater like your picture and were found in like science centers but now it seems like movie theaters have an IMAX theater now and its just a bigger screen, maybe better sound too I think.  I remember seeing the Hobbit in 60fps 3D in one of those, it was very nice, but just felt like a bigger screen vs. an immersive experience.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 06, 2019, 07:26:15 AM
How do the theaters get away with branding something as "Imax" without it actually being one?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: The Walrus on March 06, 2019, 07:31:26 AM
Maybe they're IMAX brand without being THE IMAX? I dunno. A legit IMAX experience is insane though. The only one I've seen was The Dark Knight and it was amazing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on March 06, 2019, 07:36:04 AM
It looks like there's some different specs for Imax

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMAX

also I said 60fps above with The Hobbit, I meant 48fps as I am reading this.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on March 06, 2019, 08:09:46 AM
I checked and neither of our domed IMAX theaters are showing this. My guess is that it'll hit those once it becomes second or third release, so I'll keep an eye out for it. The Omni in Ft Worth shows midnight movies on the thing for the stoner set, so that's where I'd wind up seeing it.

Also, I believe what we're calling proper IMAX is technically Omnimax. That's what designates a domed screen. IMAX likely just refers to the 70mm format (which isn't even used much in modern releases).
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on March 06, 2019, 09:01:26 AM
I checked and neither of our domed IMAX theaters are showing this. My guess is that it'll hit those once it becomes second or third release, so I'll keep an eye out for it. The Omni in Ft Worth shows midnight movies on the thing for the stoner set, so that's where I'd wind up seeing it.

Also, I believe what we're calling proper IMAX is technically Omnimax. That's what designates a domed screen. IMAX likely just refers to the 70mm format (which isn't even used much in modern releases).

From the wiki:
Quote
IMAX has since renamed the system IMAX Dome
in referring to Omnimax so yea you're about right, its just that IMAX has changed things over time and just the term IMAX could refer to quite a few different types of set ups now.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 06, 2019, 01:52:57 PM
Really cool footage of the B1051 booster returning to port:

SpaceX - Demo-1 Return To Port 03-05-2019 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB-DJawiCAs)

That thing looks freakin huge, especially when you have humans for scale.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 08, 2019, 06:31:24 AM
Dragon 2 re-enters in 15 minutes.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 08, 2019, 07:12:33 AM
Couldn’t follow it but it seems the splashdown have gone well. Overall the mission seems to have been a success. Exciting times ahead to be a space nerd now!  :)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Phoenix87x on April 09, 2019, 01:13:19 PM
Black hole photo should be coming out soon

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/08/opinion/black-hole.html
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: ReaperKK on April 09, 2019, 06:36:28 PM
Black hole photo should be coming out soon

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/08/opinion/black-hole.html

Looking forward to seeing this!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on April 09, 2019, 09:20:48 PM
We won't be able to see anything.












 :yarr
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: The Walrus on April 10, 2019, 07:59:31 AM
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47873592

And there it is...
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 10, 2019, 08:09:16 AM
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47873592

And there it is...

"What we see is larger than the size of our entire Solar System," he said.

"It has a mass 6.5 billion times that of the Sun. And it is one of the heaviest black holes that we think exists. It is an absolute monster, the heavyweight champion of black holes in the Universe."


I have a hard time wrapping my head around statements like that.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 10, 2019, 08:11:07 AM
Just an FYI

Falcon Heavy launch is slated for 6:35ET tonight.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on April 10, 2019, 08:23:35 AM
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47873592

And there it is...

"What we see is larger than the size of our entire Solar System," he said.

"It has a mass 6.5 billion times that of the Sun. And it is one of the heaviest black holes that we think exists. It is an absolute monster, the heavyweight champion of black holes in the Universe."


I have a hard time wrapping my head around statements like that.

Same here. It's one of the fascinating things about the universe.

I always like those "look how small we are" videos on YouTube where you see the size of planets and then starts and you're just losing your perspective halfway through.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on April 10, 2019, 08:25:43 AM
Maybe I’m wrong, but I thought we had images like this already? Not simulations or CGI, but images very similar to what was released today?

Nonetheless is pretty good image.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on April 10, 2019, 10:41:08 AM
The article mentions "a perfectly circular dark hole" and "The edge of the dark circle".  Shouldn't it be spherical?  Circles are two-dimensional.  This object is clearly three-dimensional and is therefore a sphere, not a circle.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: The Walrus on April 10, 2019, 10:44:22 AM
Circle referring to the shape on the image, I imagine, not the physical object itself.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on April 10, 2019, 10:48:39 AM
I understand its practically impossible to get a picture of a black hole, but this photo is kind of underwhelming.  Very cool we are trying to do this and understand black holes, I think they are so fascinating to think about, but this picture just doesn't really do anything for me.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 10, 2019, 11:10:56 AM
Maybe I’m wrong, but I thought we had images like this already? Not simulations or CGI, but images very similar to what was released today?

Nonetheless is pretty good image.
I found this:

Quote
Of course, the photo is not directly of the black hole itself but its shadow (by their very nature, that would be impossible). Black holes generate a gravity field so strong nothing – including visible light – can escape them. Instead, this image reveals the black hole's event horizon, the swirl of dust and gas and stars and, importantly, light (hence the image) that circles the edge of the black hole before being sucked inside, and the shadow of the black hole beyond. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 10, 2019, 12:33:30 PM
(https://preview.redd.it/dr07lvmcvgr21.jpg?width=768&auto=webp&s=12245f885f57728c45a0b59067f202907e39e6c2)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on April 10, 2019, 12:56:46 PM
 :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: orcus116 on April 10, 2019, 08:58:07 PM
I understand its practically impossible to get a picture of a black hole, but this photo is kind of underwhelming.  Very cool we are trying to do this and understand black holes, I think they are so fascinating to think about, but this picture just doesn't really do anything for me.

I'm of the same mindset. I don't doubt that a lot of work went into this and not to take anything away from it but I couldn't help but think "..oh" when I saw it and then promptly moved on with my life. I'm not sure what the expectations are but it's incredibly lackluster purely as an image.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 11, 2019, 03:05:51 AM
I feel compelled to listen to Into the Black Hole but i'm not complaining.  :biggrin:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on April 11, 2019, 03:07:59 AM
I feel compelled to listen to Into the Black Hole but i'm not complaining.  :biggrin:

I posted on FB a pic of the black hole and a quote from the song  ;D
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Phoenix87x on April 11, 2019, 05:17:50 AM
The article mentions "a perfectly circular dark hole" and "The edge of the dark circle".  Shouldn't it be spherical?  Circles are two-dimensional.  This object is clearly three-dimensional and is therefore a sphere, not a circle.

That's an interesting dynamic that I never considered. black holes being 3 dimensional as opposed to more of a flat circle. And I guess at the center would be a singularity? or something of that nature.

I had thought of them before as possible wormholes connecting to other parts of the universe, or possibly even their center singularity creating new universes, bubbling off.

Who knows, but I find this stuff pretty fascinating.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on April 11, 2019, 12:35:07 PM
Who knows, but I find this stuff pretty fascinating.

Yup, the "who knows" is what makes it so fascinating.  What's going on in a black hole is pretty much the universes biggest mystery (to me) and the idea that maybe time is warped inside is just such a ridiculous concept to wrap my head around.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 11, 2019, 12:58:35 PM
Yeah, a black hole is a hole in three dimensions. Freaking wild, man.

In one of his "Wonders" series, Brian Cox talked about how it's possible that a black hole may do this to space/time, basically creating a "worm hole" through space and time. But even looking at this illustration too long makes my head hurt. In the pic below, we're still looking at the black hole from a two dimensional perspective, as if we were representing space/time with a sheet of paper. That fold would happen an infinite number of times from an infinite number of angles if we recognize the "hole" as a sphere.

(https://i.stack.imgur.com/i2NTy.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 11, 2019, 01:03:06 PM
In this case I don't think a "simple" image of black hole really do it any justice for what it really is. Most people including me can't comprehend what the image actually tells other than: "scientists are saying that's a black hole", if you know what I mean. It's so far out maaaan!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on April 11, 2019, 01:30:38 PM
"Singularity" is just another way of scientists saying, "We don't know WTF it is."  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on April 12, 2019, 03:47:20 PM
Some pictures Scott Kelly took during his 1 year stint upstairs have been released and they're really something else. People should check them out.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/12/science/scott-kellys-photos-space.html

This one really interested me, albeit for strange reasons. It demonstrates an interesting thing that I only learned not too long ago flying over DFW. Check out LGA and EWR. The picture is flipped vertically, so it's a little hard to get your bearings, but once you do it's easy to navigate.

(https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/04/16/science/12KELLYPHOTOS15/merlin_153423882_44021e33-f790-4038-ac4d-8fdc42e912ff-superJumbo.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on April 12, 2019, 08:40:39 PM
Breathtaking photos... and this one reminds me of the opening sequences in 2001 : A Space Odyssey  :biggrin:

(https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/04/12/science/12KELLYPHOTOS19/12KELLYPHOTOS19-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&auto=webp)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on April 15, 2019, 02:17:41 AM
El Barto, I assume that's New York, right? I recognized the shape of Manhattan and the huge rectangular "hole" of Central Park  :D
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on April 15, 2019, 08:06:21 AM
El Barto, I assume that's New York, right? I recognized the shape of Manhattan and the huge rectangular "hole" of Central Park  :D
It's New York, but it's rotated 180°. I just find it interesting that all of the runways are "blacked out" from this angle. I spent several minutes trying to orient myself with that picture and the airports would usually be key reference points. I'd forgotten that happens.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on April 15, 2019, 09:21:45 AM
That is a cool picture, but it just needs to be rotated 90 degrees clockwise right?  It is interesting that the airports are dark, you can't see the runway lights from this picture, but is this by design to actually make it easier to see in the plane?  I wouldn't know, but being this area is local to me, it is a really cool picture.  You can see Metlife Stadium pretty well too and that whole dark space between the stadium and EWR is the secaucus swamp, right near where I work with the two lines through it being the turnpike extensions.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on April 15, 2019, 10:32:14 AM
Needs to be rotated 180°. That's what threw me at first.

And runway lights are louvered so that they're only visible to an aircraft between certain angles X and Z. I just didn't realize they were so dark outside of those angles. I figured you'd still see the runway area, but LGA is as dark as the water around it.

https://youtu.be/qaFe-MH6D3g?t=59
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on May 13, 2019, 07:33:29 PM
Probably the greatest Deep Space image we have from the Hubble Telescope, Hubble Legacy Field. I would recommend downloading the larger files (atleast 672MBs).

http://hubblesite.org/image/4492/news
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 10, 2019, 01:00:19 AM
Quote
Researchers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering have developed an ultra-sensitive light-detecting system that could enable astronomers to view galaxies, stars and planetary systems in superb detail.

The system works at room temperature — an improvement over similar technology that only works in temperatures nearing 270 degrees below zero Celsius, or minus 454 degrees Fahrenheit. A paper detailing the advance is published today in Nature Astronomy.

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/light-sensing-distant-galaxies-unprecedented-detail
This sounds exciting, will be cool to see how it will be used and what comes out of it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on July 18, 2019, 09:18:17 AM
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/18/739934923/meet-john-houbolt-he-figured-out-how-to-go-to-the-moon-but-few-were-listening

Not enough people know who this man was. I pay attention to these things and I never even noticed that he'd died. It's unlikely the Apollo program would have succeeded without him, yet he had to badger people to even get them to listen to him because he was an outsider. His plan was so much simpler than what NASA was proposing, and none of them could really imagine his plan happening until they really dug in and started thinking about it. Nowadays, and considering the challenges we've seen landing a rocket back here on Earth by throwing massive amounts of computation at it, it's laughable to even think about them landing an actual rocket on the moon in 1969.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on July 18, 2019, 06:56:50 PM
Speaking of the Apollo mission, I purposely watched Apollo 11 the documentary on bluray on the 16th for the first time. The majority of the documentary consists of never-before-released footage shot on 65mm film, and was scanned using a prototype 16K film scanner for the digitization. The result is a documentary looking as clean and as sharp as if it was shot only recently! If you have not seen it, I urge you to go check it out.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on July 31, 2019, 05:07:23 PM
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/18/739934923/meet-john-houbolt-he-figured-out-how-to-go-to-the-moon-but-few-were-listening

Not enough people know who this man was.
There is one episode of the HBO series From the Earth to the Moon that features him pretty well.  Also, my company had an Apollo 11 anniversary event with Tom Stafford as a guest speaker, and he mentioned him with great praise, too.

Speaking of the Apollo mission, I purposely watched Apollo 11 the documentary on bluray on the 16th for the first time. The majority of the documentary consists of never-before-released footage shot on 65mm film, and was scanned using a prototype 16K film scanner for the digitization. The result is a documentary looking as clean and as sharp as if it was shot only recently! If you have not seen it, I urge you to go check it out.
I saw it in a theater and was floored.  I love how it was simply the mission sequence and how that was more than enough drama without superlatives and people talking about how many elephants weigh as much as the Saturn V, or how many olympic swimming pools worth of propellant are fed to the engines.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on July 31, 2019, 07:22:23 PM
I saw it in a theater and was floored.  I love how it was simply the mission sequence and how that was more than enough drama without superlatives and people talking about how many elephants weigh as much as the Saturn V, or how many olympic swimming pools worth of propellant are fed to the engines.

Before I watched it (though I have heard many good things about it) I was a little skeptical. For one thing, I thought I've seen most (if not all) of the footage on Apollo 11. Also, I thought it would turn out more or less like the 2009 release of "For All Mankind" bluray (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/For-All-Mankind-Blu-ray/5271/), in which I didn't really like the editing, and the grainy TV footage just bugged the hell out of me. All in all, I am glad it is not produced in that fashion, and I too feel impressed by the presentation.

By the way, have you guys watched the BBC's recent documentary The Planets? I love it, and I would so totally buy it when it comes out on bluray.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 01, 2019, 02:57:45 PM
I saw it in a theater and was floored.  I love how it was simply the mission sequence and how that was more than enough drama without superlatives and people talking about how many elephants weigh as much as the Saturn V, or how many olympic swimming pools worth of propellant are fed to the engines.

Before I watched it (though I have heard many good things about it) I was a little skeptical. For one thing, I thought I've seen most (if not all) of the footage on Apollo 11. Also, I thought it would turn out more or less like the 2009 release of "For All Mankind" bluray (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/For-All-Mankind-Blu-ray/5271/), in which I didn't really like the editing, and the grainy TV footage just bugged the hell out of me. All in all, I am glad it is not produced in that fashion, and I too feel impressed by the presentation.
I honestly just assumed it was a more modern version of FAM. What's the difference?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 06, 2019, 08:42:24 AM
Did anyone know that the six Apollo missions left 96 bags of human feces on the Moon? I didn't but now I know and so do you.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on August 06, 2019, 08:48:19 AM
Did anyone know that the six Apollo missions left 96 bags of human feces on the Moon? I didn't but now I know and so do you.

The best trivia I knew was that they immediately knocked out the american flag planted by Apollo 11 and so they had to put the other ones more distant with following landings  :lol (and they're all bleached white by radiation anyway)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: The Walrus on August 06, 2019, 10:48:51 AM
Did anyone know that the six Apollo missions left 96 bags of human feces on the Moon? I didn't but now I know and so do you.

I've spent countless hours reading about the Moon - was just doing this the other night actually - and this is 100% new information to me. Hilarious. Even better, you should read about what a pain in the ass (badum pish) it was to use those fecal collection bags. They even had little finger inserts so you could, er, remove any troublemakers manually. Also hilarious.

EDIT: found it - https://jalopnik.com/i-took-a-dump-the-same-way-the-apollo-astronauts-did-an-1836637152
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 06, 2019, 01:45:42 PM
Did anyone know that the six Apollo missions left 96 bags of human feces on the Moon? I didn't but now I know and so do you.

I've spent countless hours reading about the Moon - was just doing this the other night actually - and this is 100% new information to me. Hilarious. Even better, you should read about what a pain in the ass (badum pish) it was to use those fecal collection bags. They even had little finger inserts so you could, er, remove any troublemakers manually. Also hilarious.

EDIT: found it - https://jalopnik.com/i-took-a-dump-the-same-way-the-apollo-astronauts-did-an-1836637152
That's glorious!  :lol

Apollo Fecal Collection Bag:
(https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/dv8mu8347rlzsubazlid.png)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on August 06, 2019, 01:49:41 PM
 :rollin

Now why don't they sell those instead of the space food at the souvenir shops?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 17, 2019, 07:13:48 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaX6BK66v9A&feature=youtu.be

Seeing videos like that I sometimes wonder if we would even notice if alien lifeforms had infiltrated Earth? Whatever strange alien creature you could think of, i'll bet there's some version of it already in the depth of our oceans.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 17, 2019, 04:56:32 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaX6BK66v9A&feature=youtu.be

Seeing videos like that I sometimes wonder if we would even notice if alien lifeforms had infiltrated Earth? Whatever strange alien creature you could think of, i'll bet there's some version of it already in the depth of our oceans.

Assuming creatures in the oceans of other planets/moons require speed to survive and/or replicate them themselves, odds are they'd look extremely similar to what we have on Earth.   


That thing in the video is wicked. I want one in a home aquarium.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Adami on August 17, 2019, 05:25:29 PM
Looks like they accidentally killed it at the end there.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 28, 2019, 07:15:39 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYb3bfA6_sQ

SpaceX completed their 150M test hop of Starhopper yesterday  :metal Not only did it hover flawlessly, but they shifted pads as well.

I can't wait to hear 35 of these things singing in unison when Super Heavy launches.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on September 14, 2019, 06:00:31 AM
Black holes generate sound

http://news.mit.edu/2019/ringing-new-black-hole-first-0912
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on September 23, 2019, 07:25:22 AM
I know the majority of you who frequent this thread don't need an explanation as to 'how big' the universe is.....BUT.....I've watched this video about ten times now. It's one of the better one's I've seen out there that gives a quick, concise....clear picture of the magnitude of this Universe. It's pretty impossible to perceive.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy7NzjCmUf0
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: 1upmushroom on September 23, 2019, 11:28:26 PM
Quote
It's pretty impossible to perceive.

This made me think of the Total Perspective Vortex in the Hitchhiker's Guide.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on September 24, 2019, 11:18:07 AM
I know the majority of you who frequent this thread don't need an explanation as to 'how big' the universe is.....BUT.....I've watched this video about ten times now. It's one of the better one's I've seen out there that gives a quick, concise....clear picture of the magnitude of this Universe. It's pretty impossible to perceive.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy7NzjCmUf0

Cool!  I've always been fascinated with the vastness of the universe.  A place so big that even the speed of light is insignificant.  :omg:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on September 24, 2019, 02:28:45 PM
I saw a video a few months ago. It was not specifically about the size of the universe, but travelling through space with a constant acceleration and the effects of time dilation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_TkFhj9mgk&list=LLVozSErCdnL2uH0dEHmkmIQ&index=8&t=0s

It's a long video but really interesting nonetheless.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on September 24, 2019, 02:31:53 PM
I remember once a website had a very horizontally long page that showed the solar system in scale. You'd scroll relatively a bit for the terrestrial planets, and then from Mars onwards you'd have to scroll..... and scroll..... and scroll.... on and on and on before finally, eventually, at long last, stumbling upon Jupiter and then after a loooooooooooong scroll Saturn and so on.

The space was occupied by random writings, either some information about the solar system or stuff like "hang on, we're almost there".

EDIT: Found it! https://joshworth.com/dev/pixelspace/pixelspace_solarsystem.html
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on September 24, 2019, 03:34:10 PM
^Fascinating!!  This metaphor was absolutely mind blowing.

"If the proton of a hydrogen atom was the size of the sun on this map, we would need 11 more of these maps to show the average distance to the electron."  :omg:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 24, 2019, 04:42:00 PM
Venus could have supported life for millions of years (https://youtu.be/sB4XzrEv9dU)

I thought this was an interesting video and it's a fascinating thought that maybe there once was a human civilisation on Venus long before us on Earth that got wiped out. The thought of finding ruins of man made structers or even citys on another planet so close by is a cool and scary thought imo. Straight out of an apocalypse movie.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on September 25, 2019, 03:40:51 AM
^Fascinating!!  This metaphor was absolutely mind blowing.

"If the proton of a hydrogen atom was the size of the sun on this map, we would need 11 more of these maps to show the average distance to the electron."  :omg:

Indeed! I love when it says that we're pathetically insignificant or miraculously important at the same time, considering the huge void that makes up 99,999......% of the universe with us and the other planets being the remaining 0,00......1% of matter.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on September 29, 2019, 01:22:21 PM
https://james.darpinian.com/satellites/

A friend sent me this a few days ago.  Put in your location and it will give you the times and trajectories of satellites passing overhead.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 30, 2019, 06:25:12 AM
That satellite thing is cool  :tup



Musk unveiled the latest Starship yesterday. I can't wait to see this thing hop in the coming months and eventually be mounted on top of a Super Heavy booster.

(https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5ADGW_Q2TRxcz5mXEHmcp0nLb6o=/0x0:2040x1360/1820x1024/filters:focal(1159x590:1485x916):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65350279/pacalin_190928_3690_0005.0.0.jpg)
(https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5iLAkD3OuCnP9Y9xaoU0RhBsf7o=/0x0:2040x1360/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:2040x1360):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19242758/pacalin_190928_3690_0013.0.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 30, 2019, 12:08:38 PM
Can't wait for that! I have to admit it's a bit weird seeing a rocket in stainless steel like this.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on September 30, 2019, 12:17:11 PM
Certainly looks awesome
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 30, 2019, 12:45:02 PM
Can't wait for that! I have to admit it's a bit weird seeing a rocket in stainless steel like this.

For sure. I don't remember the exact numbers, but by  the time all is said and done, carbon fiber ends up costing about $200 per kilogram, whereas stainless steel only costs around $2.50 for the same amount. The stainless is also good for reentry too, which is kind of important I guess if you've got a few dozen people on board. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on October 16, 2019, 09:01:07 AM
"Former NASA scientist says they found life on Mars in the 1970s"

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/15/us/nasa-life-on-mars-intl-hnk-scli/index.html
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on November 11, 2019, 02:06:16 PM
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/zmj7pw/theres-growing-evidence-that-the-universe-is-connected-by-giant-structures?utm_source=reddit.com (https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/zmj7pw/theres-growing-evidence-that-the-universe-is-connected-by-giant-structures?utm_source=reddit.com)

damn, talk about being a grain of sand
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on November 11, 2019, 02:27:26 PM
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/zmj7pw/theres-growing-evidence-that-the-universe-is-connected-by-giant-structures?utm_source=reddit.com (https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/zmj7pw/theres-growing-evidence-that-the-universe-is-connected-by-giant-structures?utm_source=reddit.com)

damn, talk about being a grain of sand
The real takeaway from all of that is we simply don't have a damn clue. We celebrate new theories about how it all works, but in the end they're all just conjecture based on things we know absolutely nothing about, and observations based on what little of the universe we can see, with no idea how much of it lies beyond. Truth be told, I'd put about as much stock in Homer's doughnut shaped universe as I would in these guys and their cosmic superstructure. In the meantime, the course of human knowledge pretty much remains the same as we continue to base our theories on premises that are unfounded to begin with.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on November 11, 2019, 02:40:05 PM
Totally agree, but when I read stuff like that, it just makes me feel so small and unimportant.  Which is true, but I only get that feeling when I think about the universe or look at the stars. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 13, 2019, 06:57:24 AM
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/12/world/curiosity-rover-oxygen-scn/index.html

Quote
Since it landed in Gale Crater in 2012, the Curiosity rover has been studying the Martian surface beneath its wheels to learn more about the planet's history. But Curiosity also stuck its nose in the air for a big sniff to understand the Martian atmosphere.

