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

[chknptpie]

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.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

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.

[Chino]

Very excited for that launch. One of my oldest friends has been writing code for the Dragon 2 for about 2.5 years now.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

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.

[Chino]

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.

[jasc15]

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

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

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.  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.

[El Barto]

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. 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:

[jasc15]

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.

[cramx3]

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.

[Chino]

How do the theaters get away with branding something as "Imax" without it actually being one?

[The Walrus]

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.

[cramx3]

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.

[El Barto]

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).

[cramx3]

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:

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.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Really cool footage of the B1051 booster returning to port:

SpaceX - Demo-1 Return To Port 03-05-2019

That thing looks freakin huge, especially when you have humans for scale.

[Chino]

Dragon 2 re-enters in 15 minutes.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

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! 

[Phoenix87x]

Black hole photo should be coming out soon

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/08/opinion/black-hole.html

[ReaperKK]

Black hole photo should be coming out soon

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/08/opinion/black-hole.html

Looking forward to seeing this!

[Orbert]

We won't be able to see anything.












 

[The Walrus]

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47873592

And there it is...

[Chino]

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.

[Chino]

Just an FYI

Falcon Heavy launch is slated for 6:35ET tonight.

[MirrorMask]

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.

[Lonk]

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.

[Orbert]

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.

[The Walrus]

Circle referring to the shape on the image, I imagine, not the physical object itself.

[cramx3]

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.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

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:

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. 

[Chino]

[cramx3]

 

[orcus116]

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.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I feel compelled to listen to Into the Black Hole but i'm not complaining. 

[MirrorMask]

I feel compelled to listen to Into the Black Hole but i'm not complaining. 

I posted on FB a pic of the black hole and a quote from the song