Author Topic: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird. (Read 192953 times)

chknptpie · « **Reply #210 on:** June 21, 2013, 07:36:46 AM »

Well this looks like a fun thread!

Sketchy · « **Reply #211 on:** June 21, 2013, 02:32:41 PM »

Quote from: Chino on June 20, 2013, 05:11:52 PM

I love this pic! ISS making a pass.

That's brillcakes right there.

MrBoom_shack-a-lack · « **Reply #212 on:** June 21, 2013, 03:01:33 PM »

Quote from: chknptpie on June 21, 2013, 07:36:46 AM

Well this looks like a fun thread!

Yes, welcome to the "µg" part of DTF!

Orbert · « **Reply #213 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.

It's actually the remnants of supernova Cassiopeia A.

MrBoom_shack-a-lack · « **Reply #214 on:** June 21, 2013, 04:23:46 PM »

That's a nice one!

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:

Chino · « **Reply #215 on:** June 21, 2013, 05:00:43 PM »

One of mine

wasteland · « **Reply #216 on:** June 25, 2013, 01:05:41 PM »

This is actually fairly easy

MrBoom_shack-a-lack · « **Reply #217 on:** June 28, 2013, 03:29:45 AM »

^^Being pretty much a math n00b i'm not even gonna try solve that.

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.

Orbert · « **Reply #218 on:** June 28, 2013, 11:06:26 AM »

Bizarre and Baffling indeed.

Chino · « **Reply #219 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.

Orbert · « **Reply #220 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...

chknptpie · « **Reply #221 on:** June 28, 2013, 12:17:06 PM »

How are the instruments still working? What kind of battery life do they have?!

Big Hath · « **Reply #222 on:** June 28, 2013, 12:32:30 PM »

Quote from: chknptpie on June 28, 2013, 12:17:06 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%

chknptpie · « **Reply #223 on:** June 28, 2013, 12:41:02 PM »

Very interesting! Thanks for posting that info

Chino · « **Reply #224 on:** July 08, 2013, 06:46:32 PM »

Quote from: 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!

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

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!!

Azyiu · « **Reply #225 on:** July 09, 2013, 12:37:01 AM »

Quote from: Chino on July 08, 2013, 06:46:32 PM

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

Xanthul · « **Reply #226 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!

Chino · « **Reply #227 on:** July 09, 2013, 02:10:32 PM »

Quote from: 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!

This

And this

If you get the hardcover anniversary edition you get awesome visuals to go along with everything! I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Chino · « **Reply #228 on:** July 20, 2013, 09:27:45 AM »

44 years today!

Zook · « **Reply #229 on:** July 20, 2013, 09:45:54 AM »

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM CARREY!

Phoenix87x · « **Reply #230 on:** July 20, 2013, 10:01:19 AM »

Quote from: 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!

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

Can't go wrong with Sagan.

Chino · « **Reply #231 on:** July 20, 2013, 10:12:08 AM »

Yeah... just buy both of them.

wasteland · « **Reply #232 on:** July 20, 2013, 10:17:40 AM »

Yes. Cosmos definitely. A broadening and enlightening experience.

Chino · « **Reply #233 on:** July 20, 2013, 11:44:25 AM »

If you don't feel like reading it, the 13 part mini series is on Netflix.

BlackInk · « **Reply #234 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.

Chino · « **Reply #235 on:** July 21, 2013, 05:34:35 PM »

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

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

MrBoom_shack-a-lack · « **Reply #236 on:** July 21, 2013, 05:47:43 PM »

That looked bad-ass!

BlackInk · « **Reply #237 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.

wasteland · « **Reply #238 on:** July 27, 2013, 11:34:40 AM »

Chino · « **Reply #239 on:** July 27, 2013, 04:44:38 PM »

Quote from: 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.

This is probably going to be the greatest show ever on Fox.

wasteland · « **Reply #240 on:** August 07, 2013, 02:04:27 PM »

Worth a post:

MrBoom_shack-a-lack · « **Reply #241 on:** August 07, 2013, 04:27:51 PM »

Chino · « **Reply #242 on:** August 07, 2013, 04:37:51 PM »

Well that made me depressed.

Azyiu · « **Reply #243 on:** August 08, 2013, 08:20:12 PM »

Quote from: Chino on August 07, 2013, 04:37:51 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.

TioJorge · « **Reply #244 on:** August 08, 2013, 09:11:30 PM »

For real...god damn.

News: Track-by-track video for Fall Into the Light: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ezfzdMpRc0

Author Topic: The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird. (Read 192953 times)