So far, this sniffing has resulted in some findings that scientists are still trying to understand.
Earlier this year, the rover's tunable laser spectrometer, called SAM, which stands for Sample Analysis at Mars, detected the largest amount of methane ever measured during its mission.
SAM has also found that over time, oxygen behaves in a way that can't be explained by any chemical process scientists currently understand.

Interesting read overall.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 13, 2019, 04:36:30 PM
Starlink satellites visible from Earth: https://youtu.be/gRz3988El7Q

That's pretty nuts!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on November 13, 2019, 05:13:20 PM
Beautiful!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Adami on November 13, 2019, 05:17:51 PM
Wow! No way!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 14, 2019, 07:46:42 AM
That's crazy!   

Speaking of SpaceX, they successfully tested Dragon's launch escape system yesterday. One step closer to Crew Dragon  :metal

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EJSWeNzVUAANQ34.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on December 18, 2019, 01:26:13 PM
I love taking these pics... from last week's full moon.  I took this picture as I was leaving a concert in Denver.  Was chatting wtih a girl and she's like wow the full moon is so nice! So I said, you want a better look?  Since I had my concert camera on me, boom, in five seconds was showing her this:

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EMGGs8HW4AQu-ku?format=jpg&name=large)

Needless to say, we went to a bar afterwards  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on December 18, 2019, 01:30:00 PM
That's a nice picture!

What type of camera do you have?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on December 18, 2019, 01:36:46 PM
Panasonic Lumix DS60.  I use it for the optical zoom for concert videos which works great, but when I got the camera I was just trying to see if it could take a picture of the moon and somehow it takes really good ones handheld.  It's like a $200 camera these days, nothing high end at all.  I often sneak in video of the moon into my concert videos if it's part of the night, which it was and I included it in my Slackers video.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on December 21, 2019, 01:37:50 PM
Don’t know if this is the best place to post this, but we have a Space Force! Sixth military branch.

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-military/2019/12/21/the-space-force-is-officially-the-sixth-military-branch-heres-what-that-means/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on February 14, 2020, 07:12:57 AM
30 years ago today, Voyager 1 sent home the famous mosaic image of the solar system now known as "Pale Blue Dot".

On other news, Betelgeuse seems to be stabilizing and it might not go supernova after all  :tdwn

And here is a picture I took recently out my window when I couldn't sleep at 5am. Handheld image with a canon powershot sx720.

(https://i.imgur.com/GckBJFy.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on February 14, 2020, 07:21:10 AM
30 years ago today, Voyager 1 sent home the famous mosaic image of the solar system now known as "Pale Blue Dot".

 :hefdaddy

On other news, Betelgeuse seems to be stabilizing and it might not go supernova after all  :tdwn

Well, maybe it already did 1000 years ago and we're still seeing the light that had traveled since  :D

I randomly stumbled on a YT vid that explained that Betelgeuse is far enough to not pose any problems for us when it goes boom. Otherwise we would have all been royally screwed.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on February 14, 2020, 11:01:29 AM
Well, maybe it already did 1000 years ago and we're still seeing the light that had traveled since  :D

I randomly stumbled on a YT vid that explained that Betelgeuse is far enough to not pose any problems for us when it goes boom. Otherwise we would have all been royally screwed.

Yes, we are at a safe distant where the radiation will just give us a very nice show in the night sky, even to the naked eye. Also, I just saw this article and the findings are weird. The dimming seems to be happening only in part of the star, not all around.

https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/betelgeuses-shenanigans-just-got-weirder-only-part-of-it-is-dimming

(https://www.syfy.com/sites/syfy/files/vlt_betelgeuse_jan2019_dec2019.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on February 24, 2020, 09:29:21 AM
On other news, Betelgeuse seems to be stabilizing and it might not go supernova after all  :tdwn

Well, maybe it already did 1000 years ago and we're still seeing the light that had traveled since  :D

If that were the case, then we (humans) would've already seen it by now since it is somewhere between 500 & 600 lightyears away.  The dimming shown in the photographs already happened that long ago.  It could be a prelude to supernova.  I find this very exciting because I've always been fascinated and very interested in this star.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 29, 2020, 02:30:44 PM
HOW ROCKETS ARE MADE (Rocket Factory Tour - United Launch Alliance) - Smarter Every Day 231 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0fG_lnVhHw)

Really interesting episode. Impressive how informed the CEO is on everything.


Another video with Tory giving a tour of the Delta IV Heavy on pad right before rollback.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdPoVi_h0r0
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Architeuthis on March 04, 2020, 07:32:19 AM
Black holes generate sound


Especially after a large dose of refried beans..
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on March 06, 2020, 04:24:24 AM
If you have $55 million to spend, you can go to the ISS next year. But hurry up, one of the 3 available seats have been purchased.

www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2020/3/5/21166657/spacex-tourists-iss-international-space-station-orbit-falcon-9-dragon
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 18, 2020, 04:36:01 PM
Someone took this with his telescope from his backyard, that's really cool when you think about it.

Quote
I imaged from my Manorville NY USA Backyard. The International Space Stationwas was at the Max Pass of 84° / Dragon CRS-20 and more Spacecraft are docked to it and in my image and short video. The telescope was an Edge HD 14" with an Astrodon Red filter on a ZWO ASI174 mono camera and 1.6 barlow lens. Kind Regards To ALL :-)

(https://spaceweathergallery.com/submissions/pics/p/Philip-Smith-ISS-and-Dragon-CRS-20-c-Philip-Smith-3-12-20_1584456131_lg.gif)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on March 20, 2020, 10:02:55 AM
That is really cool for sure. And it would be so difficult since it moves accross the sky so quickly.

But, here is something to look forward to for the next couple weeks. Let's hope that we can get a good show.

https://spaceweatherarchive.com/2020/03/16/comet-atlas-is-brightening-faster-than-expected/

Here is chart someone to help locate the comet.

(https://i.imgur.com/BaJv4Y7.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 14, 2020, 03:33:43 PM
Why SpaceX Bought An Entire Village (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4ZNgremZ4U)

I'm not sure I know all the details but I don't understand why they buildt the facility so close to the village, from the footage it seems there's lots of empty land surrounding the village.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 23, 2020, 08:01:14 AM
Quote
https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-dragon-demo-2-go-for-launch.html

SpaceX is ready to make space history with its first astronaut launch for NASA next week.

No showstoppers were found during a crucial flight readiness review (FRR) for SpaceX's Demo-2 mission, keeping the company's first-ever crewed flight on track for a May 27 liftoff, NASA officials announced today (May 22).

"The Flight Readiness Review has concluded, and NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission is cleared to proceed toward liftoff on the first crewed flight of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program," NASA officials wrote in an update today.
Yes, finally!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on May 25, 2020, 12:22:29 PM
Why SpaceX Bought An Entire Village (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4ZNgremZ4U)

I'm not sure I know all the details but I don't understand why they buildt the facility so close to the village, from the footage it seems there's lots of empty land surrounding the village.
Highest elevation would be my guess. The chunk of land their on is only 9' ASL, and it's the highest point for miles. The houses are only 4 or 5. Outside of that plateau you're mostly looking at sea level.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 27, 2020, 12:50:29 PM
Pretty exciting day today! There's already 500K people tuned into the live stream and the launch is still an hour and forty five away. It's cool to see so much public excitement.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on May 27, 2020, 12:51:39 PM
It's all over the news as well this afternoon
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: CrimsonSunrise on May 27, 2020, 12:52:14 PM
Such a monumental day!  Let's hope the weather allows the historical launch to proceed!!  I am PUMPED!!!!!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on May 27, 2020, 12:53:57 PM
I am very excited for this. I was also looking forward to catching the live stream but it looks like I might have to work late  :tdwn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: CrimsonSunrise on May 27, 2020, 01:12:14 PM
I am very excited for this. I was also looking forward to catching the live stream but it looks like I might have to work late  :tdwn
Yeah, I'm at work and have a virtual meeting 3 mins before launch.  Hopefully I'll be able to have a live screen up to catch it ;)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 27, 2020, 01:34:02 PM
Very very excited for this!  :tup

Have to say their space suits still look so weird though  :lol I guess it's because they're diffrent to what you're usually seeing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Elite on May 27, 2020, 02:04:45 PM
I'm watching the live stream with the sound turned down. Don't really know why, but suddenly this seems like a pretty big deal.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Evermind on May 27, 2020, 02:06:07 PM
Timing works for me so I'm tuning in right now too! My best friends is very interested in the whole space thing and he sent me like 20 messages about this today, so I guess I'm going to watch :)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on May 27, 2020, 02:18:28 PM
Well that’s disappointing but hope it works for next scheduled time.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on May 27, 2020, 02:27:08 PM
Well, I am at least glad they made the right decision to postpone the launch.  Lessons learned from 34 years ago.  That was a horrible and tragic day in 1986.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on May 30, 2020, 12:29:27 PM
Just under an hour left to go! Hoping the weather cooperates today. Can't believe it's been almost a decade since the last shuttle.

https://youtu.be/pMsvr55cTZ0 (NASA livestream)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MinistroRaven on May 30, 2020, 12:33:12 PM
Waiting for SpaceX Dragon launch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21X5lGlDOfg

T: -50 minutes
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on May 30, 2020, 12:47:19 PM
Looking good for today
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 30, 2020, 12:52:23 PM
Yea it seems it's a go, looking forward to this!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: v_clortho on May 30, 2020, 01:15:14 PM
Wait. So the astronauts are Bob and Doug? If they don't tell them to "take off" I'll be very disappointed.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 30, 2020, 01:29:26 PM
Looks good so far. Would be so cool if they nail the booster landing also!  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 30, 2020, 01:32:48 PM
Nailed it!  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on May 30, 2020, 02:03:23 PM
It is so amazing to see the live view from inside the dragon capsule. Amazing stuff!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Northern Lion on May 30, 2020, 02:03:47 PM
This was so incredibly awesome to watch! My whole family sat in the living room to watch the launch.  Go SpaceX and Go NASA!  And they landed the Falcon rocket!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on May 30, 2020, 02:19:50 PM
Truly amazing! Glad everything went as planned
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: v_clortho on May 30, 2020, 04:41:35 PM
That was a little nerve wracking. Thank God it went as planned. Needed some positivity!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on May 30, 2020, 04:54:38 PM
Saw it live as well!  :metal go science!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on May 30, 2020, 08:11:17 PM
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XgY4NKoT9SQ

Cool video showing the inside of the capsule.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 31, 2020, 05:19:57 AM
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XgY4NKoT9SQ

Cool video showing the inside of the capsule.

That was really cool. It looks like SpaceX made that capsule look exactly like a commercial plane from the inside. It might even have a little more leg room  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 31, 2020, 10:38:49 AM
It seems like they're about to board ISS.  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on May 31, 2020, 01:16:39 PM
So glad they made it there safely, hoping the Dragon performs just as flawlessly on its return. 

Here's a cool docking simulator using the same touch screen controls they would have used had the automated system not been used: https://iss-sim.spacex.com/ (https://iss-sim.spacex.com/)

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 05, 2020, 02:04:11 PM
The SpaceX team at Boca Chica is removing a splinter that penatrated a building on the test site from the recent explosion. I don't know, I found it to be kinda funny how the workers are like "just another day at work".

https://youtu.be/B60oNzlS_ro?t=226
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on June 09, 2020, 06:21:00 AM
Pretty cool vid: https://old.reddit.com/r/elonmusk/comments/gyzy0o/elon_musk_spacex_gangstas_paradise/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on June 09, 2020, 09:46:00 AM
Pretty cool vid: https://old.reddit.com/r/elonmusk/comments/gyzy0o/elon_musk_spacex_gangstas_paradise/

That was very cool! on a side note, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who uses the old.reddit url. Don't like the new layout at all.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: ReaperKK on June 10, 2020, 06:29:02 PM
I tried new reddit once, never again.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on June 11, 2020, 11:09:24 AM
Ew old layout was the reason I could never care for reddit, now I love it
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on June 11, 2020, 11:17:02 AM
Ew old layout was the reason I could never care for reddit, now I love it

I'd never use Reddit outside of Reddit Is Fun on Android if they switch permanently to the new layout :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 12, 2020, 03:47:43 PM
Cool video footage of the payload fairings from the recent starlink launch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKWio4zHShM

Breakdown:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk8Ay3QmF6s

The way they deploy the satellites is kinda beautiful.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on June 12, 2020, 04:07:07 PM
I absolutely love that first video. I've never seen anything like it, in real life or in Hollywood. Beautiful.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 12, 2020, 04:13:34 PM
Yea it's really something else. I actually didn't know that SpaceX in 2017 was the first in history to retrive an intact fairing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on June 12, 2020, 04:29:35 PM
Oh yeah! Check out what they're doing with "Ms. Tree" (formerly Mr. Steven). It's freaking wild. The fairings cost $5M or $6M for the pair, almost 10% the cost of a Falcon 9. Recovering them is going to really add up once they nail it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on July 16, 2020, 08:47:12 AM
Has anyone been able to catch comet NEOWISE? I've been trying and every time I get low clouds in the horizon blocking the view. Yesterday was supposed to be clear and 1 hour before sunset, a band of clouds came in and stayed until 11pm, when it got really cloudy.

Also, today is the anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZyLwfrDyjc
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 16, 2020, 08:52:16 AM
Someone posted this on r/connecticut yesterday. Pretty cool shot! I've had no luck with seeing it.

(https://preview.redd.it/3fs1tqy9z2b51.jpg?width=511&auto=webp&s=f9a3452b6c2bab3bedc0a4f5c1e1423f850d7cb8)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on July 16, 2020, 01:00:41 PM
Someone posted this on r/connecticut yesterday. Pretty cool shot! I've had no luck with seeing it.

(https://preview.redd.it/3fs1tqy9z2b51.jpg?width=511&auto=webp&s=f9a3452b6c2bab3bedc0a4f5c1e1423f850d7cb8)
A friend and I are making a point to get some decent pictures of it. A point of getting away from the Dallas haze, mostly.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 23, 2020, 01:05:26 PM
Oh yeah! Check out what they're doing with "Ms. Tree" (formerly Mr. Steven). It's freaking wild. The fairings cost $5M or $6M for the pair, almost 10% the cost of a Falcon 9. Recovering them is going to really add up once they nail it.

SpaceX caught both fairings on their most recent launch. First time they've managed to catch both of them.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/07/21/spacex-shares-video-of-first-double-fairing-catch/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Northern Lion on July 23, 2020, 01:09:23 PM
Oh yeah! Check out what they're doing with "Ms. Tree" (formerly Mr. Steven). It's freaking wild. The fairings cost $5M or $6M for the pair, almost 10% the cost of a Falcon 9. Recovering them is going to really add up once they nail it.

SpaceX caught both fairings on their most recent launch. First time they've managed to catch both of them.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/07/21/spacex-shares-video-of-first-double-fairing-catch/

That is awesome news!  I hope that is able to become the norm for SpaceX.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 23, 2020, 01:20:27 PM
Oh yeah! Check out what they're doing with "Ms. Tree" (formerly Mr. Steven). It's freaking wild. The fairings cost $5M or $6M for the pair, almost 10% the cost of a Falcon 9. Recovering them is going to really add up once they nail it.

SpaceX caught both fairings on their most recent launch. First time they've managed to catch both of them.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/07/21/spacex-shares-video-of-first-double-fairing-catch/

That is awesome news!  I hope that is able to become the norm for SpaceX.
That's cool! First I thought how the hell are they going to catch those until they appeared slowly with parachute.  :facepalm:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 23, 2020, 01:24:26 PM
Oh yeah! Check out what they're doing with "Ms. Tree" (formerly Mr. Steven). It's freaking wild. The fairings cost $5M or $6M for the pair, almost 10% the cost of a Falcon 9. Recovering them is going to really add up once they nail it.

SpaceX caught both fairings on their most recent launch. First time they've managed to catch both of them.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/07/21/spacex-shares-video-of-first-double-fairing-catch/

That is awesome news!  I hope that is able to become the norm for SpaceX.
That's cool! First I thought how the hell are they going to catch those until they appeared slowly with parachute.  :facepalm:

They're remotely controlled as well. They can actually fly (falling with style). The boat and the fairings both steer into a central location. It's wild.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on July 30, 2020, 04:27:37 AM
From today the attempts to launch for Mars begin!

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/timeline/launch/

It was one of those things for which you could register and have a boarding pass, I checked and I still have mine, so I'm going to Mars!  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 30, 2020, 05:30:13 AM
Can't wait!! Very excited for this rover. T-minus twenty!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 30, 2020, 05:31:50 AM
Looking forward to this! ULAs Tory Bruno is such a cool guy with so much knowledge about Rockets.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/50163607127/

I'm following Everyday Astronauts livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcd7ePJ6nf8
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 30, 2020, 05:55:57 AM
Looking forward to this! ULAs Tory Bruno is such a cool guy with so much knowledge about Rockets.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/50163607127/

I'm following Everyday Astronauts livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcd7ePJ6nf8

Tim Dodd is a great watch.


I have to say, I really miss Space X's production quality when watching a launch from any other organization. They give us beautiful HD footage (in real time) the entire way up, and then they followup it up with gorgeuos shots of stage separation and fairing deployment. This NASA live stream is okay, but no one else really comes close.   
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 02, 2020, 12:09:07 PM
Watching the Crew Dragon re-entry.  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 02, 2020, 12:48:15 PM
aaaaand splashdown!  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on August 03, 2020, 06:47:49 AM
With the James Webb Space Telescope delayed again, some people decided to have some fun with it and create a BiNGO card.

(https://www.aaa.org/eyepiece/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/image2.png)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 03, 2020, 06:51:18 AM
 :lol :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 05, 2020, 12:01:58 PM
Cool seeing SN5 doing a successful hop, SpaceXs are on a roll now. Funny seeing a cylinder of stainless steel lifting, not the most sexy thing but it's a prototype so it dosen't matter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG9twP82Acw
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 22, 2020, 01:31:03 PM
https://twitter.com/ShuttleAlmanac/status/1307148793633075200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1307148793633075200%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nme.com%2Fnews%2Ffilm%2Ftom-cruise-is-officially-going-to-space-for-his-next-movie-2758685

Quote
So its confirmed that @CommanderMLA is flying the @Axiom_Space@SpaceX#CrewDragon tourist mission with Director @DougLiman & Tom Cruise. One seat still to be filled. They are to launch in October, 2021.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EiPs40jU4AEfCwU?format=jpg&name=4096x4096)

I mean, bring it on! Even if it's just a documentary about Tom going to space i'm so up for that.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on September 22, 2020, 05:15:45 PM
(some kind of joke about the millions of women, and men too, who want to go into space with Tom Cruise)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 15, 2020, 12:05:39 PM
(https://i.redd.it/4izbp7qb1at51.jpg)

ISS infront of a cresent moon, that's one photo you just don't take like that.  :omg: :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on October 15, 2020, 12:06:38 PM
Very cool
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on October 15, 2020, 02:27:23 PM
Multiple fields of focus, or something?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: hunnus2000 on October 15, 2020, 02:47:45 PM
(https://i.redd.it/4izbp7qb1at51.jpg)

ISS infront of a cresent moon, that's one photo you just don't take like that.  :omg: :tup

Now that's some seriously cool shit!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on October 15, 2020, 10:02:03 PM
That is an amazing shot for sure, I saw the guy's post on reddit  (https://old.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/jbppj8/yesterday_i_captured_an_incredibly_brief_and_rare/g8wnx3e/)and he explained all the planning that went into preparing for that shot.
Quote
This is a rare type of transit. The ISS when it transits the moon is vary rarely illuminated like this, and when it is, it is usually too low on the horizon to get decent details. So I had to make sure to travel to the location of the transit (a space about 200 feet wide and about 10 miles long) but it happened to pass thorugh mostly private property. Thankfully I found a public road that left me a good spot to shoot it. I recorded video at 150fps at 2000mm with a special type of camera for this event to get this level of detail, and timed my shots down to the second to make sure I didn't miss it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on October 30, 2020, 06:55:32 AM
This is a really update on that OSIRIS-REx mission.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/10/29/asteroid-samples-sealed-in-osiris-rex-return-capsule/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 14, 2020, 09:03:03 AM
Hot damn, tomorrow's an exciting day for spacenerds! The first crewed operational mission for SpaceX with a Dragon spacecraft.  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on November 15, 2020, 06:07:08 PM
Just watched the launch live with my daughter. I'm so glad she's into space. She could even see the trails from her window. amazing accomplishment by space x. Still blows my mind how they're able to reuse the capsule and rocket.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 17, 2020, 10:56:51 AM
I'd hate to be the manager that signed off on this stage of the project:
https://spacenews.com/human-error-blamed-for-vega-launch-failure/

WASHINGTON — Arianespace executives said Nov. 17 that the failure of a Vega launch the previous day was caused when the rocket’s upper stage tumbled out of control due to incorrectly installed cables in a control system.

In a call with reporters, Roland Lagier, chief technical officer of Arianespace, said the first three stages of the Vega rocket performed normally after liftoff from Kourou, French Guiana, at 8:52 p.m. Eastern Nov. 16. The Avum upper stage then separated and ignited its engine.

However, “straightaway after ignition” of the upper stage, he said, the vehicle started to tumble out of control. “This loss of control was permanent, inducing significant tumbling behavior, and then the trajectory started to deviate rapidly from the nominal one, leading to the loss of the mission.”

Analysis of the telemetry from the mission, along with data from the production of the vehicle, led them to conclude that cables to two thrust vector control actuators were inverted. Commands intended to go to one actuator went instead to the other, triggering the loss of control.

“This was clearly a production and quality issue, a series of human errors, and not a design one,” Lagier said.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on November 19, 2020, 09:51:33 AM
Damn, as someone who cables things at work, I've definitely criss crossed cables before to some devastating effect... not quite like that though.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 28, 2020, 01:07:32 PM
Sonic boom from SpaceX rocketbooster landing last week:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri2b7_8TUVc&ab_channel=GabrielHershberger

Never get tired of hearing it, would be awesome to hear something like that IRL someday.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on December 01, 2020, 05:02:17 PM
This is a bummer. I knew that it was structurally unsound. They'd just announced that it would be decommissioned due to safety concerns. Didn't think it'd fall apart so quickly, though.

https://www.npr.org/2020/12/01/940767001/arecibo-observatory-telescope-collapses-ending-an-era-of-world-class-research

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EoKiibWW8AEP2Sr?format=jpg&name=4096x4096)

Long before they CGI'd Pierce Brosnan onto the thing, James Burke climbed around up there to conduct a science experiment. The man sure as hell knew how to shoot impressive sequences.
https://youtu.be/eCp8h9RkaSw?list=PLf02uWXhaGRng_YzH-Ser_VEV4lGSLX_1&t=2631
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 01, 2020, 05:18:07 PM
Yea I was just about to post about that. Sad seeing such an iconic telescope meeting it's fate like that.

RIP Arecibo

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 01, 2020, 06:24:06 PM
Real bummer how that thing went out. Poor thing. I always looked at that telescope as one of humanity's most clever solutions.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on December 02, 2020, 12:03:39 AM
Guess fixing those cables are just too financially unsound rather than technically difficult?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 02, 2020, 07:06:51 AM
I know some of these words!

https://www.rt.com/news/508319-oxygen-fuel-salty-water-mars/

Engineers at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis developed a patented brine electrolysis system that not only works without the need for purified water but actually performs better thanks to the saltiness of the input water.

