The Official Space and Astronomy Thread v. Well, this is weird.

[Azyiu]

By comparison, it cost $100M to make the movie Gravity 

So true, but that means they have no budget to hire George Clooney 

[Chino]

I'm in awe at we can see these.

Rogue planets.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66974738



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.

[Lonk]

That is very impressive

[Azyiu]

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

[hunnus2000]

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

[MirrorMask]

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

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.

[Lonk]

I mean most images of or from space have altered colors to enhance details, so not surprising for me.

[MirrorMask]

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".

[Lonk]

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 )



Also, while not as exciting, the US launched a lunar lander today.

[Lonk]

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



Also, while not as exciting, the US launched a lunar lander today.

[axeman90210]

This was a fun little thread, and I learned something.

https://x.com/latifnasser/status/1750952860131729544?s=20

[Azyiu]

Zoozve the quasi-moon... fascinating read, thanks for sharing. 

[El Barto]

When people think of test pilot astronauts back in the 60, Bill Anders isn't a name that jumps out to the front of the list. He only flew one mission, and it was in boring era between the first space flights and man landing on the moon. Nor did he have any specific firsts. He was, however onboard the first crewed flight of a Saturn V. And the first to ever leave the Earth's orbit and circle the moon, four days away, before landing 8 days later, simply to thumb our nose at the Russians and take some neat pictures. This was the mission that Lovell considered his crowning achievement, rather than Apollo 13. For his part in the endeavor, Bill Anders took probably the most impressive photographs ever taken.

If he'd just died of a stroke or cancer at a ripe old age I'd still have posted about him. He's earned it. This guy, though, plowed his Korean war era trainer into Puget Sound, at 90,  after it burst into flames. This is one of the wonderfully appropriate deaths of our time. I'm sorry he's gone, but I can't help but admire the guy for his wonderful egress. We should all be so fortunate.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/07/science/william-a-anders-dead.html

[Cool Chris]

Just saw that on the local news. Right in my backyard, figuratively. I knew he was on Apollo 8. I did not know who specifically took the picture until now.

[Train of Naught]

When people think of test pilot astronauts back in the 60, Bill Anders isn't a name that jumps out to the front of the list. He only flew one mission, and it was in boring era between the first space flights and man landing on the moon. Nor did he have any specific firsts. He was, however onboard the first crewed flight of a Saturn V. And the first to ever leave the Earth's orbit and circle the moon, four days away, before landing 8 days later, simply to thumb our nose at the Russians and take some neat pictures. This was the mission that Lovell considered his crowning achievement, rather than Apollo 13. For his part in the endeavor, Bill Anders took probably the most impressive photographs ever taken.

If he'd just died of a stroke or cancer at a ripe old age I'd still have posted about him. He's earned it. This guy, though, plowed his Korean war era trainer into Puget Sound, at 90,  after it burst into flames. This is one of the wonderfully appropriate deaths of our time. I'm sorry he's gone, but I can't help but admire the guy for his wonderful egress. We should all be so fortunate.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/07/science/william-a-anders-dead.html

I'm sure he'd shed a tear if he would've seen how you talk about him, you are good man.
Also this is some interesting nieche info, I'm intrigued