Salty water isn't potable, and the standard method of separating oxygen from hydrogen contained in water, electrolysis, is notoriously cumbersome and expensive here on Earth, making it orders of magnitude more expensive on the Red Planet.

On Mars, water that isn't frozen is extremely salty, which lowers its freezing temperature but restricts options for hydrolysis, until now.

“Our Martian brine electrolyzer radically changes the logistical calculus of missions to Mars and beyond,” says lead researcher Vijay Ramani. “This technology is equally useful on Earth where it opens up the oceans as a viable oxygen and fuel source.”

Ramani and his team operated their device, which employs custom-engineered ruthenate pyrochlore anodes and a platinum on carbon cathodes, in a simulated Martian atmosphere at -33 degrees Fahrenheit (-36 degrees Celsius) to produce both oxygen and hydrogen.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 03, 2020, 11:54:04 AM
Some amazing footage of the Arecibo collapse:

https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/arecibo/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 03, 2020, 12:12:30 PM
It's really weird how seeing the death of a machine can make me legitimately sad.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on December 03, 2020, 01:28:04 PM
The disaster buff in me is quite happy they have footage of its collapse. That they were inspecting that very anchor point when it failed is pretty interesting. Not suspicious, mind you, they knew there was a serious problem there, but certainly fortuitous.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 03, 2020, 01:33:16 PM
I think the footage of all the cables crashing down was a controlled demo.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on December 03, 2020, 01:40:05 PM
I think the footage of all the cables crashing down was a controlled demo.
They weren't to that point yet. A controlled demolition was certainly coming up, that was the recommendation of numerous engineering consultants, including the CoE, but I don't think they knew how to do it safely yet. Moreover, they would have salvaged what they could have before blowing the thing. Lastly, it was too uncontrolled to be controlled, if you see my point. That was a violent failure. My take on it is that they were still conducting analyses and were coincidentally at the point of interest when the failure occurred. 

Here's the official report on the decommissioning. At the bottom are three different engineering assessments that I'm rather keen to dig into when time permits.

https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=301674
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 03, 2020, 01:44:38 PM
I'll be damned. What timing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on December 03, 2020, 01:56:08 PM
I'll be damned. What timing.
Yeah, I'm guessing the fourth thing out of that drone operator's mouth, after 3 rounds of hollllllly fuck, was "I didn't do it! Wasn't even close to it! I was ten feet away, I swear!"
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on December 03, 2020, 02:16:43 PM
I'll be damned. What timing.
Yeah, I'm guessing the fourth thing out of that drone operator's mouth, after 3 rounds of hollllllly fuck, was "I didn't do it! Wasn't even close to it! I was ten feet away, I swear!"

I was wondering about that drone and thought the same myself. What a capture.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 03, 2020, 02:47:30 PM
I'll be damned. What timing.
Yeah, I'm guessing the fourth thing out of that drone operator's mouth, after 3 rounds of hollllllly fuck, was "I didn't do it! Wasn't even close to it! I was ten feet away, I swear!"

I was wondering about that drone and thought the same myself. What a capture.
Yea that had to be a holy crap moment for the drone operator. Unreal to see the pure force from the cables being pulled from the attachment.  :omg:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on December 03, 2020, 03:17:23 PM
I'll be damned. What timing.
Yeah, I'm guessing the fourth thing out of that drone operator's mouth, after 3 rounds of hollllllly fuck, was "I didn't do it! Wasn't even close to it! I was ten feet away, I swear!"

I was wondering about that drone and thought the same myself. What a capture.
Yea that had to be a holy crap moment for the drone operator. Unreal to see the pure force from the cables being pulled from the attachment.  :omg:
Yeah, I was surprised by how violent the whole thing was. There really wasn't any place safe in an enormous area, all the way out beyond the backstay anchorages, which is more than double the diameter of the dish itself. In the drone video you can see the entire anchor point for the number 12 tower backstays being ripped out of the ground, and one of the cables cutting a lateral swath through the trees. When they said they didn't think it could be repaired safely they definitely weren't kidding.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 03, 2020, 03:43:33 PM
I'll be damned. What timing.
Yeah, I'm guessing the fourth thing out of that drone operator's mouth, after 3 rounds of hollllllly fuck, was "I didn't do it! Wasn't even close to it! I was ten feet away, I swear!"

I was wondering about that drone and thought the same myself. What a capture.
Yea that had to be a holy crap moment for the drone operator. Unreal to see the pure force from the cables being pulled from the attachment.  :omg:
Yeah, I was surprised by how violent the whole thing was. There really wasn't any place safe in an enormous area, all the way out beyond the backstay anchorages, which is more than double the diameter of the dish itself. In the drone video you can see the entire anchor point for the number 12 tower backstays being ripped out of the ground, and one of the cables cutting a lateral swath through the trees. When they said they didn't think it could be repaired safely they definitely weren't kidding.

That's why I thought it was an intentional demolition at first. Those cables came out with such force, I figured there was a charge placed there or something.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on December 03, 2020, 05:37:17 PM
That's why I thought it was an intentional demolition at first. Those cables came out with such force, I figured there was a charge placed there or something.
The cables on the other side of the dish (tower 12 [o'clock]) were under a load of 512 KIP (thousand pounds). A half million pounds aren't going to let go gracefully. But yeah, it's still shocking to see happen like that.

After reading up on the engineering reports and assessments, this is going to be a pretty easy one to solve. Shoddy workmanship and/or manufacturing. Two different components failed in different manners, and they fell far short of its designed safety margin. Each tower had 4 mains and 2 aux cables. The auxiliary cables were only ~25 years old, installed when they installed the Gregorian dome. One pulled out of its socket, and the others were showing significant slippage. Either the anchors were installed wrong, or the mortar failed. The one that failed was on tower 4, which therefore distributed its load to the other 4+1 cables. This shouldn't have been an issue at all. Engineers over-engineer. They were operating on the assumption that they'd simply replace Aux-N and get on with it.

The second point of failure was the main cables, original equipment, which turned out to be far weaker than they were designed to be. One of those failed at tower 4 not quite a month ago, two months after the aux cable failure, which took everybody by surprise. Upon further examination other cables were showing burst wires, and that's when the whole thing became a lost cause. Even if the rest of the cables were of good quality it would still put tower 4 well below its designed safety factor, and they weren't. Six days later recommendation went from ways to salvage it to basically "GTFO, right now!" Two weeks later they started doing just that, and ten days later it fell over. The drone was just monitoring the continued failure of the tower 4 cables. You can see frayed and burst wires in the drone footage before the ultimate failure, which had been building up over the last couple of weeks.

So, yeah. The anchors installed 25 years ago were breaking down, and the original cables were failing well short of their designed load capacities.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on December 03, 2020, 06:25:52 PM
So, yeah. The anchors installed 25 years ago were breaking down, and the original cables were failing well short of their designed load capacities.

Sounds depressing... I mean, poor design or installation and then thanks to subsequence poor maintenance were the culprits...  :(
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 04, 2020, 12:03:43 PM
Great video analyze by Scott Manley:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59WQIRvezzI&ab_channel=ScottManley
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 08, 2020, 08:04:56 AM
SN8 high altitude test today  :metal :metal They're going for just shy of an 8 mile high hop. Should be a great show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhxtcRKEyQA
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 09, 2020, 03:57:33 PM
That SN8 launch was one of the craziest things I've seen in a while. What a show.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 09, 2020, 04:45:42 PM
Was watching Everyday Astronauts livestream and you can't help but get excited by their excitment.  :lol

I just saw a recap and didn't actually know it's flightplan. I thought the plan was to just bellyflop into a huge fireball so it was so cool seeing it stabilize before impact and well....almost land it.  :metal :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: v_clortho on December 09, 2020, 06:00:33 PM
That was awesome. I bet they get it next time.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on December 09, 2020, 09:16:00 PM
At least it landed... just not in one piece...  :facepalm:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 10, 2020, 02:26:31 AM
Just to be clear, it was never intended to actually land right? I mean I saw no landing gear.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 10, 2020, 08:29:36 AM
I watched Everyday Astronaut's stream as well. I love that guy's content. I kick him $5 a month as a supporter and bought a shirt yesterday. Thought he deserved it after all the footage he brought us. There were like three different moments pre-belly flop that I thought were going to result in fireworks. I thought the engines were failing throughout the launch, but after watching SpaceX's footage last night, all three relit without issue when it came in for landing.

Just to be clear, it was never intended to actually land right? I mean I saw no landing gear.

I'm not sure. SN7 had legs, but they weren't anything like what the final versions will use. I wouldn't be surprised if this version didn't have legs. Elon said a few weeks ago that he gave the craft a 15% chance of getting anywhere near the landing zone, so maybe they didn't see it as a test-critical. The priority was to gather data for the belly flop and pendulum swing at the end, and they got everything they needed out of the test in that regard.

Watching the fins, thrusters, and engines work in unison in this clip is a thing of beauty:
https://fb.watch/2h_fKVDDvl/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 10, 2020, 01:41:30 PM
Yea that's kinda what i thought, so much other things that were prioritized than to actually land it not to say they didn't try to get as close as possible atleast.

That footage is awesome! That was the highlight for me.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 16, 2020, 11:40:47 AM
Pretty cool view from a distance with Everyday Astrounat, his excitement is captivating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujCmpqWcJxk&ab_channel=EverydayAstronaut
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 17, 2020, 06:13:27 AM
That was a cool view. I was hoping we would get that footage. You could see the phone in the whole background during the original stream. I wonder how much those hotel rooms (assuming that was a hotel) cost.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: CrimsonSunrise on December 18, 2020, 01:44:02 PM
That was SOOO EPIC!!!!!!!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: hunnus2000 on December 18, 2020, 02:38:20 PM
While that was cool, I'm not sure what the purpose of the exercise was. Was it to test the side boosters while in space or while here on Earth? Also, was the intent to blow it up or did the rocket come in too hot during landing?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 18, 2020, 03:52:26 PM
While that was cool, I'm not sure what the purpose of the exercise was. Was it to test the side boosters while in space or while here on Earth? Also, was the intent to blow it up or did the rocket come in too hot during landing?

This is going to be a drunken word salad... fair warning.

We currently have the dragon capsule that sits on top of the falcon 9 rocket. This can carry 7 astronauts to the ISS and can only dock to the ISS or orbit the Earth and come back. It rides on top of the Falcon rocket that can land itself, but the dragon capsule still touches down with chutes.
(https://www.news4jax.com/resizer/9K8io145R7g_8mNzn4WhRZF06U4=/1600x1066/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/GRPKHZ2AVRHAHOMHNGV47TJEII.jpg)

What we saw tested was SN8, the 8th iteration of "Starship". Starship will sit on top of the "super heavy" rocket.
(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/94/6a/e5/946ae5be0fec9008ea175cdb61a73020.jpg)

This capsule, unlike dragon, can land itself like the Falcon 9 rocket. The Starship will be able to carry (allegedly) 100 passengers at a time. This is the craft (or an evolution of it) that will be used to colonize the solar system. The idea is to be able to land this thing on Mars, Europa, the moon... wherever. What's cool is we can in theory retrofit a bunch like condos, land them upright on Mars, and launch a follow up Starship full of passengers that can live in the ones we previously sent. It will have a massive payload that can be used from ferrying 100 passengers at a time to being used as a refueling station in space.

Comparison for scale:
Take a look at the falcon heavy. That's basically what I posted above, just with three boosters instead of one.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Super_heavy-lift_launch_vehicles.png)

You can see how big starship is in comparison to everything else. Because of its mass, its landing isn't the same as the Falcon 9 boosters we are accustomed to seeing. There's an entirely difference approach and reentry "dance" if you will. It's been labelled the "belly flop", where the Starhip free falls back to Earth. It's followed by a rather violent "pendulum-like" swing as the rocket attempts to become perpendicular to the Earth instead of parallel like it is in the belly flop. This is actually pushing some pretty crazy physics when you consider the scale. This test of the SN8 was to primarily test that belly flop bit, and everything else was secondary. Landing wasn't really a checkbox they were trying to check off. They do that regularly. It's easy. The goal was to belly flop and hit the pad, and they freaking nailed it.




Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 18, 2020, 04:15:19 PM
Awesome stuff Chino! Is the Super Rocket under production?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 20, 2020, 05:57:48 AM
Awesome stuff Chino! Is the Super Rocket under production?

It is. There are rumors that it will be ready to test in the next month, but who knows. We've been seeing pieces of it getting brought into the vehicle assembly building down in Boca Chica.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EmU7GTOXEAIxfdc?format=jpg&name=medium)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TAC on December 20, 2020, 06:18:00 PM
SN8 high altitude test today  :metal :metal They're going for just shy of an 8 mile high hop. Should be a great show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhxtcRKEyQA

It didn't take off in this video?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 20, 2020, 06:46:44 PM
SN8 high altitude test today  :metal :metal They're going for just shy of an 8 mile high hop. Should be a great show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhxtcRKEyQA

It didn't take off in this video?

It got scrubbed that day. That was to the live stream.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TAC on December 20, 2020, 06:59:01 PM
Nevermind, I get it, you posted the link BEFORE the stream.


You said it should be a great show, and I was like WTF? :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: mike099 on December 21, 2020, 06:33:39 PM
A friend of the family lives in the country north of Nashville, Tennessee and she took these 3 pictures of what they are calling the Christmas star.  The window was short on getting the pics and the blue picture was right after sunset.

(https://i.imgur.com/J4a82qS.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/NohqDsr.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/oZnVkfB.jpg)

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 22, 2020, 03:30:32 AM
Really nice pictures. I actually didn't know about the chrismas star. Apparently it's Jupiter and Saturn in conjuction with eachother.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/the-great-conjunction-of-jupiter-and-saturn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 23, 2020, 04:54:37 AM
SN9 rolls out to the launch pad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFXQS01U4Eo&ab_channel=NASASpaceflight)

I enjoy watching videos like this, seeing all the activity is exciting. It's fun having access to the progress. This whole place (Boca Chica) feels like a "budget" NASA launch facility kinda in a DIY style but with a much quicker assembly line.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 23, 2020, 06:01:54 AM
SN9 rolls out to the launch pad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFXQS01U4Eo&ab_channel=NASASpaceflight)

I enjoy watching videos like this, seeing all the activity is exciting. It's fun having access to the progress. This whole place (Boca Chica) feels like a "budget" NASA launch facility kinda in a DIY style but with a much quicker assembly line.  :lol

It's a very agile way of doing things, and it's the right approach IMO. Fail fast, learn faster.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 08, 2021, 11:51:40 AM
SN9 rolls out to the launch pad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFXQS01U4Eo&ab_channel=NASASpaceflight)

I enjoy watching videos like this, seeing all the activity is exciting. It's fun having access to the progress. This whole place (Boca Chica) feels like a "budget" NASA launch facility kinda in a DIY style but with a much quicker assembly line.  :lol

It's a very agile way of doing things, and it's the right approach IMO. Fail fast, learn faster.
Yea it seems like a very efficient way of doing things, can't wait for all the exciting things they have in store for 2021.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-55580816

James Webb launch window is this year. I know that a rocketlaunch with a big boom is exciting with spacex however this launch I would be really sad if that would happen, I know the possibility is probably low since they choose a very proven and used type of rocket. Eitherway I feel this is probably the next most exciting thing close to a human launch to the moon or mars.


Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 08, 2021, 03:32:02 PM
The JWST launch is going to be the most nerve-wracking launch in recent memory. That thing has been in development for so long and has been delayed so many times. If it blows up before it reaches space, there's no way they'll approve the building of a new one. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 22, 2021, 08:15:18 AM
Looks like SpaceX purchased two offshore drilling platforms to be converted into launch platforms for Starship. The names Deimos and Phobos are fitting. I'm really interested in seeing the conversion process.

https://www.chron.com/news/space/article/SpaceX-gulf-coast-offshore-spaceports-15887227.php
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on January 22, 2021, 08:39:27 AM
I too am a bit nervous about the James Webb launch. I sincerely hope and pray it goes without a hitch, there's been a lot of investment in it already and the ramifications of it not succeeding could be really high.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 23, 2021, 04:18:53 AM
Looks like SpaceX purchased two offshore drilling platforms to be converted into launch platforms for Starship. The names Deimos and Phobos are fitting. I'm really interested in seeing the conversion process.

https://www.chron.com/news/space/article/SpaceX-gulf-coast-offshore-spaceports-15887227.php
Interesting, I just feel that's something Nasa would never ever do. SpaceX: "Ey fuck it, let's just buy some drilling platforms and convert them into launch pads. Badabing!"


I too am a bit nervous about the James Webb launch. I sincerely hope and pray it goes without a hitch, there's been a lot of investment in it already and the ramifications of it not succeeding could be really high.
Yea lots at stake, the mission itself has also alot of stages before it reaches L2.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/JWSTDeployment.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 25, 2021, 10:55:40 AM
Looks like SN9 my launch today!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtGutb1R5cQ

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on January 25, 2021, 01:03:56 PM
Looks like it wont happen today, bummer.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on January 25, 2021, 01:49:07 PM
Looks like it wont happen today, bummer.
Yeah, as soon as Chino posted the link I went there, saw wind 24kt, gusting over 30, and figured it was a no-go.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 28, 2021, 01:07:53 PM
22ish minutes!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnmNAlNvr8o
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Podaar on January 28, 2021, 01:18:43 PM
Watching. Thanks Chino!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on January 28, 2021, 01:37:54 PM
Every time I see that think it looks like something a guy and his young son cobbled together in the garage.

Now sitting at T-22ish
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on January 28, 2021, 01:50:33 PM
Could be any minute now!
 
Looks like something the Astronaut Farmer built  :lol
(https://images.fandango.com/ImageRenderer/400/0/redesign/static/img/default_poster.png/0/images/masterrepository/fandango/99097/astronautfarmerpic32.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 28, 2021, 03:04:50 PM
Yea it really looks so much DIY:ish.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 02, 2021, 11:17:45 AM
Rocket venting. Hoping today's the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4-PwxnJimg
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 02, 2021, 12:31:52 PM
Yes, can't wait!   :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 02, 2021, 01:22:19 PM
3.5 minutes! Let's gooooo  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 02, 2021, 01:33:56 PM
Nice little bonfire at the end there. This test looked a little more squirrely than SN8. Looks like it struggled to get level after apogee.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on February 02, 2021, 01:38:23 PM
I'm no expert on these things, but that landing looked abnorminal.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 02, 2021, 03:41:59 PM
Yea SN8 had a much more controlled decent especially the last flip before the landing. Either way the last flip is always my favourite part, it just looks so future like.

Always nice with big boom though.

Btw so cool seeing SN10 ready for departure.  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on February 18, 2021, 01:44:54 PM
4 mins left until atmospheric entry to Mars  :corn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm0b_ijaYMQ&list=PLTiv_XWHnOZo89xfQyRUub76zNlQTLNrJ&index=3
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 18, 2021, 01:48:28 PM
Here we goooo. Fingers crossed.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on February 18, 2021, 01:50:43 PM
I'm watching too  :metal my name is on one of the three microchips placed on a plate, I'm about to land on Mars!!!!  :hat
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on February 18, 2021, 02:03:38 PM
Aaaaaaaaaand touchdown.  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on February 18, 2021, 02:11:44 PM
Someone's setting down already!

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EuiZR2xUcAMxfsq?format=jpg&name=large)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on February 18, 2021, 02:59:08 PM
I was checking that out on my phone live.  Pretty cool!  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 21, 2021, 02:43:40 AM
So awesome! Perseverance is a marvelous engineering achievement. Fun times ahead with all it's cameras and equipment being turned on and of course the heli.

Apparently there's a follow up mission in the coming years where another rover will pick up samples from Perseverance and return to earth.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on February 21, 2021, 10:31:46 AM
Yeah, I think in 10 years they will bring back samples. Tomorrow they will reveal a new video

https://youtu.be/gYQwuYZbA6o
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 22, 2021, 08:12:02 AM
Looks like we'll be getting the video of the landing today!   :metal :metal

https://www.space.com/perseverance-rover-mars-landing-video-reveal-webcast

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on February 22, 2021, 01:17:40 PM
The video is insane.

This version with the overlay of command commentary on the landing brings goosebumps.

https://youtu.be/4czjS9h4Fpg (https://youtu.be/4czjS9h4Fpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 22, 2021, 02:11:30 PM
Awesome stuff! Funny how the decent felt much farther away from the surface and then dust suddenly appeared.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on February 22, 2021, 03:21:17 PM
Goosebumps and tears of emotion at the end  :hefdaddy
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 22, 2021, 03:22:12 PM
Here's a collection of highlights from the livestream:

https://sv.reddit.com/r/space/comments/lpx162/nasa_shares_video_footage_of_perserverance_landing/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on February 22, 2021, 04:12:20 PM
Missed the live stream but really cool video. Did not expect HD quality  :hefdaddy
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 03, 2021, 12:34:01 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jWbqhP5eJI

Possible launch today. Rocket is venting. T-minus 18 minutes-ish?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 03, 2021, 12:44:40 PM
 :corn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on March 03, 2021, 04:08:18 PM
following this channel, almost there!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxQ1CmSbRTY

looks like its happening  ;D
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 03, 2021, 04:14:25 PM
Yea hopefully it's go time now!  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 03, 2021, 04:18:08 PM
I would love to one day hear that engine roar IRL.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 03, 2021, 04:21:25 PM
YES!!!!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on March 03, 2021, 04:22:09 PM
Freaking amazing!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 03, 2021, 04:30:07 PM
oh lol, it's just blew up!  :lol

We got a landing and a big boom, success for everyone!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 03, 2021, 04:33:32 PM
I'm wondering if it was a remote detonation. It was sitting crooked and probably not safe to approach.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 03, 2021, 04:54:07 PM
Yea it might have been, I guess that's the safest way since it seems like a bad idea to approach a tilting giant rocket.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on March 03, 2021, 05:01:33 PM
I'm wondering if it was a remote detonation. It was sitting crooked and probably not safe to approach.
Certainly a possibility. It was crooked, and it was definitely on fire when it landed. I don't know how long there was between the landing/MECO/Kaboom, but after a minute or two on the ground I still saw fire under one of the fins, even while the remote fire hose was dousing it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 03, 2021, 06:23:31 PM
I actually just watched the explosion. I shut down the stream about a minute after landing and missed it live.

Having seen the footage, I don't think it was a controlled detonation.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 03, 2021, 08:47:48 PM
Hot damn! That angle at 11:40 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODY6JWzS8WU&t
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on March 03, 2021, 09:37:15 PM
Yeah, that was a fantastic shot.

If you watch to the very end you can still see what looks like fire under the right fin.

edit: Here's the entire thing with the time between the landing and the kaboom. About 8 minutes. Looks to me like it was leaking fuel before the engines re-ignited for the flip, and continued to burn well after that bouncy landing. Also, they shut down the fire suppression about 2 minutes before it blew up. Maybe they thought it was stabilized, or maybe they saw a lost cause.

https://youtu.be/XOQkk3ojNfM?t=37765
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 04, 2021, 02:05:49 PM
Great summarization by Scott Manley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF9mdMI1qxM&ab_channel=ScottManley

Those tiny landing legs looked ridiculous.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 08, 2021, 10:50:34 AM
SN11 heading to the pad! Word online is they're looking to complete all systems tests this week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UynhUVEkpg0 

They're really turning these things out fast. I was reading last night they already have up through SN20 in assembly.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on March 09, 2021, 06:22:54 PM
Piece of rock older than earth (https://www.vice.com/en/article/epd3qm/scientists-discover-chunk-of-protoplanet-older-than-earth-in-sahara-desert)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on March 16, 2021, 09:42:06 PM
My freshman astronomy teacher from Berkeley, Alex Fillepenko, just posted this...

https://www.universetoday.com/150506/the-giant-magellan-telescopes-6th-mirror-has-just-been-cast-one-more-to-go/?fbclid=IwAR1UVtA62W37ZL4VyIigNQbRG-XPDmgl6AVXoKDapwNSe7gRyStSLNJzCi4 (https://www.universetoday.com/150506/the-giant-magellan-telescopes-6th-mirror-has-just-been-cast-one-more-to-go/?fbclid=IwAR1UVtA62W37ZL4VyIigNQbRG-XPDmgl6AVXoKDapwNSe7gRyStSLNJzCi4)

This thing is going to produce images 10x sharper than the Hubble... :omg:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 17, 2021, 01:13:51 AM
My freshman astronomy teacher from Berkeley, Alex Fillepenko, just posted this...

https://www.universetoday.com/150506/the-giant-magellan-telescopes-6th-mirror-has-just-been-cast-one-more-to-go/?fbclid=IwAR1UVtA62W37ZL4VyIigNQbRG-XPDmgl6AVXoKDapwNSe7gRyStSLNJzCi4 (https://www.universetoday.com/150506/the-giant-magellan-telescopes-6th-mirror-has-just-been-cast-one-more-to-go/?fbclid=IwAR1UVtA62W37ZL4VyIigNQbRG-XPDmgl6AVXoKDapwNSe7gRyStSLNJzCi4)

This thing is going to produce images 10x sharper than the Hubble... :omg:
4 years to build the last two mirror segments, yikes.

Can't wait to see the images from Magellan and James Webb.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on March 17, 2021, 05:38:32 AM


I didn't know telescopes could look so sexy.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: CrimsonSunrise on March 17, 2021, 05:44:25 AM


I didn't know telescopes could look so sexy.
James Webb is a sexy ass beast!  Let's get her launched!!!!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 30, 2021, 11:18:16 AM
Saw the footage of SN11 blowing up or atleast that's apparently what happend because you couldn't see anything because of fog. Suddenly there's debris falling everywhere, kinda funny to see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN7855POvJ8&ab_channel=NASASpaceflight
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 07, 2021, 01:41:15 AM
I've said it before but we do really live in exciting times when it comes to the next space race. To have the ability to actually see the progress and rockets being assembled so closely is amazing.

Just had my breakfast while watching the activity at Boca Chica.  :corn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqzqIKrcPxk&ab_channel=NASASpaceflight
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: emtee on April 13, 2021, 10:13:34 AM
This has to be the 10th different article I've read over the last few months about legit UFO's. Not saying they are extraterrestrial but not ruling it out. Military has been the recent source for these reports.

https://www.foxnews.com/science/navy-captures-footage-of-pyramid-shaped-ufos-orbs
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 16, 2021, 03:56:21 PM
Someone made a CGI recap of all the tests at Boca Chica: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4pQZgRDWM4&ab_channel=NickHenning3D
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 17, 2021, 12:57:13 PM
So SpaceX is going to the Moon!  :metal

(https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/for_press_release.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on April 19, 2021, 04:58:23 AM
Just saw the livestream of the data (actually it's a short video) from Mars's Rover Perseverance and the helicopter's data showing the helicopter has flown on freakin Mars. Incredible stuff.


Crazy we're seeing a video of a helicopter flying on Mars being taken by another machine. So surreal.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 19, 2021, 07:47:07 AM
Just saw the livestream of the data (actually it's a short video) from Mars's Rover Perseverance and the helicopter's data showing the helicopter has flown on freakin Mars. Incredible stuff.


Crazy we're seeing a video of a helicopter flying on Mars being taken by another machine. So surreal.

I love the fact that it had a piece of the Wright brother's plane on it too. That was a cool touch.


Also, I can't wait to seen a Starship on the moon. That's going to be sick.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on April 19, 2021, 08:51:50 AM
I haven't been following this, but if we flew a helicopter on Mars, then that means Mars has an atmosphere, right?  I hadn't really thought about that before.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 19, 2021, 08:56:19 AM
I haven't been following this, but if we flew a helicopter on Mars, then that means Mars has an atmosphere, right?  I hadn't really thought about that before.

Yep, it's about 1% as dense as Earth's atmosphere, which makes flying and slowing down in it really difficult.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on April 19, 2021, 09:08:20 AM
Cool, but it sounds like Quaid needs to get his ass to Mars and start up the reactor.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 19, 2021, 12:50:18 PM
I can just imagine that seeing it perform in a simulation and then seeing it actually work IRL must be very fullfilling and rewarding for the engineers. Someone asked them how this knowledge will transfer to other worlds like Titan, that kind of questions makes me giddy for the future.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on April 19, 2021, 06:57:06 PM
Cool, but it sounds like Quaid needs to get his ass to Mars and start up the reactor.

They already got their ass to mars, just needed to get to the choppa!

https://twitter.com/Schwarzenegger/status/1383876808295129093?s=20 (https://twitter.com/Schwarzenegger/status/1383876808295129093?s=20)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on April 19, 2021, 07:22:36 PM
Just saw the livestream of the data (actually it's a short video) from Mars's Rover Perseverance and the helicopter's data showing the helicopter has flown on freakin Mars. Incredible stuff.


Crazy we're seeing a video of a helicopter flying on Mars being taken by another machine. So surreal.

I love the fact that it had a piece of the Wright brother's plane on it too. That was a cool touch.


Also, I can't wait to seen a Starship on the moon. That's going to be sick.

Me too! I love the fact they were able to take that piece of cloth to Mars.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 24, 2021, 09:07:27 AM
Is anyone else feeling a diffrent kind of excitment these days that going back to the moon might actually be a reality and not just talk this time?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: hunnus2000 on April 24, 2021, 09:50:51 AM
Is anyone else feeling a diffrent kind of excitment these days that going back to the moon might actually be a reality and not just talk this time?

I guess we came to an agreement with the aliens to land on the moon again?  :hat
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 26, 2021, 09:19:23 AM
Is anyone else feeling a diffrent kind of excitment these days that going back to the moon might actually be a reality and not just talk this time?

Exciting times for sure! I hope we start an inter-celestial game of capture the flag with other countries.


Some awesome footage of Ingenuity's third flight on the red planet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNx9hcrUpww
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on April 26, 2021, 11:20:48 AM
Is anyone else feeling a diffrent kind of excitment these days that going back to the moon might actually be a reality and not just talk this time?

Yea, also with today's tech we would be able to see and experience things on the moon that we couldn't before. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 26, 2021, 12:29:29 PM
Is anyone else feeling a diffrent kind of excitment these days that going back to the moon might actually be a reality and not just talk this time?

Exciting times for sure! I hope we start an inter-celestial game of capture the flag with other countries.


Some awesome footage of Ingenuity's third flight on the red planet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNx9hcrUpww
I understand what you mean, thinking about the space race during the 50-60s. That would be awesome. Honestly though for me i'm more excitied about countries working together this time for a common goal but seeing Russia turning it's focus on China I guess it's wishful thinking. Foolishly i'm kinda hoping the Artemis program and the journey for Mars will be a global event making the general public truly excited for space exploration again and the mysteries of the universe.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on April 26, 2021, 09:15:17 PM
Is anyone else feeling a diffrent kind of excitment these days that going back to the moon might actually be a reality and not just talk this time?

Exciting times for sure! I hope we start an inter-celestial game of capture the flag with other countries.


Some awesome footage of Ingenuity's third flight on the red planet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNx9hcrUpww

The third comment on that video... "now I know how my dog feels when I go to the bathroom and then come back"  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on April 28, 2021, 12:33:33 PM
RIP Michael Collins, who joined Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the first historical moon landing, the man that stayed behind. The most difficult task, being the first to go up there, but not descending on the moon.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on April 28, 2021, 02:10:02 PM
RIP indeed. And then there was one..
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 30, 2021, 10:53:28 AM
SN15 today!  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jonny108 on April 30, 2021, 11:49:00 AM
SN15 today!  :tup

Or not :(
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 30, 2021, 11:54:42 AM
SN15 today!  :tup

Or not :(
Yea looks pretty dim, is it officially scrubbed?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on April 30, 2021, 11:56:32 AM
Yup, looks like it  :tdwn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 30, 2021, 01:49:23 PM
Too bad, hopfully it will happen this weekend. Looking forward to this, apparently there's so much improvement on everything since SN11.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 05, 2021, 12:38:57 PM
No scrubba-dub-dub yet!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htnG_mABtSQ

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 05, 2021, 12:42:18 PM
Waiting for days now for this that I almost forgot about it today. Thx for reminding!  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 05, 2021, 12:49:37 PM
Waiting for days now for this that I almost forgot about it today. Thx for reminding!  :tup

So did I  :lol Youtube is the only application that I have notifications enabled on, and it's for the sole purpose of never missing one of these streams. I get an alert every time Tim goes live.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 05, 2021, 11:19:29 PM
I of course fell asleep through the whole thing. However I just watched the recap, really awesome they finally nailed the landing. I loved the little correction it did just at the end to keep it vertical.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 07, 2021, 06:56:50 AM
Elon said on Twitter they might try and attempt a second launch with SN15  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 07, 2021, 08:31:30 AM
Oh, that could be interesting. I mean why not continue testing it until 'splosion anyway and then move to SN16. Lots of good data could be found eitherway.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on May 21, 2021, 07:36:19 AM
We've seen pieces for the Super Heavy booster being manufactured here and there over the last few months. Looks like they're finally getting stacked!!

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-stacking-starship-super-heavy-booster-bn3/

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 23, 2021, 11:37:49 AM
Awesome! Can't wait for SN20!  :metal

I always start my morning by watching videos from Boca Chica at NASASpaceflight. I love watching all the activity at Starbase so much progress everyday it's insane.

I also follow Marcus House and What about it? on YT, they both summarize everything going on with SpaceX and other space releated news.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 24, 2021, 11:38:57 PM
The british space suit is stuff from movies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYgiV4Iz7I0&ab_channel=TomScottTomScottVerifierat
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 01, 2021, 02:38:29 AM
The launch tower at Spaceport is starting to really get some height. It's crazy seeing how tiny the workers are next to it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 19, 2021, 11:41:33 AM
Some cool and fascinating footage of simulating re-entry by a satellite in a plasma wind tunnel.

Demising a Solar Array Drive Mechanism (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YXdv4Ry2XY&ab_channel=EuropeanSpaceAgency%2CESA)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on July 02, 2021, 07:06:55 AM
I don't really care for Jeff Bezos or Richard Branson, but I do appreciate their investment in making space more accessible. I hope everything goes well for both on them and their flights.

In other news, I don't know why reading this made me laugh.

https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-civilian-crew-view-from-spaceship-toilet-2021-6
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 02, 2021, 07:17:41 AM
Yes, seems like the space age is about to commence for real.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 11, 2021, 01:18:12 PM
Seems like everything went smooth for SpaceShipTwo except for the crappy livestream. Hopefully all future flights will be as successful.

Richard Branson's Message From Space (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0XwIl5X96c&ab_channel=WallStreetJournal)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: TAC on July 11, 2021, 01:59:06 PM
Richard Branson's Message From Space (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0XwIl5X96c&ab_channel=WallStreetJournal)

Space orgy? :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 11, 2021, 02:53:09 PM
Richard Branson's Message From Space (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0XwIl5X96c&ab_channel=WallStreetJournal)

Space orgy? :lol
Ahh that's probably why the livestream kept cutting out.

Just read on Wiki: "Richard Branson, the British billionaire entrepreneur and owner of the Virgin Group, including Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia, claimed that he joined the mile-high club at age 19".

So I guess you're probably right.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on July 11, 2021, 06:12:58 PM
Richard Branson's Message From Space (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0XwIl5X96c&ab_channel=WallStreetJournal)

Space orgy? :lol

It was only a matter of time!

All jokes aside, as space become more accessible, this will become a reality.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on July 16, 2021, 04:49:04 PM
HST has been resurrected (the telescope, not the author). I'm glad to hear this. Webb is still a ways off, and there's no guarantee the thing will even work. Hubble will eventually croak, but it occurred to me two weeks ago that it'll be a sad thing when it does.

https://www.npr.org/2021/07/16/1016953132/hobbled-hubble-telescope-springs-back-to-life-on-its-backup-system
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: ReaPsTA on July 19, 2021, 02:11:12 PM
"fINAl sErvIcnG miSSioN"

Either Hubble will be serviced forever or they'll send up an updated one when Webb's orbit gets screwed up and it flies off into space.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 20, 2021, 12:11:48 PM
So touchdown for Blue Orgin and it seems everything went as accordingly. Fun seeing Wally Funk among the passengers, amazing woman!

Whatever one might think about billionares in space i'm trying to look at it from a bigger picture, hopefully this leads to a big step forward for commercial flight. Sure the day I will afford a ticket is most likely way past my time on this earth.  :lol :-[
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Adami on July 20, 2021, 12:14:14 PM
So I know nothing about this. I'm curious then, what can suborbital flight help us with? I'm sure it's something, but I'm unsure what it is other than avoiding storms.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on July 20, 2021, 12:22:54 PM
So I know nothing about this. I'm curious then, what can suborbital flight help us with? I'm sure it's something, but I'm unsure what it is other than avoiding storms.

I might be wrong, but I believe suborbital flights would help with speed. It can help you travel faster for longer distances.

Not sure if it would take the same amount of energy/fuel though.

So touchdown for Blue Orgin and it seems everything went as accordingly. Fun seeing Wally Funk among the passengers, amazing woman!

Whatever one might think about billionares in space i'm trying to look at it from a bigger picture, hopefully this leads to a big step forward for commercial flight. Sure the day I will afford a ticket is most likely way past my time on this earth.  :lol :-[


I forgot to check this out today but glad it went well. To be honest, I thought this flights would come at a higher price tag, but Virgin Galatic flight will (only) cost $250,000. Which is a lot of money for us common people, but not as expensive as I thought it would be. That just means that when technology gets better, and there is more competition around, the price for a space flight will be a lot more reachable for those who want it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 20, 2021, 12:29:54 PM
So I know nothing about this. I'm curious then, what can suborbital flight help us with? I'm sure it's something, but I'm unsure what it is other than avoiding storms.
I guess the most basic answer is, it's alot cheaper overall than going into space which reflects the ticket prices (~250k), atleast that's the plan moving forward. Since they aren't going into space the training dosen't need to be as intense as the real astrounats has to endure.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on July 20, 2021, 12:32:55 PM
So I know nothing about this. I'm curious then, what can suborbital flight help us with? I'm sure it's something, but I'm unsure what it is other than avoiding storms.
Not much. I'd say that it's in our capability to get there, but neither outfit is really doing anything new. Branson and Bezos have basically just done what the USAF and NASA were doing in '61. At best they're helping to decrease the cost going forward, but Musk is really the one pushing that avenue. Elon is doing something very beneficial. These two I'm really not seeing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Adami on July 20, 2021, 12:37:48 PM
So I know nothing about this. I'm curious then, what can suborbital flight help us with? I'm sure it's something, but I'm unsure what it is other than avoiding storms.
Not much. I'd say that it's in our capability to get there, but neither outfit is really doing anything new. Branson and Bezos have basically just done what the USAF and NASA were doing in '61. At best they're helping to decrease the cost going forward, but Musk is really the one pushing that avenue. Elon is doing something very beneficial. These two I'm really not seeing.

Yea, I just kept reading about how that Bezos and Branson are doing will ultimately help humanity in huge ways and I'm just curious what that is. If suborbital flight serves no purpose other than the novelty, then I don't see how it helps. But if it improves travel or helps with interplanetary travel, that's awesome but I don't see how it does. Yet. Seems that this one really was just a few billionaires having fun.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on July 20, 2021, 12:43:44 PM
So I know nothing about this. I'm curious then, what can suborbital flight help us with? I'm sure it's something, but I'm unsure what it is other than avoiding storms.
Not much. I'd say that it's in our capability to get there, but neither outfit is really doing anything new. Branson and Bezos have basically just done what the USAF and NASA were doing in '61. At best they're helping to decrease the cost going forward, but Musk is really the one pushing that avenue. Elon is doing something very beneficial. These two I'm really not seeing.

To sell tickets to space and profit.  I do think it's somewhat cool to see private companies doing this, but I'm not sure if this is a good use of resources.  However, who am I to say how private citizens spend their money?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 20, 2021, 12:51:56 PM
So I know nothing about this. I'm curious then, what can suborbital flight help us with? I'm sure it's something, but I'm unsure what it is other than avoiding storms.
Not much. I'd say that it's in our capability to get there, but neither outfit is really doing anything new. Branson and Bezos have basically just done what the USAF and NASA were doing in '61. At best they're helping to decrease the cost going forward, but Musk is really the one pushing that avenue. Elon is doing something very beneficial. These two I'm really not seeing.

Yea, I just kept reading about how that Bezos and Branson are doing will ultimately help humanity in huge ways and I'm just curious what that is. If suborbital flight serves no purpose other than the novelty, then I don't see how it helps. But if it improves travel or helps with interplanetary travel, that's awesome but I don't see how it does. Yet. Seems that this one really was just a few billionaires having fun.
I mean we haven't had anything like this ever so one can't exactly say it's not doing anything for space travel, bringing down the price is a huge deal. A ticket with Space X to ISS is 55 millon which include ALOT of training and preperation. Sure the stuff Space X are doing is alot more exciting and beneficial but still though, maybe i'm optimistic but I think it's pretty cool. We'll see in a couple of years how this will evolve.

You have to start somewhere and since it's expensive I feel it's natural to start with a bunch of billionaries willing to burn money.  :lol

The view is pretty incredible even though it's still suborbital:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HzfrCqCLYw&ab_channel=explorethespace

One thing though, if that was me in one of those seats I would like to sit in silence and just take it all in without out all that cheering and noice.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 21, 2021, 08:47:19 AM
I making a model of SN8

(https://i.redd.it/8qo5ntd9wkc71.png)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: kirksnosehair on July 21, 2021, 10:08:26 AM
That's cool!  how many pieces was it?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 21, 2021, 11:16:15 AM
That's cool!  how many pieces was it?

Pictured there, technically 8, but it's only 7 files. The bottom piece fucked up about 70% of the way through, and I had to print the remaining 30% as a different piece. Including the stand, the final model (not counting the screwup) will have 10 pieces. There's a stand I'll be making, and two connector pieces that go inside the model to help anchor everything together.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: v_clortho on July 21, 2021, 07:11:52 PM
are you going to blow it up? :)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 03, 2021, 12:30:41 PM
are you going to blow it up? :)

Negative! Tis' a static model.


I can't believe we're going to finally about to see this thing fly!!!
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1422607954101084161?s=21

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 03, 2021, 03:13:15 PM
are you going to blow it up? :)

Negative! Tis' a static model.


I can't believe we're going to finally about to see this thing fly!!!
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1422607954101084161?s=21
So excited form that!  :metal

Watching Tim's tour of Spacebase with Elon, so much fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t705r8ICkRw&ab_channel=EverydayAstronaut

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on August 05, 2021, 09:46:49 AM
are you going to blow it up? :)

Negative! Tis' a static model.


I can't believe we're going to finally about to see this thing fly!!!
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1422607954101084161?s=21



Or explode.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on August 05, 2021, 11:58:47 AM
Not sure which I'd want to see more.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 06, 2021, 02:39:36 AM
Not sure which I'd want to see more.
Compared to Starship THAT booster is a big badaboom.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 06, 2021, 08:41:54 AM
Siiiiick   

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E8G_zVqX0AQjCQn?format=jpg&name=large)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on August 06, 2021, 09:12:52 AM
Beautiful
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 06, 2021, 03:10:56 PM
Wow that's incredible but wasn't the first super-heavy booster flight supposed to be without Starship?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on August 06, 2021, 08:29:36 PM
Here is another angle

(https://i.imgur.com/Czdt7Ys_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 07, 2021, 05:07:39 PM
Part 2: https://youtu.be/SA8ZBJWo73E

It's like a view into Elon's mind. I love how he pauses after a question to think about his answer.

Part 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zlnbs-NBUI&ab_channel=EverydayAstronaut)

The most interesting of all the parts.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on August 11, 2021, 09:26:32 PM
https://www.space.com/nasa-moon-landing-2024-spacesuit-oig-feasibility

Bummer that the moon mission is delayed, but expected.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MinistroRaven on August 13, 2021, 07:18:50 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V462IsOV3js

 :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on August 16, 2021, 01:18:36 PM
https://www.space.com/nasa-moon-landing-2024-spacesuit-oig-feasibility

Bummer that the moon mission is delayed, but expected.

Well, something else to further delay this.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/jeff-bezos-space-company-blue-origin-is-suing-nasa-as-the-fight-escalates-with-spacex-over-a-lucrative-moon-landing-contract/ar-AANnXrd?ocid=ientp

Jeff Besoz really doesn't want to accept this.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Spiritus on August 26, 2021, 06:13:10 PM
Part 2: https://youtu.be/SA8ZBJWo73E

It's like a view into Elon's mind. I love how he pauses after a question to think about his answer.

Part 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zlnbs-NBUI&ab_channel=EverydayAstronaut)

The most interesting of all the parts.

I keep reading more and more how this guy is a lying, stealing cheat.  Not all is at it seems in the world of Musk
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 26, 2021, 07:18:05 PM
Part 2: https://youtu.be/SA8ZBJWo73E

It's like a view into Elon's mind. I love how he pauses after a question to think about his answer.

Part 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zlnbs-NBUI&ab_channel=EverydayAstronaut)

The most interesting of all the parts.
It looks like the pauses are a combination of things. Part of it is defensive. There are certainly things he doesn't want to go public. Part of it is thoughtfulness. He knows a ton of stuff about these, and wants to get his facts straight. Part of it is that he's probably stoned as fuck. He looked just like I do on edibles.

I like that the Cybertruck shirt he was wearing was the broken window. And one thing I really like about him is that he really wants to understand all aspects of his projects. He's intensely curious, be it by nature or by necessity, and seems able to converse intelligently about all of it.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Spiritus on September 01, 2021, 03:49:43 PM
Part 2: https://youtu.be/SA8ZBJWo73E

It's like a view into Elon's mind. I love how he pauses after a question to think about his answer.

Part 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zlnbs-NBUI&ab_channel=EverydayAstronaut)

The most interesting of all the parts.
It looks like the pauses are a combination of things. Part of it is defensive. There are certainly things he doesn't want to go public. Part of it is thoughtfulness. He knows a ton of stuff about these, and wants to get his facts straight. Part of it is that he's probably stoned as fuck. He looked just like I do on edibles.

I like that the Cybertruck shirt he was wearing was the broken window. And one thing I really like about him is that he really wants to understand all aspects of his projects. He's intensely curious, be it by nature or by necessity, and seems able to converse intelligently about all of it.

Have you guys actually gone in depth in all what is Elon Musk. All the scamming and failures and scamming and bullshit? Or am I the fooled?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on September 02, 2021, 10:24:09 AM
Elon at the very least seems to have a genuine interest in the tech his companies work in, but he's very much standing on the shoulders of giants much cleverer than himself. In that respect he's no different than the other billionaires and tech giant CEOs who cultivate a cult of personality.

Also his insistence of throwing money at hyperloop and the boring company as opposed to just building a goddamn light rail or high speed train system is infuriating.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on September 02, 2021, 11:02:28 AM
Elon at the very least seems to have a genuine interest in the tech his companies work in, but he's very much standing on the shoulders of giants much cleverer than himself. In that respect he's no different than the other billionaires and tech giant CEOs who cultivate a cult of personality.

Also his insistence of throwing money at hyperloop and the boring company as opposed to just building a goddamn light rail or high speed train system is infuriating.
We're all standing on the shoulders of giants. At the same time, he seems to be engaged in a one man space race, so while I don't know if he's a good guy or not, I'm rooting for him and Space X. What he's done over the span of 15 years has been remarkable. It's something that would traditionally take massive government involvement, and he's doing what our government is no longer capable of, and doing it fairly well.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on September 02, 2021, 11:07:40 AM
Don't disagree with that, SpaceX does fantastic work. Where we probably disagree is how much this is attributable to Musk himself.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on September 02, 2021, 12:33:44 PM
Don't disagree with that, SpaceX does fantastic work. Where we probably disagree is how much this is attributable to Musk himself.
On a scientific level, zero. On a managerial level a great deal. And while he may be a crook (I really have no idea), I do buy into his sincerity about wanting to change the world. I think the dude want's to all that he can before he runs out of time, and that's good for everybody.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on September 02, 2021, 01:24:36 PM
I admire everything Musk is doing. As Barto said, I believe he is genuine about wanting to advance our technology and civilization as a whole. My only beef with Musk is that he has been polluting the night sky.

From a technology stand point, it is great. As someone who observes the night sky regularly, it's fun to catch a satellite here and there (specially through a telescope). As someone who does astrophotography, it's annoying to see a streak in one of my images.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on September 02, 2021, 02:07:30 PM
My only beef with Musk is that he has been polluting the night sky.

Yeah. This is brutal. And it's only going to continue to get worse as we 'advance' as a species.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on September 10, 2021, 09:52:21 PM
Anyone watch the Netflix documentary on the upcoming Inspiration4 launch? Really well done, and some seriously moving stories, especially the pediatric cancer survivor. I challenge anyone to watch her backstory and not shed a tear or two.

Really getting excited to see the launch now.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 10, 2021, 10:19:31 PM
My only beef with Musk is that he has been polluting the night sky.

Yeah. This is brutal. And it's only going to continue to get worse as we 'advance' as a species.

I go back and forth with this one so much.

While light pollution in the night sky is a bummer for astronomers, you can't deny being able to bring high speed internet to every inch of this planet isn't advanced as all hell. Doctors, hospitals, construction efforts, governments, locals, educators, etc can now communicate in real time and to modern standards in the most remote and harshest environments our planet has to offer. Solar panels, battery storage, and reliable satellite based communication (video and large amounts of data) are a godsend to a huge number of people on this planet.

I really do sympathize with the back yard astronomers and observatories, but this is true advancement as a species in every sense of the word. I don't think it'll make it's way to the hobbyists, but I'm guessing the ground observatories will eventually incorporate some kind of digital/AI filter that removes the light pollution caused by the satellites, something similar to the software hot fix that allowed Hubble to still see despite the manufacturing defect in the mirror.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 11, 2021, 12:24:38 AM
I know their visible from earth but can you call that light pollution? That too me sounds more like more "moving stars in the sky light" kind of problem. Light pollution to my knowledge is about light on earth blocking the sky like citylight in cities.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on September 11, 2021, 07:43:26 AM
Oh yeah Chino, no argument there. Thats why the first part of my comment was saying that from a technology stand point, what he is doing is great.

Rest of my comment comes more from a selfish view of wanting my astrophotos to be as clean as possible  :P the minor inconvenience to me and others in the same hobby is very, very, very minor compared to what he is doing to advance our technology.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 11, 2021, 09:09:03 AM
I know their visible from earth but can you call that light pollution? That too me sounds more like more "moving stars in the sky light" kind of problem. Light pollution to my knowledge is about light on earth blocking the sky like citylight in cities.

Taking photos of space requires really long exposures, so those satellites orbiting create very long and annoying white lines in the final pictures.

I'm not sure if "light pollution" is the proper term, I don't know what it's official definition. Either way, the added light in the night sky is making it harder to see into space from Earth. Orbiting telescopes aren't impacted by this.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 11, 2021, 10:18:00 AM
I know their visible from earth but can you call that light pollution? That too me sounds more like more "moving stars in the sky light" kind of problem. Light pollution to my knowledge is about light on earth blocking the sky like citylight in cities.

Taking photos of space requires really long exposures, so those satellites orbiting create very long and annoying white lines in the final pictures.

I'm not sure if "light pollution" is the proper term, I don't know what it's official definition. Either way, the added light in the night sky is making it harder to see into space from Earth. Orbiting telescopes aren't impacted by this.
Oh that makes sense, didn't thought about that.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 11, 2021, 11:04:23 AM
Oh yeah Chino, no argument there. Thats why the first part of my comment was saying that from a technology stand point, what he is doing is great.

Rest of my comment comes more from a selfish view of wanting my astrophotos to be as clean as possible  :P the minor inconvenience to me and others in the same hobby is very, very, very minor compared to what he is doing to advance our technology.

What kind of telescope to you have?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on September 11, 2021, 02:56:45 PM
Oh yeah Chino, no argument there. Thats why the first part of my comment was saying that from a technology stand point, what he is doing is great.

Rest of my comment comes more from a selfish view of wanting my astrophotos to be as clean as possible  :P the minor inconvenience to me and others in the same hobby is very, very, very minor compared to what he is doing to advance our technology.

What kind of telescope to you have?

I have 2 scopes: a Celestron 70mm (refractor) Travel Scope and a Celestron NexStar 8SE. I use a ZWO ASI178MC camera, or a Canon T7i with an 24mm, F/2.8 lens for landscape images
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 15, 2021, 03:14:51 PM
Inspiration4 launch in about 3 hours. I'm probably not awake to see it though, hopefully it all goes well.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on November 07, 2021, 08:21:13 AM
Inspiration4 launch in about 3 hours. I'm probably not awake to see it though, hopefully it all goes well.

Did you watch Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space on Netflix? I like the first 2 episodes in this mini series.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on November 07, 2021, 08:59:51 AM
As unboxing videos go, this is a really good one

https://youtu.be/nNtt7GN7YH8
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 07, 2021, 11:09:00 AM
Inspiration4 launch in about 3 hours. I'm probably not awake to see it though, hopefully it all goes well.

Did you watch Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space on Netflix? I like the first 2 episodes in this mini series.
Yea but i've only watched the first episode so far.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on November 08, 2021, 07:09:59 AM
Pretty cool Star Base video that was released the other day. Just a quick 90 second thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeVbYCIFVa8
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on November 08, 2021, 07:55:20 AM
Damn cool, thanks for sharing.  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on November 08, 2021, 08:01:55 AM
Pretty cool Star Base video that was released the other day. Just a quick 90 second thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeVbYCIFVa8


That was great, that last drone shot with the zoom out was nuts.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 02, 2021, 06:03:29 AM
Dope!

https://old.reddit.com/r/elonmusk/comments/r6u15g/i_am_speechless/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on December 06, 2021, 07:50:58 PM
Dope!

https://old.reddit.com/r/elonmusk/comments/r6u15g/i_am_speechless/

That's so cool!

Here's some weird news for ya

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.space.com/amp/china-yutu-2-moon-rover-cube-shaped-object-photos

Probably nothing, but intriguing nonetheless
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 07, 2021, 12:42:29 AM
Dope!

https://old.reddit.com/r/elonmusk/comments/r6u15g/i_am_speechless/

That's so cool!

Here's some weird news for ya

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.space.com/amp/china-yutu-2-moon-rover-cube-shaped-object-photos

Probably nothing, but intriguing nonetheless
Hmm interesting, right now in everyones mind it's an alien structure made by a lost civilisation. In a couple of days it turn out to be just a natural made rock in a kinda cube like formation.  :D
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on December 07, 2021, 06:39:28 AM
 :lol that's my guess too. Some cubed shaped rock that looks nothing like it up close.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: hunnus2000 on December 07, 2021, 10:01:56 AM
Seriously, we can land a rover on Mars. We can a control and communicate with it. All this technology and all we get is a blurry pic circa 1975?

Geez... :tdwn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 07, 2021, 11:11:25 AM
Seriously, we can land a rover on Mars. We can a control and communicate with it. All this technology and all we get is a blurry pic circa 1975?

Geez... :tdwn

We usually use lower res/black and white imagery for distant viewing and bulk image collection. It's way less data that needs to be beamed back to Earth. We'll start taking Hi Def images once we have a target.

However, I don't think the rover that took this image is equipped with any kind of quality camera. It's China's first lander since the 70's, and the primary objectives for the mission were/are to orbit the moon, land, and do a sample return. It's not really exploring. It's more China's way of dipping their toe back into the lunar ocean. I wouldn't be surprised if the cameras that took the cube image are for navigation purposes only.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 16, 2021, 03:20:15 PM
I'm starting to get a bit jiggy because THE launch of the century oups meant decade is just days upon us. :omg:

I REALLY hope everything goes as planned or atleast with no major incidents.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on December 21, 2021, 02:17:09 PM
I'm starting to get a bit jiggy because THE launch of the century oups meant decade is just days upon us. :omg:

I REALLY hope everything goes as planned or atleast with no major incidents.

Didn't realize the launch was pushed back to Dec 24th. Hopefully everything goes as plan  :corn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on December 21, 2021, 02:20:40 PM
I'm optimistic for the launch, the tricky part will be the unfolding and fine tuning that happens in the next 6 months to produce meaningful results.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 21, 2021, 04:05:30 PM
I'm starting to get a bit jiggy because THE launch of the century oups meant decade is just days upon us. :omg:

I REALLY hope everything goes as planned or atleast with no major incidents.

Didn't realize the launch was pushed back to Dec 24th. Hopefully everything goes as plan  :corn
Yea I kinda missed that too. That's christmas day in my part of the world. I'm excited for this launch!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 23, 2021, 08:51:06 AM
JWST moved to the 25th. I wonder when someone has the nerve to press the launch button?  :lol

(https://c.tenor.com/2cnvQNg0kZkAAAAC/no-way-never.gif)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on December 23, 2021, 08:57:19 AM
I wondered if the delays were because of weather, and if it is so, we won't see a launch before the New Year

https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/d40a371b14f3afc345b16522ef119529e75a405f4d56d0ef54fd842febb3e6fc
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on December 23, 2021, 04:24:34 PM
I wondered if the delays were because of weather, and if it is so, we won't see a launch before the New Year

https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/d40a371b14f3afc345b16522ef119529e75a405f4d56d0ef54fd842febb3e6fc

Weather is monitored by the minute. They only need a short window to launch.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 25, 2021, 03:10:43 AM
T-minus 2h9m
T-minus 6min  :omg:

LiftOff

Let's go!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on December 25, 2021, 05:16:52 AM
Woke up early just for this!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: hunnus2000 on December 25, 2021, 07:03:09 AM
So how long will it take for it to get to its destination so it can unfurl its shield?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 25, 2021, 07:20:45 AM
So how long will it take for it to get to its destination so it can unfurl its shield?
29 days until it reaches L2. As far as I understand it, it will be unfolded on the journey to it's destination.

https://www.inverse.com/science/whats-the-roadmap-for-james-webb-telescope-now

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: hunnus2000 on December 25, 2021, 08:09:14 AM
WOW! Exciting times!!  :metal
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on December 25, 2021, 12:54:16 PM
This is an excellent Christmas present.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: frogprog on December 25, 2021, 08:10:58 PM
Reading through the roadmap.... Yeah, not much that can go wrong there!!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Fiery Winds on January 06, 2022, 07:56:43 PM
Nerve-wracking last couple weeks, but everything seems to be going about as well as hoped! Last major assembly left is to unfold the two side wings of the primary mirror.

These are two great sites for tracking the progress so far:

https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/whereIsWebb.html

https://planet4589.org/space/misc/webb/time.html
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on January 06, 2022, 07:57:32 PM
Those are the exact two sites I've been religiously following daily. Things are indeed looking great so far.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on January 13, 2022, 11:05:45 AM
Tim Dodds recent video about why rocket engines don't melt is super interesting.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on February 10, 2022, 06:25:50 AM
What a glorious beast.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLNbf90UYAMdbBJ?format=jpg&name=large)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on February 10, 2022, 10:29:02 AM
A starlink constellation disintegrating over Puerto Rico. As far as I'm concerned the dude can launch all of the tiny satellites he wants if he sets them all to de-orbit after a set amount of time so we can enjoy the fireworks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=84&v=a7KUSN89-A0&feature=emb_title
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on February 13, 2022, 03:16:16 AM
What a glorious beast.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLNbf90UYAMdbBJ?format=jpg&name=large)
It's freaking huge! I saw some workers at the bottom and that kinda revealed the scale of it.

I heard about one mission they planned to go to Mars in orbit with a bunch of artists. That sounded interesting.

If I understood correctly they will move all activity to Cape if Boca get struck with more FAA hassle.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 14, 2022, 02:28:54 PM
I always felt it was such a wonderful thing about the relationship and work between Russia and US when it comes to space. Of all the drama in the world that mutual interest for space was still going strong despite politics. Although of course so much stuff was probably happening behind the scenes that we don't know about and some of it was a facade but in general I hope you know what I mean.

Seems like that relationship might end sadly given all the sanctions and so on. I honestly feel so sad about that.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on March 14, 2022, 02:43:00 PM
Yeah, the current situation is going to have a domino effect on a lot of things.

On a random thought, have any of you tried a "Digital telescope"? I was looking into it and they are expensive, but a cool way to observed with you want to get more details.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_AS0R4x_cE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sMnhYMyR68
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on March 16, 2022, 08:49:34 PM
This is nice to see. The great experiment.

(https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LFP2BcJRZt759y2dNW3HyE.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on March 17, 2022, 08:24:33 AM
Yeah it looks really great on a large monitor, so many galaxies in that picture in various orientations. Really can't wait to see what JWT can show us.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 17, 2022, 01:39:07 PM
That's really cool! I just love how smooth the progress have been from lift-off to now. I'm so excited for the deep space discoveries JWST will bring.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on May 12, 2022, 08:28:52 AM
The first picture of a supermassive black hole was revealed today, I think there was an illustration of it before that I had seen and this looks remarkably similar to that.

https://eventhorizontelescope.org/blog/astronomers-reveal-first-image-black-hole-heart-our-galaxy
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on May 12, 2022, 10:03:37 AM
It's the first image of the Black Hole in the center of our galaxy, but they revealed the image of a Black Hole at the center of Messier 87 (Another galaxy) a few years ago. Still cool though.

First image:
(https://scitechdaily.com/images/First-Image-of-a-Black-Hole.jpg)

Image from today:
(https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/styles/os_files_xxlarge/public/eht/files/avgimage_afmhot_us_edit.png?m=1652355847&itok=GKWxJJhQ)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on May 12, 2022, 10:26:32 AM
Watching the European Commission press conference right now.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 14, 2022, 12:49:25 PM
Elon Musk Explains Updates To Starship And Tours Starbase! [Spring 2022] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ux6B3bvO0w&ab_channel=EverydayAstronaut)

Even though I don't understand 80% of what they talk about it's still fun seeing them so interactive with eachother. So much passion goes into what they do.

Also that place is freakin huge!

Go up SpaceX's Starship-catching robotic launch tower with Elon Musk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP5k3ZzPf_0&ab_channel=EverydayAstronaut)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 15, 2022, 04:13:55 PM
Sry for double post but I find this absolutely fascinating. So much stuff goes into producing an image like the Sagittarius A. It's also a very well made video by Veritasium.

A Picture of the Milky Way's Supermassive Black Hole (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1bSDnuIPbo&ab_channel=Veritasium)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on May 30, 2022, 08:00:45 PM
For those interested and feeling adventurous, we might have a meteor shower/storm later tonight, around 1AM Est.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on July 10, 2022, 09:27:44 PM
First full color image from the Webb will be released by the President at 5pm EDT tomorrow.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 11, 2022, 04:12:45 AM
Should be really interesting!  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 11, 2022, 06:47:39 AM
My body is ready!!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on July 11, 2022, 07:13:36 AM
Same here, can't wait. Extremely excited about tomorrow where NASA gives out more details on the images captured.

They did release another test image that had some incredible details and some guy made an awesome video comparing his telescope image to that of the JWST.
It's a great video, kudos to the person who put this together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1mObQX7NN8&ab_channel=k2qogir

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on July 11, 2022, 04:25:21 PM
Ok...first image is out...basically a grain of sand at arm's length section of the sky, and it's like the deep space shot on steroids. Hopefully they'll have some HD images out soon, but yeah, this fucker is gonna change everything.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on July 11, 2022, 04:37:23 PM
Yeah rest of the data is out tomorrow, image is of the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723. Amazing stuff.

https://www.nasa.gov/webbfirstimages
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 11, 2022, 05:20:40 PM
Just looking at the tempature difference on Webb which side  of the sun it's facing gives an inside how hostile space is.

From +113 to -449 yeezes!

https://webb.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/whereIsWebb.html
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on July 11, 2022, 06:42:24 PM
Not sure if true or not, but apparently Hubble Vs. JSWT

(https://i.redd.it/9uyhwijeo0b91.gif)

I say not sure if true because I don't remember seeing that same image from Hubble
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Implode on July 11, 2022, 06:57:37 PM
I'd believe it based on the detraction spikes. Because of the shape of the effective aperture, Hubble images have four major spikes whereas JWST have six.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on July 11, 2022, 08:07:09 PM
Yeah I think I saw the same image on Twitter and they had the source details of the Hubble pic. The conference tomorrow should be interesting. NASA have already mentioned what the five locations  (https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-shares-list-of-cosmic-targets-for-webb-telescope-s-first-images)will be




Quote

These listed targets below represent the first wave of full-color scientific images and spectra the observatory has gathered, and the official beginning of Webb’s general science operations. They were selected by an international committee of representatives from NASA, ESA, CSA, and the Space Telescope Science Institute.

- Carina Nebula: The Carina Nebula is one of the largest and brightest nebulae in the sky, located approximately 7,600 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. Nebulae are stellar nurseries where stars form. The Carina Nebula is home to many massive stars, several times larger than the Sun.

- WASP-96 b (spectrum): WASP-96 b is a giant planet outside our solar system, composed mainly of gas. The planet, located nearly 1,150 light-years from Earth, orbits its star every 3.4 days. It has about half the mass of Jupiter, and its discovery was announced in 2014.

- Southern Ring Nebula: The Southern Ring, or “Eight-Burst” nebula, is a planetary nebula – an expanding cloud of gas, surrounding a dying star. It is nearly half a light-year in diameter and is located approximately 2,000 light years away from Earth.

- Stephan’s Quintet: About 290 million light-years away, Stephan’s Quintet is located in the constellation Pegasus. It is notable for being the first compact galaxy group ever discovered in 1877. Four of the five galaxies within the quintet are locked in a cosmic dance of repeated close encounters.

- SMACS 0723: Massive foreground galaxy clusters magnify and distort the light of objects behind them, permitting a deep field view into both the extremely distant and intrinsically faint galaxy populations.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 12, 2022, 01:28:19 AM
Yeah I think I saw the same image on Twitter and they had the source details of the Hubble pic. The conference tomorrow should be interesting. NASA have already mentioned what the five locations  (https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-shares-list-of-cosmic-targets-for-webb-telescope-s-first-images)will be




Quote
- WASP-96 b (spectrum): WASP-96 b is a giant planet outside our solar system, composed mainly of gas. The planet, located nearly 1,150 light-years from Earth, orbits its star every 3.4 days. It has about half the mass of Jupiter, and its discovery was announced in 2014.
This sounds the most exciting on paper but the image i'm imagining won't look anything like the real thing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on July 12, 2022, 11:06:30 AM
It's a real comparison. You can find the raw files from HST here:

https://archive.stsci.edu/prepds/relics/color_images/smacs0723-73.html
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on July 12, 2022, 11:16:08 AM
The new images released today are again breathtaking.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on July 12, 2022, 11:20:25 AM
Just stupid levels of breathtaking.  :hefdaddy
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on July 12, 2022, 11:35:58 AM
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/main_image_star-forming_region_carina_nircam_final-5mb.jpg

Holy. Moley.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Adami on July 12, 2022, 11:45:02 AM
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/main_image_star-forming_region_carina_nircam_final-5mb.jpg

Holy. Moley.

That one is so insane it looks fake. I'm actually having a hard time convincing my brain it's not a painting.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on July 12, 2022, 01:45:42 PM
Amazing stuff!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on July 12, 2022, 01:48:14 PM
I wonder what the actual resolution is on the pictures?

Amazing stuff!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on July 12, 2022, 02:17:26 PM
They just released this one as well.....


(https://i.imgur.com/ohWcEwM.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Cool Chris on July 12, 2022, 02:25:06 PM
Not following this thread at all but saw this post via the 'Recent Posts' link and had to jump in and say well played.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on July 12, 2022, 02:25:38 PM
LMAO I now need to watch that movie, both cuts.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on July 12, 2022, 02:27:47 PM
 :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on July 12, 2022, 03:58:02 PM
Oh my fucking Zod!  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on July 12, 2022, 05:51:54 PM
I'm a big fan of science simply for the sake of science. I'm also a big James Burke fan, so I understand very well that there's no telling where any discovery might take us. So I'm real cool with the JWST. They seem to have done a super job.  :tup

At the same time, I was kind of expecting something new and revolutionary. I don't see that here. I see "much better," but nothing really game changing. The pictures we're seeing look great, but twenty five years ago we were all oohing and awing over the HST pictures. This seems rather underwhelming to me.

Also, HST was able to look back to about Boom+500 million years. JWST might be able to go back as far as Boom+100. Is that 400 million year difference likely to be all that meaningful? From what I can tell they both make up an early chunk of the cosmological dark ages, before which very little was actually happening. Are they already working on a telescope that'll take us back to B+10?

Lastly, I'd be interested in knowing how much of what we're seeing is data and how much is interpolation. The reason the current picture looks like a painting is because in some respects it is. If nothing else it was colorized. I'd be curious to know how close to the pretty pictures the raw data is. Or, more to the point, how much of that is human interpretation.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on July 12, 2022, 06:50:01 PM
They actually had the scientists who interpreted the data into the pictures describe their methods during the NASA stream this morning, I was working at the time, so couldn't pay close attention. And even if I could, I miserably failed college physics, so most of it would probably go over my head anyways.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on July 12, 2022, 06:52:38 PM
I don't know if the released pictures are the extent of the power of JWST. I assume the instruments are a lot more sensitive than Hubble and will be able to reach out further, it could just be what was prioritized to get things going.

You're right about these being a painting and in a sense they all are. These pictures aren't visible in the regular spectrum that you and I see, they are of different infrared wavelengths that are assigned colors so to speak at various depths. It's the same case with the pictures from Hubble. Often different layers of data are combined to give these grandiose picturesque spacecapes. NASA should make all the raw data available at some point, they often do from what I understand.


Here's the description  (https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2022/031/01G77PKB8NKR7S8Z6HBXMYATGJ)on the Carina image
Quote


These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam instrument. Several filters were used to sample narrow and broad wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are:   Red: F444W, Orange: F335M, Yellow: F470N, Green: F200W, Cyan: F187N, Blue: F090W
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on July 13, 2022, 04:59:30 AM
At the same time, I was kind of expecting something new and revolutionary. I don't see that here. I see "much better," but nothing really game changing. The pictures we're seeing look great, but twenty five years ago we were all oohing and awing over the HST pictures. This seems rather underwhelming to me.

It terms of resolution and ability to pick out distant objects out of the background noise, it blows HST out of the water, but this is the least interesting part of JWST. Hubble was a visible light and near-infrared telescope and so could only really do science on objects and features emitted at those wavelengths. Older objects however, have been red shifted so much that most of their light is in the mid and far-infrared, and that is where JWST excels which means that it can look at objects much older and closer to the big bang than HST ever could. Additionally, IR spectroscopy is very useful in determining molecular composition, as molecules have a very distinct IR emission spectrum related to their structure and how the molecules bend and vibrate:

https://www.savemyexams.co.uk/dp/chemistry_sl/ib/16/revision-notes/11-measurements--data-processes/11-1-spectroscopic-identification/11-1-4-infrared-spectroscopy/

JWST has already managed to measure the molecular composition of the atmosphere of a planet 1000 light years away. That is remarkable.

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Webb/Webb_reveals_steamy_atmosphere_of_distant_planet_in_exquisite_detail

Quote
Also, HST was able to look back to about Boom+500 million years. JWST might be able to go back as far as Boom+100. Is that 400 million year difference likely to be all that meaningful?

Long story short: yes. The transition from the dark age to the first stars being born occurred somewhere in the period of 100-500 million years after the big bang. With JWST there is a good possibility of being able to observe the very first stars that ever existed, and how the large scale structure of the universe was created.

Quote
Lastly, I'd be interested in knowing how much of what we're seeing is data and how much is interpolation. The reason the current picture looks like a painting is because in some respects it is. If nothing else it was colorized. I'd be curious to know how close to the pretty pictures the raw data is. Or, more to the point, how much of that is human interpretation.

Vox did a pretty summary of how the photos are colourised.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSG0MnmUsEY&t=211s

To summarise: the telescope itself monochromatic, so the raw data is just going to be a black and white photo. To get any colour at all, you have to take several exposures with different filters that select specific wavelengths, and then combine them digitally (your digital camera is also monochromatic at the sensor level but uses an in built filter to create a colour image. If you can use broadband filters in the red, green and blue spectrum, you can can generate true to life pictures, and when Hubble or JWST takes pictures of things like Jupiter or planets in our solar system, this is what you see. For other objects, you instead use narrowband filters that select only a very specific wavelength that corresponds to a particular atomic feature (for example H-alpha (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-alpha)) and then map that to either the red green or blue channels in the picture. That way the composite photo becomes a map describing the composition of the thing you are looking at. It's not interpolation, any more than representing population density using a graph like this (https://ecpmlangues.unistra.fr/civilization/geography/maps/US%20Population%20density,%202010%20570x361.png) is interpolation. It's just a method of data presentation. The data itself is real.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on July 13, 2022, 06:15:32 AM
Thanks for the summary, very informative. (except for your constant misspelling of 'color' of course)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on July 13, 2022, 08:18:17 AM
At the same time, I was kind of expecting something new and revolutionary. I don't see that here. I see "much better," but nothing really game changing. The pictures we're seeing look great, but twenty five years ago we were all oohing and awing over the HST pictures. This seems rather underwhelming to me.

It terms of resolution and ability to pick out distant objects out of the background noise, it blows HST out of the water, but this is the least interesting part of JWST. Hubble was a visible light and near-infrared telescope and so could only really do science on objects and features emitted at those wavelengths. Older objects however, have been red shifted so much that most of their light is in the mid and far-infrared, and that is where JWST excels which means that it can look at objects much older and closer to the big bang than HST ever could. Additionally, IR spectroscopy is very useful in determining molecular composition, as molecules have a very distinct IR emission spectrum related to their structure and how the molecules bend and vibrate:

https://www.savemyexams.co.uk/dp/chemistry_sl/ib/16/revision-notes/11-measurements--data-processes/11-1-spectroscopic-identification/11-1-4-infrared-spectroscopy/

JWST has already managed to measure the molecular composition of the atmosphere of a planet 1000 light years away. That is remarkable.

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Webb/Webb_reveals_steamy_atmosphere_of_distant_planet_in_exquisite_detail

Quote
Also, HST was able to look back to about Boom+500 million years. JWST might be able to go back as far as Boom+100. Is that 400 million year difference likely to be all that meaningful?

Long story short: yes. The transition from the dark age to the first stars being born occurred somewhere in the period of 100-500 million years after the big bang. With JWST there is a good possibility of being able to observe the very first stars that ever existed, and how the large scale structure of the universe was created.

Quote
Lastly, I'd be interested in knowing how much of what we're seeing is data and how much is interpolation. The reason the current picture looks like a painting is because in some respects it is. If nothing else it was colorized. I'd be curious to know how close to the pretty pictures the raw data is. Or, more to the point, how much of that is human interpretation.

Vox did a pretty summary of how the photos are colourised.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSG0MnmUsEY&t=211s

To summarise: the telescope itself monochromatic, so the raw data is just going to be a black and white photo. To get any colour at all, you have to take several exposures with different filters that select specific wavelengths, and then combine them digitally (your digital camera is also monochromatic at the sensor level but uses an in built filter to create a colour image. If you can use broadband filters in the red, green and blue spectrum, you can can generate true to life pictures, and when Hubble or JWST takes pictures of things like Jupiter or planets in our solar system, this is what you see. For other objects, you instead use narrowband filters that select only a very specific wavelength that corresponds to a particular atomic feature (for example H-alpha (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-alpha)) and then map that to either the red green or blue channels in the picture. That way the composite photo becomes a map describing the composition of the thing you are looking at. It's not interpolation, any more than representing population density using a graph like this (https://ecpmlangues.unistra.fr/civilization/geography/maps/US%20Population%20density,%202010%20570x361.png) is interpolation. It's just a method of data presentation. The data itself is real.
I just noticed there's a guy staring menacingly out of your avatar. Huh.

Spectroscopy is indeed a big deal. If that's something Webb can do and not HST, then that's a game changer. Far different from the pretty pictures we're seeing.

Nice summary of the color representation. However, I still think there's a fair amount of artistic license taking place in those. The space cliffs thing may well be a map, but it's a map that's been crafted to look interesting to human eyes.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on July 13, 2022, 08:47:14 AM
Nice summary of the color representation. However, I still think there's a fair amount of artistic license taking place in those. The space cliffs thing may well be a map, but it's a map that's been crafted to look interesting to human eyes.

But that's the case with most pictures we see of deep Space. The colors are enhanced to distinguish certain features but doesn't mean those aren't there. It's just our eyes/brain suck at interpreting wavelengths outside of the visible spectrum humans can see. There was a discussion some time ago on CloudyNights about this,

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/793016-isnt-astrophotography-fake/?hl=%20fake

I understand both sides of the argument but as someone who does Astrophotography every so often, I tend to lean on the "not fake" side of things. For what is worth, the cliff image is from the Carina Nebula, which looks something like this with just some color.

(https://i.redd.it/gsrmsglovtd41.jpg)

Here is a monochrome image of it:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/2049/2172424638_ea1c7c26b9.jpg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on July 13, 2022, 10:15:32 AM
Nice summary of the color representation. However, I still think there's a fair amount of artistic license taking place in those. The space cliffs thing may well be a map, but it's a map that's been crafted to look interesting to human eyes.

Sure thing. But that's just part of good data presentation. Which is especially important for data that is designed to be communicated to people who will vary wildly in scientific background.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on July 13, 2022, 10:48:56 AM
Well...

https://old.reddit.com/r/space/comments/vy3a3h/james_webb_deep_field_image_scale/


I am impressed.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on July 14, 2022, 07:35:45 PM
I found this article very helpful in giving a brief and simple breakdown of the images revealed so far by the JWST.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-14/james-webb-telescope-first-images-details-breakdown/101231818 (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-14/james-webb-telescope-first-images-details-breakdown/101231818)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Dublagent66 on July 15, 2022, 10:01:18 AM
Well...

https://old.reddit.com/r/space/comments/vy3a3h/james_webb_deep_field_image_scale/


I am impressed.

Damn!  Nothing short of mind boggling. :eek
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on July 22, 2022, 06:13:34 PM
(https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2207/JWST_NGC628_Robert_Eder_V2.jpg)

Now this is neat. This is a view of Messier 74, a spiral galaxy about 32 million light years from earth, viewed with JWST. You can see voids in the structure, which are hypothesised to be caused by supernovae, which in turn condenses material around the radius and causes new stars to ignite.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on July 23, 2022, 01:47:47 PM
Damn...the sheer violence and magnitude of energy that must've been involved in those. Breathtaking. Wonder how many fledgling civilizations were wiped out?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 05, 2022, 06:37:06 PM
Quote
Humanity’s mission back to the Moon is about to see its first major test in just a few weeks. NASA has announced that Artemis I, the uncrewed test mission of its new rocket and capsule, will roll out to the launch pad on August 18 for the expected launch on August 29.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di_SsQpLiv8&ab_channel=EuropeanSpaceAgency%2CESA

Can't wait for the day we finally have boots on the Moon again. No matter what it's a symbolic thing the fact that we can do it but of course also one step closer to the red planet.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 22, 2022, 08:18:57 AM
Some stunning images on Jupiter by JWST:

(https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/wp-content/uploads/sites/326/2022/08/JWST_2022-07-27_Jupiter.png)

(https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/wp-content/uploads/sites/326/2022/08/JWST_2022-07-27_Jupiter_2color.png)

(https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/wp-content/uploads/sites/326/2022/08/JWST_2022-07-27_Jupiter_2color_labels-1.png)

https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/08/22/webbs-jupiter-images-showcase-auroras-hazes/?utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=NASAWebb&utm_campaign=NASASocial&linkId=178177184
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on August 22, 2022, 08:30:30 AM
damn that's awesome :hefdaddy
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on August 22, 2022, 08:35:18 AM
IR imaging reveals real beauty.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on August 22, 2022, 08:45:25 AM
Amazing pictures for sure, I saw them on my twitter feed ( side annoyance: I hate how Twitter puts other topics I'm interested in more than the actual feed of those who I follow, so a bunch of time I don't even see the original source of pics, videos and articles unless I search for it)

I really like the visualization of Jupiter's ring.  I don't think I ever saw that before.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 22, 2022, 12:09:56 PM
Hot damn.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on August 25, 2022, 05:38:03 AM
Beautiful, just beautiful... that can easily be an album cover.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 28, 2022, 05:00:20 PM
T-minus 13:32mins until lift-off.  :corn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on August 29, 2022, 06:09:12 AM
Pull up the live stream to find out they are having issues and it may not happen? that's a bummer
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 29, 2022, 06:35:35 AM
I'll be very surprised if this launches today :/ With its current price tag, I can't see them chancing anything. Some NASA guy came on a the stream and mentioned a "bleed" in engine 3. I have no idea what that means.

Edit: As soon as I posted this the launch was scrubbed. That sucks. I'm still very much against this rocket, but I would have liked to have seen it launch.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: ReaperKK on August 29, 2022, 06:57:15 AM
Genuinely curious, why are you against this rocket?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 29, 2022, 07:27:41 AM
I just don't think NASA has any business being in the launch business anymore. We're what, like $23B into this rocket alone? And I believe each launch thereafter costs $1B+. I'm all for throwing money at NASA. I wish they got more. But at this stage, the private sector has proven that they are more than capable of routinely delivering payloads to space for a tenth of what NASA's launch systems can. NASA should be focused on space imaging, space settlements/habitats, and the exploration of other celestial bodies in our solar system - Basically all the stuff that doesn't provide a return on investment for private companies.

I'm all for the Artemis mission itself. I just think it's the SLS that's a complete waste. Our money could be much better utilized on other space endeavors.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on August 29, 2022, 09:28:04 AM
The private sector (which in reality means SpaceX) have a demonstrated ability to get stuff into LEO. They have much less demonstrated ability beyond it, and essentially nothing when it comes to longer term crew life support. There is nothing in the private sector that comes close to getting people to the moon within a reasonable time frame.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 29, 2022, 09:45:15 AM
The private sector (which in reality means SpaceX) have a demonstrated ability to get stuff into LEO. They have much less demonstrated ability beyond it, and essentially nothing when it comes to longer term crew life support. There is nothing in the private sector that comes close to getting people to the moon within a reasonable time frame.

True, but 10 years ago you'd have said the same thing about life support capsules to and from the ISS, yet here we are with Crew Dragon. Falcon Heavy in its current config is already capable to getting stuff into lunar orbit/to the moon, no? I believe they're scheduled to bring a lander there some time early next year.

When it comes to the private sector and you say "There is nothing in the private sector that comes close to getting people to the moon", it's because they haven't had a need. It's not that the private sector can't. It's that they don't have (haven't had) any reason for doing so. If NASA approached SpaceX and said "In 10 years time we need a rocket that can carry 8 people to the moon for $500M a trip or less", I'm thinking SpaceX would solve that one in no time. I'm talking a working prototype in 3 years or less. If NASA would pay for the seats, the private sector would make it a reality. 

Crew Dragon was developed with something like $2.3B in funding to SpaceX from NASA. They've spent $23B on this rocket so far and haven't even lit the candle yet. $23B would go way further in SpaceX's hands than in NASA's when it comes to rocket launches. NASA could have bought 237 Falcon Heavy launches for what they've spent so far just getting this SLS rocket to the pad. 

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: hunnus2000 on August 29, 2022, 01:23:43 PM
I just don't think NASA has any business being in the launch business anymore. We're what, like $23B into this rocket alone? And I believe each launch thereafter costs $1B+. I'm all for throwing money at NASA. I wish they got more. But at this stage, the private sector has proven that they are more than capable of routinely delivering payloads to space for a tenth of what NASA's launch systems can. NASA should be focused on space imaging, space settlements/habitats, and the exploration of other celestial bodies in our solar system - Basically all the stuff that doesn't provide a return on investment for private companies.

I'm all for the Artemis mission itself. I just think it's the SLS that's a complete waste. Our money could be much better utilized on other space endeavors.

Isn't this a SpaceX rocket?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 29, 2022, 01:38:06 PM
I just don't think NASA has any business being in the launch business anymore. We're what, like $23B into this rocket alone? And I believe each launch thereafter costs $1B+. I'm all for throwing money at NASA. I wish they got more. But at this stage, the private sector has proven that they are more than capable of routinely delivering payloads to space for a tenth of what NASA's launch systems can. NASA should be focused on space imaging, space settlements/habitats, and the exploration of other celestial bodies in our solar system - Basically all the stuff that doesn't provide a return on investment for private companies.

I'm all for the Artemis mission itself. I just think it's the SLS that's a complete waste. Our money could be much better utilized on other space endeavors.

Isn't this a SpaceX rocket?
If you're asking about Artemis, it's NASA's in house rocket repurposing SSMEs. It's essentially the old orbiter stack without the orbiter and significantly bigger SRBs. THe problem with the price tag is that SSME's are terribly expensive, and while the shuttle reused them, these will burn up afterward.

That said, the SLS system has a massive payload, far greater than Falcon Heavy, and it's utilizing tried and true technology. While it's stupidly expensive, we did have the parts laying around, and it will fill a niche that isn't currently filled.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 29, 2022, 01:54:05 PM
I just don't think NASA has any business being in the launch business anymore. We're what, like $23B into this rocket alone? And I believe each launch thereafter costs $1B+. I'm all for throwing money at NASA. I wish they got more. But at this stage, the private sector has proven that they are more than capable of routinely delivering payloads to space for a tenth of what NASA's launch systems can. NASA should be focused on space imaging, space settlements/habitats, and the exploration of other celestial bodies in our solar system - Basically all the stuff that doesn't provide a return on investment for private companies.

I'm all for the Artemis mission itself. I just think it's the SLS that's a complete waste. Our money could be much better utilized on other space endeavors.

Isn't this a SpaceX rocket?
If you're asking about Artemis, it's NASA's in house rocket repurposing SSMEs. It's essentially the old orbiter stack without the orbiter and significantly bigger SRBs. THe problem with the price tag is that SSME's are terribly expensive, and while the shuttle reused them, these will burn up afterward.

That said, the SLS system has a massive payload, far greater than Falcon Heavy, and it's utilizing tried and true technology. While it's stupidly expensive, we did have the parts laying around, and it will fill a niche that isn't currently filled.

I think the SLS can carry 30k lbs or so more to LEO, and 10K lbs or so more to the moon than Falcon Heavy. Unless the dimensions of the thing being launched exceed that of the size of Falcon Heavy's cargo hold, it still makes more financial sense to go that route. Send up two FHs for 1/5 the cost of an SLS, and get more weight into space in the process. SpaceX also has Starship in the works which is supposed to be able to lift 50% more than SLS.   

Granted, that craft is still in development, but still. If NASA cut SpaceX a check and said "have this rocket ready in three years", I'm sure SpaceX could step up to the challenge. Even with the off-the-shelf components, the cost of this launch system is staggering. The fact that it still costs $1B per launch with old hardware and no ability to recover the rocket without having to refurbish is nuts.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on August 29, 2022, 02:12:26 PM
I haven't been following this, but a local news station did a piece on this yesterday mentioned that China has a 2030 goal to have people on the moon.  Is our goal to get back there before the Chinese? 

It boggles my mind we did this so long ago and haven't gone back.  I understand it comes at an extreme cost, but it seems almost like this is a repeat of the space race but maybe there's some actual goal of securing land and resources on the moon instead of just going there? 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on August 30, 2022, 03:37:10 AM
I think the SLS can carry 30k lbs or so more to LEO, and 10K lbs or so more to the moon than Falcon Heavy. Unless the dimensions of the thing being launched exceed that of the size of Falcon Heavy's cargo hold, it still makes more financial sense to go that route. Send up two FHs for 1/5 the cost of an SLS, and get more weight into space in the process.

And then you need to design a crew carrier that not only can be easily split into two separate payloads (and recombine), but is also capable of and performs a LEO rendezvous before you can even think about going to the moon.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 30, 2022, 06:29:38 AM
I think the SLS can carry 30k lbs or so more to LEO, and 10K lbs or so more to the moon than Falcon Heavy. Unless the dimensions of the thing being launched exceed that of the size of Falcon Heavy's cargo hold, it still makes more financial sense to go that route. Send up two FHs for 1/5 the cost of an SLS, and get more weight into space in the process.

And then you need to design a crew carrier that not only can be easily split into two separate payloads (and recombine), but is also capable of and performs a LEO rendezvous before you can even think about going to the moon.

And again though, Starship is well into development and will be able to carry anything the SLS can and then some.

That's certainly doable. The Apollo capsules did that separation and flip maneuver. I'm not saying it'd have been ideal, but it could have been achieved for less than what the SLS is going to cost (I'm thinking).
 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on August 30, 2022, 07:51:43 AM
Starship has barely demonstrated it can get off the ground and land without blowing up. It has a long ways to go to demonstrate it can actually perform a direct lunar desecent/ascent with a crew. Don't get me wrong, SpaceX has achieved some incredible things but their experience in a lot of matters that will be crucial for Artemis is still lacking.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 30, 2022, 09:34:24 AM
I could be way off base here, but a couple of things occur to me. For one, I couldn't find anything but theoretical ideas about Falcon Heavy's or Starship's TLI payload capabilities. Elon doesn't seem to be focusing on getting to the moon, but rather Mars. The block 1B SLS is sporting a fairly robust 47T TIL payload. I suspect that, given their reported LEO capabilities that Starship would be comparable, but slightly less, if they were even trying such a thing.

Also, and here's where I may be way off, it looks to me like SpaceX is using a Earth Orbit Rendezvous approach. What I'm seeing involves multiple launches to refuel and resupply the rockets after launch. Project Artemis looks to be using the more familiar LOR approach, while also constructing a lunar gateway.

I'm not defending the stupidly expensive SLS system, or suggesting that we shouldn't be employing outside contractors for this. It just seems like Elon is doing something quite different from what NASA is doing.

Something else to consider. One thing we can be sure of is that people are going to die. Space exploration is risky business. While the underlying cause will almost certainly be the same, lax safety culture due to bureaucratic nonsense or corporate greed, one will likely be more palatable than the other. When NASA kills people we shake our heads and say "that was ridiculous. Don't do it again!" When SpaceX kills people, which I think is inevitable, I'm not sure how well they'll be able to weather the fallout.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on August 30, 2022, 10:47:49 AM
I'd also argue the massive strides SpaceX can do have relied on rapid prototyping and a willingness to do risky launches under the rationale that even a rocket that blows up can teach them something. Which is good, in a way, but its an approach that won't fly with publicly funded entities, and DEFINITELY doesn't work for crewed space flight.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 30, 2022, 10:56:06 AM
I'd also argue the massive strides SpaceX can do have relied on rapid prototyping and a willingness to do risky launches under the rationale that even a rocket that blows up can teach them something. Which is good, in a way, but its an approach that won't fly with publicly funded entities, and DEFINITELY doesn't work for crewed space flight.
There's certainly a place for that. The trick is to use that approach early on and only move to crewed launches when you've mastered what you're trying to do. This was Korelev's approach and they were very successful with it. And in the end they wound up killing fewer astronauts than we did. At the same time there are so few examples it's hard to tell which approach actually works better. It got them quite a few firsts, but it also cost them the moon race when they kept blowing up N1s. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on August 30, 2022, 12:59:06 PM
I'm not entirely sure the public should be too mad about deaths regarding crewed launches to the moon or beyond.  I feel like it's expected and everyone involved knows the risks.  Not trying to say we shouldn't care or do what's necessary to protect people, but deaths from unexpected mistakes or unknowns seems like a given to me. I don't think I'd react differently to a spacex disaster compared to a nasa disaster. 
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 30, 2022, 01:22:44 PM
I'm not entirely sure the public should be too mad about deaths regarding crewed launches to the moon or beyond.  I feel like it's expected and everyone involved knows the risks.  Not trying to say we shouldn't care or do what's necessary to protect people, but deaths from unexpected mistakes or unknowns seems like a given to me. I don't think I'd react differently to a spacex disaster compared to a nasa disaster.
Seldom are they unexpected mistakes or unknowns, though. There are almost always reasons to be pissed off about them because by and large they should have been prevented. The only one I can think of that really came out of the blue is going to be the crew of Soyuz 11, and while I'm not an expert, that would still most likely be a result of cutting corners somewhere. NASA doesn't screw things up by being cheap. It screws things up with arrogance and complacency. Space X stands a decent chance of screwing up by being careless. NASA can't fail. Space X can.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: cramx3 on August 30, 2022, 01:30:30 PM
I'm not entirely sure the public should be too mad about deaths regarding crewed launches to the moon or beyond.  I feel like it's expected and everyone involved knows the risks.  Not trying to say we shouldn't care or do what's necessary to protect people, but deaths from unexpected mistakes or unknowns seems like a given to me. I don't think I'd react differently to a spacex disaster compared to a nasa disaster.
Seldom are they unexpected mistakes or unknowns, though. There are almost always reasons to be pissed off about them because by and large they should have been prevented. The only one I can think of that really came out of the blue is going to be the crew of Soyuz 11, and while I'm not an expert, that would still most likely be a result of cutting corners somewhere. NASA doesn't screw things up by being cheap. It screws things up with arrogance and complacency. Space X stands a decent chance of screwing up by being careless. NASA can't fail. Space X can.

When doing something new, it's almost guaranteed there will be unseen mistakes and/or unknown.  These things may often be very easy to notice in review of what happened, but not always so obvious going in.  Going to the moon isn't really new though.  I'd imagine deaths from missions to the moon would be more maddening, but the more ambitious goals are almost certainly going to lead to deaths.  At the end of the day, it's people doing this and people make mistakes.  It's inevitable IMO.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on August 30, 2022, 01:48:42 PM
I'm not entirely sure the public should be too mad about deaths regarding crewed launches to the moon or beyond.  I feel like it's expected and everyone involved knows the risks.  Not trying to say we shouldn't care or do what's necessary to protect people, but deaths from unexpected mistakes or unknowns seems like a given to me. I don't think I'd react differently to a spacex disaster compared to a nasa disaster.
Seldom are they unexpected mistakes or unknowns, though. There are almost always reasons to be pissed off about them because by and large they should have been prevented. The only one I can think of that really came out of the blue is going to be the crew of Soyuz 11, and while I'm not an expert, that would still most likely be a result of cutting corners somewhere. NASA doesn't screw things up by being cheap. It screws things up with arrogance and complacency. Space X stands a decent chance of screwing up by being careless. NASA can't fail. Space X can.

When doing something new, it's almost guaranteed there will be unseen mistakes and/or unknown.  These things may often be very easy to notice in review of what happened, but not always so obvious going in.  Going to the moon isn't really new though.  I'd imagine deaths from missions to the moon would be more maddening, but the more ambitious goals are almost certainly going to lead to deaths.  At the end of the day, it's people doing this and people make mistakes.  It's inevitable IMO.
Absolutely. And the more complex a thing is the more unknowns there are that can kill you. Chernobyl is a perfect example of that. The engineering flaw that caused it to blow up was something nobody had ever imagined. Spaceflight deaths have always been knowns, though. North American had made repeated warnings that testing the CM with pressurized pure o2 was a really bad idea, and NASA and the astronauts knew there was shoddy wiring in the CM. Thiokol (and Rockwell) both tried to get NASA to scrub the Challenger launch and were rebuffed. Guys at Marshall and former astronauts were accutely aware of the risk of falling insulation and NASA repeatedly ignored the warnings. ("Well, they've never caused a problem before" is a recurring theme with NASA.) None of these were the sorts of deaths you expect when doing something new and dangerous. You can accept casualties you cannot foresee or prevent. These were all deaths that were easily preventable and certainly should have been. They're far more likely, I think, and these are the sorts of deaths I think will be more accepable on NASA's watch than Space X's.

Interestingly, Apollo 13 actually was one of those unknown or unpredictable mishaps, and in that case NASA pulled off a miracle. I've long maintained that as bad as NASA sucks at doing the routine, they're every bit as exceptional at handling contingency.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 20, 2022, 07:08:28 AM
We heard a meteoroid hit mars!

https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9264/nasas-insight-hears-its-first-meteoroid-impacts-on-mars/?fbclid=IwAR1CtAMsi80JI4iuD7l6rHr8tGtGZnAoQb0TYxzGODw3lRIeGcmYYVhGCu4
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on September 21, 2022, 05:05:14 AM
The sound of impacts sounded cool and they remind me of sound effects in Mario games somehow.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 22, 2022, 12:16:45 PM
Behold the official theme for the United States Space Force:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSV3Q4ztGaA&ab_channel=TheMilitaryOfficersAssociationofAmerica

Straight out of Monty Python.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: chknptpie on September 26, 2022, 05:46:31 PM
Watching us crash a thing into an asteroid was very cool today.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on September 26, 2022, 06:00:33 PM
I didn't realize they would have a camera. The close up of the asteroid looked nice
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: chknptpie on September 26, 2022, 07:18:02 PM
I believe there was also a smaller device trailing behind to capture the impact from a different perspective. Cant wait to see that footage too!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on September 27, 2022, 04:01:40 AM
I watched the live feed on YouTube, and it was really cool. Cooler yet, that final partial photo was being transmitted half way as the impact took place. Do we have any up-to-date trajectory of Dimorphos? Cooler still, I suggest you guys go search for "nasa dart mission" on google, and see that little effect they have done to that search.  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on September 27, 2022, 05:03:26 AM
Plus it was cool to get a little payback for the dinosaurs...
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on September 27, 2022, 05:07:02 AM
Plus it was cool to get a little payback for the dinosaurs...

Sorry, pal. Then you will have to pick on someone bigger.  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on September 29, 2022, 07:38:15 AM
We're going to Titan!

https://noshma.com/astronomy/its-official-nasas-sending-a-mission-to-titan-a-top-candidate-for-alien-life/?fbclid=IwAR2ZWF_BECgLLQ6Qe5f25c4ImhjacsBurEAHMypoY1l7Ll9FaDG3Akz5g8s


I remember this being discussed years ago. I wasn't aware we were sending around a hopper drone.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on September 29, 2022, 08:01:43 AM
I knew about Dragonfly, but I didn't know a launch window is now set for 2026. Well, just stay alive and stay tuned til 2038 everyone to find out if there is alien life on Titan  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 02, 2022, 11:10:25 AM
Cool seeing the two boosters land so close to eachother.

I also heard that NASA and Space X are discussing a possible Hubble reboost doing EVA.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on November 02, 2022, 01:10:25 PM
Cool seeing the two boosters land so close to eachother.

I also heard that NASA and Space X are discussing a possible Hubble reboost doing EVA.
I was thinking it was going to be an unmanned deal. Last I heard they were just sort of knocking around if it would even be possible.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 02, 2022, 02:24:40 PM
Cool seeing the two boosters land so close to eachother.

I also heard that NASA and Space X are discussing a possible Hubble reboost doing EVA.
I was thinking it was going to be an unmanned deal. Last I heard they were just sort of knocking around if it would even be possible.
Yea apparently it's only a study with no current plan but maybe in the future.

Quote
NASA and SpaceX signed an unfunded Space Act Agreement Thursday, Sept. 22, to study the feasibility of a SpaceX and Polaris Program idea to boost the agency’s Hubble Space Telescope into a higher orbit with the Dragon spacecraft, at no cost to the government.

There are no plans for NASA to conduct or fund a servicing mission or compete this opportunity; the study is designed to help the agency understand the commercial possibilities.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-spacex-to-study-hubble-telescope-reboost-possibility
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 05, 2022, 12:24:46 PM
Man, we live in the beginning of a new era where ordinary people have the option to experience zero-g and see Earth from "space". Sure the price tag is still hefty with a whoppin $1.25 million per ticket but still though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXXlSG-du7c&ab_channel=DudePerfect

Someone should offer a bunch of flat earthers a ride.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on November 06, 2022, 06:50:01 AM
Someone should offer a bunch of flat earthers a ride.

They can believe we are living in a computer simulation even. Why waste a seat?  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on November 06, 2022, 09:10:06 AM
Man, we live in the beginning of a new era where ordinary people have the option to experience zero-g and see Earth from "space". Sure the price tag is still hefty with a whoppin $1.25 million per ticket but still though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXXlSG-du7c&ab_channel=DudePerfect

Someone should offer a bunch of flat earthers a ride.

Word "ordinary" is doing some heavy lifting there. :P
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 06, 2022, 09:29:43 AM
Man, we live in the beginning of a new era where ordinary people have the option to experience zero-g and see Earth from "space". Sure the price tag is still hefty with a whoppin $1.25 million per ticket but still though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXXlSG-du7c&ab_channel=DudePerfect

Someone should offer a bunch of flat earthers a ride.

Word "ordinary" is doing some heavy lifting there. :P
I guess more appropriately millionares and lucky people which in a way can be called ordinary folks.  :biggrin:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on November 25, 2022, 03:18:26 PM
Artemis Launch Sound Experience - Listen to NASA's SLS Rocket Roar with mics placed inside the pad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWR5tFgJKIQ&ab_channel=CosmicPerspective)

Man that sound is immense and weird in how it builds up, sounds like wire tension! Would be a dream to experience a launch like that IRL.

Holy shit, the close up at the end 8:20!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on December 06, 2022, 10:20:32 AM
Extremely underwhelmed and a little bit 'embarrassed' by the generic and boring pictures the Orion moon flyby produced. Pretty lame IMO.....normally I'm good with spending $$$ on space exploration and what not but this was a massive waste of money. Unless there's just a top secret aspect as to why they 'really' sent this thing out there....then maybe it's justifiable....but if what we got is what it was..... :tdwn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on December 06, 2022, 10:43:55 AM
Extremely underwhelmed and a little bit 'embarrassed' by the generic and boring pictures the Orion moon flyby produced. Pretty lame IMO.....normally I'm good with spending $$$ on space exploration and what not but this was a massive waste of money. Unless there's just a top secret aspect as to why they 'really' sent this thing out there....then maybe it's justifiable....but if what we got is what it was..... :tdwn
I could be wrong, but I believe this mission, Artermis I, was supposed to be a test flight before sending humans to the moon again.

We probably could've gotten better pictures, but I don't think that was part of this mission at all.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on December 06, 2022, 10:51:18 AM
Extremely underwhelmed and a little bit 'embarrassed' by the generic and boring pictures the Orion moon flyby produced. Pretty lame IMO.....normally I'm good with spending $$$ on space exploration and what not but this was a massive waste of money. Unless there's just a top secret aspect as to why they 'really' sent this thing out there....then maybe it's justifiable....but if what we got is what it was..... :tdwn
I could be wrong, but I believe this mission, Artermis I, was supposed to be a test flight before sending humans to the moon again.

We probably could've gotten better pictures, but I don't think that was part of this mission at all.

I hope that is the case....that'd explain the lack of anything real exciting. Appreciate the info.  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on December 06, 2022, 11:03:58 AM
Yeah, not the object of the exercise. Those came from a navigational camera, which suggests that stellar photography wasn't really what it was about. The next mission will be manned, and the third will be a landing.

Also, they're still pretty good pictures.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 06, 2022, 11:05:38 AM
Artemis I was most definitely just a test flyby. It wasn't a mission of any kind beyond completing the trip to the moon and back.   

That being said, I'm in the camp that the Artemis program is a massive resource suck and shouldn't exist, and NASA's budget would be much better spent elsewhere. There's no need for the government to be in the business of launching anything anymore, especially at a price tag of over $1B per launch with a comically long turnaround time in-between. They should be focused on landers, rovers, orbiters, deep space imaging, asteroid deflection, and anything else research related.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on December 06, 2022, 11:11:53 AM
Artemis I was most definitely just a test flyby. It wasn't a mission of any kind beyond completing the trip to the moon and back.   

That being said, I'm in the camp that the Artemis program is a massive resource suck and shouldn't exist, and NASA's budget would be much better spent elsewhere. There's no need for the government to be in the business of launching anything anymore, especially at a price tag of over $1B per launch with a comically long turnaround time in-between. They should be focused on landers, rovers, orbiters, deep space imaging, asteroid deflection, and anything else research related.
I'd say that about the SLS, but not the overall program. It's a pretty ambitious program, and I like what they're looking to do. And I'm not sure I'd trust Musk to do it, either right or at all. Seems the better move would just be to pay him to launch NASA's hardware. That said, has Musk ever put anything into lunar orbit?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 06, 2022, 11:19:18 AM
Artemis I was most definitely just a test flyby. It wasn't a mission of any kind beyond completing the trip to the moon and back.   

That being said, I'm in the camp that the Artemis program is a massive resource suck and shouldn't exist, and NASA's budget would be much better spent elsewhere. There's no need for the government to be in the business of launching anything anymore, especially at a price tag of over $1B per launch with a comically long turnaround time in-between. They should be focused on landers, rovers, orbiters, deep space imaging, asteroid deflection, and anything else research related.
I'd say that about the SLS, but not the overall program. It's a pretty ambitious program, and I like what they're looking to do. And I'm not sure I'd trust Musk to do it, either right or at all. Seems the better move would just be to pay him to launch NASA's hardware. That said, has Musk ever put anything into lunar orbit?

That's fair. I'll echo that. My real beef is with with the rocket and launch system, not the program as a whole. 

SpaceX hasn't put anything in lunar orbit yet, but that's what Starship is being developed for. I'd put my money on Musk if I were a betting man. As far as launching stuff into space goes, his company has delivered on basically everything they said they would.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: gmillerdrake on December 06, 2022, 11:29:44 AM
I'm not nearly as 'in the know' as folks like EB, Brian...XJ and MrBoom....all the guys who regularly post in here. I am certainly fascinated by the universe and spend many a night on Youtube rabbit holes that detail just how vast and incomprehensible it is (which oddly enough strengthens my Faith and doesn't deteriorate it...whole other conversation)

I do find it a bit disappointing that we don't have people walking on Mars at this point though. I'd have thought for sure we'd at minimum have manned orbits of Mars by now....if not touchdown and history being made.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on December 06, 2022, 01:15:53 PM
Artemis I was most definitely just a test flyby. It wasn't a mission of any kind beyond completing the trip to the moon and back.   

That being said, I'm in the camp that the Artemis program is a massive resource suck and shouldn't exist, and NASA's budget would be much better spent elsewhere. There's no need for the government to be in the business of launching anything anymore, especially at a price tag of over $1B per launch with a comically long turnaround time in-between. They should be focused on landers, rovers, orbiters, deep space imaging, asteroid deflection, and anything else research related.
I'd say that about the SLS, but not the overall program. It's a pretty ambitious program, and I like what they're looking to do. And I'm not sure I'd trust Musk to do it, either right or at all. Seems the better move would just be to pay him to launch NASA's hardware. That said, has Musk ever put anything into lunar orbit?

That's fair. I'll echo that. My real beef is with with the rocket and launch system, not the program as a whole. 

SpaceX hasn't put anything in lunar orbit yet, but that's what Starship is being developed for. I'd put my money on Musk if I were a betting man. As far as launching stuff into space goes, his company has delivered on basically everything they said they would.
Starship is actually what Artemis will be using for its LEM. Not sure what Elon's plans for it are and when they might come to fruition.

As for SpaceX, space exploration is just something I'm not hugely comfortable outsourcing to the free market. I don't have anywhere near as much faith in market forces as a motivation for safety as other seem to. That said, they've been doing very good work thus far. I can just see Go Fever getting the best of them at some point.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on December 06, 2022, 04:25:27 PM
Artemis I is basically an un-crewed dry run of all of the tech required for the future missions using the tech that will travel to the moon, with exception of the HLS (Starship). Current mission plan is for a human flyby in 2024, and a landing the following year. It remains to be seen if this schedule holds. I'm hopeful SpaceX will deliver on the promises of Starship, even if Musk is doing his best to drive his reputation and mental health into the dirt.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on December 07, 2022, 09:32:44 AM
I think the landing date is definitely going to be delayed. I mean, we still haven't seen the lunar lander prototype up until this point. I don't think NASA would do anything too rapidly to ensure a fully functional prototype is built before a soft deadline. Another item of interest is the Toyota Lunar Cruiser. I read something earlier this year that the company is still committed to building it. Perhaps it becomes a reality before the lunar lander? We will just have to wait and see.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on December 07, 2022, 09:49:07 AM
I think the landing date is definitely going to be delayed. I mean, we still haven't seen the lunar lander prototype up until this point. I don't think NASA would do anything too rapidly to ensure a fully functional prototype is built before a soft deadline. Another item of interest is the Toyota Lunar Cruiser. I read something earlier this year that the company is still committed to building it. Perhaps it becomes a reality before the lunar lander? We will just have to wait and see.
Isn't Starship the lunar lander? I think it's a different block version, but the main bits are the same.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on December 07, 2022, 09:52:08 AM
You might be right, but I was under the impression that the lander itself is an individual craft like in the Apollo missions.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on December 07, 2022, 10:01:24 AM
Starship is the class, Starship HLS is the variant that can actually land.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_HLS

The idea is the lander will be launched, refuelled and then transfer to luna orbit separately from the crew, which will use the Boeing Orion system just tested to get to/from the moon, and then they will do a crew transfer in luna orbit before descending.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 08, 2022, 04:10:00 PM
Everyday Astronaut Tim is going around the moon, that's pretty damn epic!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFIuzormhYU&ab_channel=EverydayAstronaut
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on December 09, 2022, 11:35:51 AM
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fji5Np9XkAA0xgv?format=jpg&name=medium)

JWST news. May not look like much, but it is experimental confirmation of a galaxy with the largest ever measured redshift, corresponding to a galaxy that existed 400 million years after the big bang.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 09, 2022, 01:39:11 PM
Everyday Astronaut Tim is going around the moon, that's pretty damn epic!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFIuzormhYU&ab_channel=EverydayAstronaut

I am so happy for Tim. It's so well deserved. Freaking wild to think that 6 years ago he hadn't even made a video yet, and now he's strapping his ass to rocket and getting to see the moon up close.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on December 12, 2022, 11:53:25 AM
More general science than astronomy, but if true, this is huge

US Scientists Reach Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough (https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/12/politics/nuclear-fusion-energy-us-scientists-climate/index.html)

Official announcement scheduled for tomorrow, so we will see. I know every couple of years we see headlines about nuclear fusion, so I hope they really did have a breakthrough and is not just a clickbait title.

Everyday Astronaut Tim is going around the moon, that's pretty damn epic!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFIuzormhYU&ab_channel=EverydayAstronaut

I am so happy for Tim. It's so well deserved. Freaking wild to think that 6 years ago he hadn't even made a video yet, and now he's strapping his ass to rocket and getting to see the moon up close.

Agree, that is really amazing. Happy for him
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on December 13, 2022, 12:28:12 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r91Q4dAHnUw

The announcement on Nuclear Fusion
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on December 13, 2022, 11:40:11 PM
It's amazing how some things gets kinda left out in media, first I wasn't paying attention to it to later realise what a big thing this could be.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on December 14, 2022, 06:31:57 AM
It's amazing how some things gets kinda left out in media, first I wasn't paying attention to it to later realise what a big thing this could be.

Yeah, there was a brief mentioned for 15 seconds on the news and that was about it. I think in part because we won't see the benefits of it (i.e., is not profitable yet) for some time. Maybe another 15-20 years, maybe even more. But yeah, this could be huge in the decades to come.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on December 14, 2022, 03:51:08 PM
The NIF news is interesting, but definitely not as a big a deal as the press releases make it out to be. The way ICF defines "scientific breakeven" means they don't take into account the efficiency of the lasers themselves when counting the Q value. They produced about 1.5 times the laser energy focused on target, but the lasers themselves only convert about 1% of the electricity they use into useful laser energy. So its still a few orders of magnitude off being a useful energy source.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on December 14, 2022, 04:37:53 PM
(https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/hydropower_breakthrough.png)

Also:

The NIF news is interesting, but definitely not as a big a deal as the press releases make it out to be. The way ICF defines "scientific breakeven" means they don't take into account the efficiency of the lasers themselves when counting the Q value. They produced about 1.5 times the laser energy focused on target, but the lasers themselves only convert about 1% of the electricity they use into useful laser energy. So its still a few orders of magnitude off being a useful energy source.

What does Q represent in this context? If it's still pressure, pressure of what?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on December 15, 2022, 01:37:28 AM
Q is generically defined as Power out / Power in. So "break even" is when you get as much power out of the fusion reaction as you did heating the fuel to get it going, which corresponds to Q= 1. It then comes down to how you define "Power out" and "Power in".

Scientific break even only considers the power delivered on target verses the fusion power generated, whereas a more more accurate version would also consider the losses of the heating process and the efficiency of these components, so if you are using a laser that only converts 1% of the electricity it uses to useful laser power (since electricity is what we want at the end) then the Q reduces by a factor of 100 under this more strict definition. More strict still is the "engineering break even" which considers losses and inefficiencies in the power plant.

The xkcd comic is taking the concept of breakeven and applying it to water instead of power, implying the dam is generating more water than it consumes. This is clearly ludicrous, which is the joke.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on December 15, 2022, 07:42:31 AM
Problem at the ISS. We might need to send up a rescue capsule.

https://fb.watch/hqWZgqAK1f/
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on December 15, 2022, 08:19:44 AM
Q is generically defined as Power out / Power in. So "break even" is when you get as much power out of the fusion reaction as you did heating the fuel to get it going, which corresponds to Q= 1. It then comes down to how you define "Power out" and "Power in".

Scientific break even only considers the power delivered on target verses the fusion power generated, whereas a more more accurate version would also consider the losses of the heating process and the efficiency of these components, so if you are using a laser that only converts 1% of the electricity it uses to useful laser power (since electricity is what we want at the end) then the Q reduces by a factor of 100 under this more strict definition. More strict still is the "engineering break even" which considers losses and inefficiencies in the power plant.

The xkcd comic is taking the concept of breakeven and applying it to water instead of power, implying the dam is generating more water than it consumes. This is clearly ludicrous, which is the joke.
Oh, I got the joke. I'm just used to Q meaning pressure. In the comic pressure could have actually worked. In your explanation not so much. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised it represents different values for different fields.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on December 15, 2022, 10:44:13 AM
Q is generically defined as Power out / Power in. So "break even" is when you get as much power out of the fusion reaction as you did heating the fuel to get it going, which corresponds to Q= 1. It then comes down to how you define "Power out" and "Power in".

Scientific break even only considers the power delivered on target verses the fusion power generated, whereas a more more accurate version would also consider the losses of the heating process and the efficiency of these components, so if you are using a laser that only converts 1% of the electricity it uses to useful laser power (since electricity is what we want at the end) then the Q reduces by a factor of 100 under this more strict definition. More strict still is the "engineering break even" which considers losses and inefficiencies in the power plant.

The xkcd comic is taking the concept of breakeven and applying it to water instead of power, implying the dam is generating more water than it consumes. This is clearly ludicrous, which is the joke.
Oh, I got the joke. I'm just used to Q meaning pressure. In the comic pressure could have actually worked. In your explanation not so much. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised it represents different values for different fields.

"Sir, we seem to have run out of variables"
"What?"
"Yep. All the letters have been used up."
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on December 20, 2022, 07:40:20 AM
Meanwhile, InSight the Mars lander (or its account manager) might have twitted its final message before it runs out of power.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/dec/20/my-powers-really-low-nasas-insight-mars-rover-signs-off-from-the-red-planet
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on December 20, 2022, 11:48:05 AM
Another in a long line of NASA probes that performed well beyond their initially projected scientific missions. Godspeed, little lander.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on March 01, 2023, 03:08:48 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/9ZPEYky.jpg)

Amazing photo taken from ISS by astronaut Josh Cassada.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on April 17, 2023, 06:58:14 AM
Looks like the test flight is a go for today  :tup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vb9hFqF6i0
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on April 17, 2023, 07:16:55 AM
Looks like it's cancelled for today.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 17, 2023, 07:25:46 AM
What a tease.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on April 20, 2023, 07:18:11 AM
T-10,Let's hope I don't jinx it again  :biggrin:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on April 20, 2023, 07:44:04 AM
I learned a new term for rocket go boom today, "Rapid unscheduled disassembly"
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on April 20, 2023, 08:58:51 AM
That was cool AF! Hats off to the RSO who let the thing fly out of control for a while without pressing the "kaboom" button. NASA guys would have blown it up as soon as it crossed 90°.  :lol

Were the rocket motors supposed to be asymmetrical? Looks like they were missing a few on one side.

That's one of the things I've never fully understood about rocketry. The US approach has been to build a few big-ass motors. The Rooskie method was to slap a whole bunch of small motors onto their rockets, and SpaceX has clearly taken that approach. It seems to me that the rocket motor is necessarily the most volatile component, so adding more of them would simply increase the odds of one of them failing, perhaps catastrophically. Rocket motors do fail.

I learned a new term for rocket go boom today, "Rapid unscheduled disassembly"
Challenger was the textbook example of the rapid unscheduled disassembly. I don't know if they actually referred to it that way, but the term was definitely in use by that time.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: faizoff on April 20, 2023, 09:10:00 AM
Snark aside it was very cool to see that massive thing launch and do flips. It had like 33 engines.

@El Barto, it was the first time I heard it today
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Orbert on April 20, 2023, 09:37:22 AM
I learned a new term for rocket go boom today, "Rapid unscheduled disassembly"

Never heard it before, but it has that air of military or government terminology.  Completely accurate, but possibly the least logical way to describe it by normal humans.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: hefdaddy42 on April 20, 2023, 09:49:44 AM
I learned a new term for rocket go boom today, "Rapid unscheduled disassembly"
I saw that.  Very nice.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on April 20, 2023, 09:53:43 AM
I learned a new term for rocket go boom today, "Rapid unscheduled disassembly"

Never heard it before, but it has that air of military or government terminology.  Completely accurate, but possibly the least logical way to describe it by normal humans.
USAF, I believe. There were references to RUDEs (events) back in the sixties. Wouldn't surprise me if it was the favoured euphemism back during the X project days. Elon popularized the expression a few years ago.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 20, 2023, 10:02:43 AM
Man... That thing flipped like 3 times at a few thousand miles per hour. That's one strong machine!
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on April 20, 2023, 10:34:06 AM
Fun launch, sounds like it was a net success with a spectacular ending. Elon stans will toot it as groundbreaking, haters are predictably hating. Hats off to the real people doing the work for taking a huge step forward.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r91Q4dAHnUw

The announcement on Nuclear Fusion

Totally missed this one, this lab is literally 10 miles from where I live. Unbelievable to think that, between Lawrence Livermore and Berkeley labs, the NASA Ames research base (about 10 miles down H101 from where I work), Stanford, UCSF, and UC Berkeley, and the sum total of Silicon Valley, how much of the key scientific progress being made is made in my backyard.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Evermind on April 20, 2023, 11:02:07 AM
Man... That thing flipped like 3 times at a few thousand miles per hour. That's one strong machine!

That was my first thought when I saw it rotating several times. The integrity of the whole thing must be outstanding.

Sucks it didn't go as planned but good to see they got it that far, and also I liked that people were still cheering on stream after the RUD, love the attitude (even if it's only for show which I doubt). Hope they'll nail it next time.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on April 20, 2023, 12:58:47 PM
I suspect letting it do somersaults for a minute or two was highly informative. My hunch is that the RSO is instructed to let people gather as much telemetry before hitting the kaboom button. In this case, how often do you get to talk to your rocket while it flies straight down. By Elon's standards this was very much a success story.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 20, 2023, 02:50:34 PM
I love Tim Dodds screaming in excitment during lift-off "I'm gonna be on that thing" and then.... :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on April 20, 2023, 03:23:35 PM
I saw a report that said the hit the destruct button when it started spiraling
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 21, 2023, 02:30:55 PM
I know Boca Chica is not a ordinary launch facility but a test site but I was wondering why tanks and things are so close to the launch tower given the damage every launch has on it's surroundings especially with the Starship launch. I mean I guess it's convenient to have things nearby when they're working with it but still...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thA8jlgcJ-8&ab_channel=LabPadre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6m7HJ6_fNw&ab_channel=LabPadre
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on April 22, 2023, 03:03:31 PM
I haven't read any dives into the postmortem analysis yet, but based on nothing but the video of the explosion, it looks like a control system sequence failure.  At one point you can see the grid fins deployed, and the vent plumes from the second stage tanks were at an angle to the vehicles axis, which means the whole stack was already moving a bit sideways.  The commentary mentioned the turn-around maneuver, but its not clear if that was actually occurring when announced, or was just anticipated.  If it was already in the turn around maneuver, it would make no sense to allow that command or grid fin deploy command until stage separation was confirmed.  Also mentioned in the commentary was max Q, but again, not clear to me if it actually got that far, or was just mentioned by commentator.

I was in the car during the launch, and listened on youtube for about 2 minutes until the explosion.  I was on my way to a welding facility, and ended up working with a welder who developed the welds used in the raptor engine nozzles.  Spacex ended up purchasing a few welding machines for themselves (~$4M each) and continued their production in house.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on April 22, 2023, 03:19:35 PM
I haven't read any dives into the postmortem analysis yet, but based on nothing but the video of the explosion, it looks like a control system sequence failure.  At one point you can see the grid fins deployed, and the vent plumes from the second stage tanks were at an angle to the vehicles axis, which means the whole stack was already moving a bit sideways.  The commentary mentioned the turn-around maneuver, but its not clear if that was actually occurring when announced, or was just anticipated.  If it was already in the turn around maneuver, it would make no sense to allow that command or grid fin deploy command until stage separation was confirmed.  Also mentioned in the commentary was max Q, but again, not clear to me if it actually got that far, or was just mentioned by commentator.

I was in the car during the launch, and listened on youtube for about 2 minutes until the explosion.  I was on my way to a welding facility, and ended up working with a welder who developed the welds used in the raptor engine nozzles.  Spacex ended up purchasing a few welding machines for themselves (~$4M each) and continued their production in house.
Scott Manley dug into it a bit. There were 5 Raptors out and another was squirrelly. Three were out by the time it lifted off, and it looked like there as a hydraulic failure around the same time, and the CW is that so much debris was kicked up by the thing that the first stage suffered significant damage as a result. Stage 0 (what SpaceX calls the launch pad) will be the focus going forward. Elon was opposed to using a flame diverter (there won't be one on the Moon or Mars), but it looks like he's probably going to have to. As for it losing control, two of the failed Raptors were gimblers, and if there was a hydraulic failure other ones might not have been able to gimble, so it probably just went outside the motors' ability to keep it stable.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: jasc15 on April 22, 2023, 03:54:45 PM
I noticed some raptors out, and later learned about the pad damage, but didn't connect the two.  That could explain hydraulic failure, or at least reduced attitude control resulting from lost gimbal engines.  But then why were the grid fins deployed?  Seems like a strange hydraulic failure mode.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Grappler on April 22, 2023, 08:24:42 PM
Cross posted from the twitter thread.  I laughed too much at this meme.

(https://scontent-ord5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/342210154_1307260886866181_1744800828132630504_n.jpg?stp=cp6_dst-jpg&_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=Cg532rJNUx4AX8SuV7r&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-2.xx&oh=00_AfDPvPNHeul8WHxHFsv_8b8itdy6UN-5FlTgOlzHOv-wqQ&oe=64488E1D)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on April 23, 2023, 10:04:34 AM
Damage at launch site was pretty serious
(https://spaceexplored.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/FuP0rH-WAAIj4kC.jpeg)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 23, 2023, 01:20:22 PM
Starship test launch from 12th floor South Padre Island (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az4v_9ez0Lk&ab_channel=tsjiller)

Love the sound!

Also some amazing footage of the carnage after launch:

SpaceX Starship Flight Test: First Look at Damage to the Launch Site! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm3ILLwhGSQ&ab_channel=WAIPlus)

No question that flying debris was an issue for Starship.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 24, 2023, 06:10:49 AM
Yeah. Apparently Elon said that they designed a giant, water cooled, steel plate that was supposed to cover the pad. It wasn't completed in time and they just sent it.   

I haven't seen it verified, but a source popped up a few times on Reddit claiming that there was damage done to an exterior module that's responsible for controlling the hydraulics that release stage one from stage two. A chunk of concrete flew into it, damaging it beyond the point of operation. 

The sound in your first video is awesome. It's cool to see/hear so many people excited about this kind of thing.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on April 24, 2023, 08:36:40 AM
Yeah. Apparently Elon said that they designed a giant, water cooled, steel plate that was supposed to cover the pad. It wasn't completed in time and they just sent it.   

I haven't seen it verified, but a source popped up a few times on Reddit claiming that there was damage done to an exterior module that's responsible for controlling the hydraulics that release stage one from stage two. A chunk of concrete flew into it, damaging it beyond the point of operation. 

The sound in your first video is awesome. It's cool to see/hear so many people excited about this kind of thing.
The colour of the flame suggested burning hydraulic fluid. Not to say that's they're wrong, but I think that's where the speculation has been coming from. Also, did the thing ever actually reach the appropriate altitude for the first stage sep? I know they were expecting it based on time elapsed, but with up to 8 Raptors not firing it was probably well short at the actual time.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on April 24, 2023, 03:39:19 PM
They lost 4-5 engines of their 31 by the time they lost control and 2 were gone essentially just after liftoff. According to Scott Manley each engine they lost equated to about 9% loss in effective thrust, so the engine was WAY underpowered for a significant portion of its ascent. Given how much concrete was ejected from the launch site find it hard to imagine that they weren't damaged by the detritus flying up.

This launch really should have been delayed if the launch site wasn't ready.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 25, 2023, 11:29:39 AM
This is a pretty cool graphic

(https://preview.redd.it/pzilqphxa3wa1.png?width=768&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=620d039b1ef864dfe8b3c6231188235868d921fa)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 25, 2023, 11:45:06 AM
So cool to finally see Starship launch, sure they have a long way to go but it's atleast a bit closer to the Moon or even Mars.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on April 26, 2023, 04:50:35 AM
So cool to finally see Starship launch, sure they have a long way to go but it's atleast a bit closer to the Moon or even Mars.

Speaking of Mars, I got a question that perhaps some of you can enlighten me. With robotic and AI technology development advancing so swiftly at a much lower cost. Sending a couple of highly advanced robots to Mars may do a better, more efficient job than we do. So why must we set such a goal to land on Mars?
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: WilliamMunny on April 26, 2023, 05:53:13 AM
So cool to finally see Starship launch, sure they have a long way to go but it's atleast a bit closer to the Moon or even Mars.

Speaking of Mars, I got a question that perhaps some of you can enlighten me. With robotic and AI technology development advancing so swiftly at a much lower cost. Sending a couple of highly advanced robots to Mars may do a better, more efficient job than we do. So why must we set such a goal to land on Mars?

There literally isn't enough space on this board to properly articulate the 'why' we, as in, mankind, feels the need to venture out and place our boots on the ground of some unknown world.

I suppose, the best answer to this question may always be the following quote from George Mallory: "Because it's there."

In 1922, he took part in a second expedition to make the first ascent of the world's highest mountain, in which his team achieved a record altitude of 26,980 ft (8,225 m) without supplemental oxygen. Once asked by a reporter why he wanted to climb Everest, Mallory famously replied, "Because it's there."

If any of that makes sense to you (and, admittedly, as a risk-adverse person, I have never understood the desire to explore, climb, or go to Mars), then I suspect you don't even bother asking 'why,' because you are already attempting to do it.

The desire to explore is intrinsic to our species, and even with AI and all that, a small portion of us will always desire to see for ourselves.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on April 26, 2023, 06:26:56 AM
So cool to finally see Starship launch, sure they have a long way to go but it's atleast a bit closer to the Moon or even Mars.

Speaking of Mars, I got a question that perhaps some of you can enlighten me. With robotic and AI technology development advancing so swiftly at a much lower cost. Sending a couple of highly advanced robots to Mars may do a better, more efficient job than we do. So why must we set such a goal to land on Mars?

There literally isn't enough space on this board to properly articulate the 'why' we, as in, mankind, feels the need to venture out and place our boots on the ground of some unknown world.

I suppose, the best answer to this question may always be the following quote from George Mallory: "Because it's there."

In 1922, he took part in a second expedition to make the first ascent of the world's highest mountain, in which his team achieved a record altitude of 26,980 ft (8,225 m) without supplemental oxygen. Once asked by a reporter why he wanted to climb Everest, Mallory famously replied, "Because it's there."

If any of that makes sense to you (and, admittedly, as a risk-adverse person, I have never understood the desire to explore, climb, or go to Mars), then I suspect you don't even bother asking 'why,' because you are already attempting to do it.

The desire to explore is intrinsic to our species, and even with AI and all that, a small portion of us will always desire to see for ourselves.

Yeah, in simple terms is more of a satisfaction thing to say "it's done, and we did it" more than anything else. The reason why we haven't gone back to the Moon in 50 years is because there is no need. We already sent robots to mars. Sending more robots will not feel as a big accomplishment as sending actual humans.

But, I am all for the science, so if there are brave souls willing to make the travel, and those willing to fund i, then  :tup
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 26, 2023, 07:01:40 AM
It's also a life raft. In 1000 years, 5000 years, who knows. Humanity's only chance at surviving might one day come down to being able to rehome ourselves.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on April 26, 2023, 08:33:56 AM
It's also a life raft. In 1000 years, 5000 years, who knows. Humanity's only chance at surviving might one day come down to being able to rehome ourselves.
I believe that's been Musk's thought process all along.

My preferred answer is that we need to push ourselves, and exploration has always been a fantastic way to do that. In his famous letter about why we went to the Moon Ernst Stuhlinger brought up several points, and I'd consider them all exemplary of why we must find ways to push forward. The things that will come about from something like Mars colonization, which I also don't really get as an objective in and of itself, are enumerable, and without objectives like exploring space there's no real good reason to spend the scratch.

And the benefits far outweigh simply the scientific advancements, huge though they may be. Kids don't typically grow up wanting to invent new polymers. Plenty of them grow up wanting to be astronauts, and find themselves working on the theoretical physics side instead. Space exploration is a helluva recruiting tool the STEM disciplines. It's also one of the very few things that essentially everybody on Earth can get behind. Even countries where the people essentially hate one anther can stop to appreciate great achievements like milestones in space exploration. Plenty of other good reasons why everybody benefits when we try to do huge things, even if the immediate goal isn't all that interesting.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on April 26, 2023, 09:42:36 AM
It's also a life raft. In 1000 years, 5000 years, who knows. Humanity's only chance at surviving might one day come down to being able to rehome ourselves.

Seems to me it would be a good idea to demonstrate we can keep out current planet liveable before we try to make a planet with no atmosphere and soil full of perchlorate habitable.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 26, 2023, 09:52:09 AM
It's also a life raft. In 1000 years, 5000 years, who knows. Humanity's only chance at surviving might one day come down to being able to rehome ourselves.

Seems to me it would be a good idea to demonstrate we can keep out current planet liveable before we try to make a planet with no atmosphere and soil full of perchlorate habitable.

Sure, but backups don't hurt. Fidelity has demonstrated over the last 10 years that they can seemingly keep my retirement money safe, but I still have the entirety of my portfolio split across three companies just in case.

We could make Earth the most ideal celestial body in the universe and it won't mean dick if a comet we can't/don't have time to stop comes our way.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on April 26, 2023, 09:52:45 AM
It's also a life raft. In 1000 years, 5000 years, who knows. Humanity's only chance at surviving might one day come down to being able to rehome ourselves.

Seems to me it would be a good idea to demonstrate we can keep out current planet liveable before we try to make a planet with no atmosphere and soil full of perchlorate habitable.
We stand a better chance that the latter simply because we'd all be interested in trying. It's new and exciting. We're more interested in fighting about it rather than actually trying to salvage the Earth.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on April 26, 2023, 11:03:36 AM
Any human life on Mars will never be long term self sustainable in the next century, and probably much longer than that. Hell, life on the ISS requires a whole supply infrastructure to sustain. I'm not against starting the process, but we have to be realistic about what the best and most effective ways of protecting ourselves are, and a mars lifeboat ain't it as concerns the next few generations at least.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 26, 2023, 11:11:46 AM
Any human life on Mars will never be long term self sustainable in the next century, and probably much longer than that. Hell, life on the ISS requires a whole supply infrastructure to sustain.

Well, too be fair the only resource the ISS comes with is the station itself. Literally every other thing provided has to be supplied. At least Mars has water, caves, soil, some kind of an atmosphere (not suggesting we'd breathe it), and room. 

As for the next century bit, I specifically used 1000 and 5000 year timelines in my previous post just for that reason. I don't think anyone is expecting anything of substance in just the next century.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on April 27, 2023, 01:23:44 PM
This seems pretty quick, even when taking into account "Elon time".

(https://preview.redd.it/is6jgj0v6iwa1.jpg?width=1024&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=147dafcb62712f47ad157aab0fbc23cc694e0860)

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: XJDenton on April 27, 2023, 01:28:37 PM
Conversely:

https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-faa-mishap-investigation
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on April 27, 2023, 02:18:06 PM
Conversely:

https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-faa-mishap-investigation

"This is standard practice for all mishap investigations."

The FAA approvals are always temporary. I believe that they're reinstated for each launch and then immediately expire. He's blown up rockets before and he'll do so again. The FAA knows this. That said, they might mandate some changes, but they're probably changes he's already willing to make.

Quote
"Aspiring to have no flame diverter in Boca, but this could turn out to be a mistake,"

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on April 30, 2023, 04:54:05 AM
Before and after footage. You gotta give SpaceX credit for the amount of transparency they have with this project. The fact that people can drive so close to a freakin active rocket launch site and see what's going on up close is quite something. I feel like alot of people don't seem to be aware of that.

Starship Launch Aftermath (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGLfs376wXE&ab_channel=AmericaSpace)


Adding this great analysis of what went wrong:

I Watched the Starship Test Flight at 0.25x Speed & Saw What Went Wrong | Starship Flight Analysis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkiyr25pQ-E&ab_channel=ProjectVirtualHaven)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 26, 2023, 10:42:36 PM
Space X recap of Starship launch:

https://youtu.be/_krgcofiM6M
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on May 27, 2023, 03:34:42 AM
So NASA has also contracted Blue Orgin for it's Artemis Lunar lander. Let the competition commence!!  :corn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on June 15, 2023, 09:34:06 AM
https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/27508/curiositys-postcard-of-marker-band-valley/?utm_campaign=mb&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=morning_brew (https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/27508/curiositys-postcard-of-marker-band-valley/?utm_campaign=mb&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=morning_brew)

This composite photo from Mars is simply stunningly beautiful.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on June 19, 2023, 03:51:13 PM
Interesting visualization of the 2024 solar eclipse

https://youtu.be/sOpYoO_SK7o
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: lonestar on June 19, 2023, 04:37:34 PM
Interesting visualization of the 2024 solar eclipse

https://youtu.be/sOpYoO_SK7o

Very cool!! I'm going to try and be in Austin for it, by cousin lives there so a room will be available for free. I guarantee hotel rates are going to be sky high if they're not all booked already.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on June 19, 2023, 09:17:16 PM
I'm a member of an astronomy association here, and there's been email chains going on since October that some members have booked 2-3 hotels just in case  :lol

Given how unpredictable the weather is, I'll try my luck with Niagara falls since I can drive to it. Hopefully weather will cooperate
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: El Barto on June 19, 2023, 09:55:41 PM
I'm a member of an astronomy association here, and there's been email chains going on since October that some members have booked 2-3 hotels just in case  :lol
They're fools! Spend less money at Academy for a tent, bag, air mattress, and Coleman stove+lantern. For a good eclipse you're better off out at some lake in the boonies than you are at a Ramada outside of Dayton.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 19, 2023, 10:39:20 PM
Had to check when we in Sweden have the next one:

"The next total solar eclipse in Sweden is in 37737 days on Wednesday, 10/16/2126."

 :corn
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on July 06, 2023, 06:45:56 AM
While I'm not getting my hopes up, the new study on Betelgeuse is interesting. The paper is not peer reviewed yet, but there is chatter that the data is correct.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2306.00287.pdf

If true, Betelgeuse going supernova might be sooner than expected, with an optimistic prediction of just a few decades.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on August 24, 2023, 06:10:12 AM
With a reported budget of just $75 million, India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft successfully landed on the moon’s south pole yesterday is a spectacular achievement. Now sooner than later someone will have to land on the Clavius crater and start digging.  :biggrin:
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: ReaperKK on August 24, 2023, 06:14:56 AM
While I'm not getting my hopes up, the new study on Betelgeuse is interesting. The paper is not peer reviewed yet, but there is chatter that the data is correct.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2306.00287.pdf

If true, Betelgeuse going supernova might be sooner than expected, with an optimistic prediction of just a few decades.

That would be incredible if it went supernova in our lifetime.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 24, 2023, 06:31:56 AM
While I'm not getting my hopes up, the new study on Betelgeuse is interesting. The paper is not peer reviewed yet, but there is chatter that the data is correct.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2306.00287.pdf

If true, Betelgeuse going supernova might be sooner than expected, with an optimistic prediction of just a few decades.

That would be incredible if it went supernova in our lifetime.

I know it's not a complicated idea, but it still always blows my mind a bit that if we were to witness that in our lifetime, the event itself actually already happened back in the 1400s.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on August 24, 2023, 06:33:53 AM
With a reported budget of just $75 million, India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft successfully landed on the moon’s south pole yesterday is a spectacular achievement. Now sooner than later someone will have to land on the Clavius crater and start digging.  :biggrin:

By comparison, it cost $100M to make the movie Gravity  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on August 24, 2023, 07:08:00 AM

By comparison, it cost $100M to make the movie Gravity  :lol

So true, but that means they have no budget to hire George Clooney  :lol
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Chino on October 02, 2023, 07:35:46 AM
I'm in awe at we can see these.

Rogue planets.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66974738

(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/13B3C/production/_131300708_jumbo_2x640-nc.png.webp)

I've watched shows about these on The Science Channel, and I've seen simulations that suggest our solar system had an extra gas giant at one point before it was ejected, but this is the first I've heard of the pairs thing.

Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on October 02, 2023, 08:14:49 AM
That is very impressive
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on November 16, 2023, 06:43:02 AM
This interactive page about James Webb Space Telescope and its discoveries is really cool.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/11/05/magazine/james-webb-space-telescope.html (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/11/05/magazine/james-webb-space-telescope.html)
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: hunnus2000 on November 22, 2023, 07:06:47 AM
This came up on my news feed and I would like to get people smarter than my to comment.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/earth-has-received-a-message-laser-beamed-from-10-million-miles-away/ar-AA1kk1Ct?ocid=msedgntp&pc=SCOOBE&cvid=b62125210dab4266912b108d7802bac2&ei=31
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on January 07, 2024, 02:36:21 AM
So the Neptune we all thought we knew it's not an intense, azure blue, but looks just like Uranus (no, not that).

Neptune and Uranus seen in true colours for first time (https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67892275)

This hurts almost as when Pluto was no longer considered a planet.

And apparently, NASA never lied and stated all along in the fine print that the image was color enhanced, it's just that nobody realized it or cared.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on January 07, 2024, 07:40:46 AM
I mean most images of or from space have altered colors to enhance details, so not surprising for me.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: MirrorMask on January 07, 2024, 10:07:01 AM
Uh well, I imagined / assumed that too, but when we're talking color enhancing, I thought stuff like "that glowing red is not that intense in reality", not "these two planets which we presented as very different look basically the same and you would mistake one for the other if you'd see them in space".
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on January 08, 2024, 06:39:16 AM
Yeah, I mean, I get it. I wish we would just get raw images, but in order to see some details, some enhancement is needed. Here is a 1998 2005 picture of Neptune from the HST (1998 image was not loading for some reason, so here is the link: https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpegMod/PIA01287_modest.jpg )

(https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/neptune_hubble_natural-with-moons.jpg)

Also, while not as exciting, the US launched a lunar lander today.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Lonk on January 08, 2024, 06:41:20 AM
Double post. I guess the system was slow when I was trying to post this.

Yeah, I mean, I get it. I wish we would just get raw images, but in order to see some details, some enhancement is needed. Here is a 1998 picture of Neptune from the HST

(https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpegMod/PIA01287_modest.jpg)

Also, while not as exciting, the US launched a lunar lander today.
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: axeman90210 on January 26, 2024, 01:40:46 PM
This was a fun little thread, and I learned something.

https://x.com/latifnasser/status/1750952860131729544?s=20
Title: Re: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.
Post by: Azyiu on January 30, 2024, 09:39:37 AM
Zoozve the quasi-moon... fascinating read, thanks for sharing.  :biggrin: