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Space and Astronomy Thread
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TelevisionUser
24-05-2015
Originally Posted by xxtimbo:
“About 9 pm at night, Im seeing a quarter size moon in west.. quite high up in the sky and a little further over one very bright star (? ) the only star in the sky at that time
( or is it a space station )”

What you'll be seeing in the night sky is the Moon, Jupiter and Venus although it's cloudy today: http://news.yahoo.com/see-jupiter-mo...130646682.html
xxtimbo
24-05-2015
Thanks a ton for the link.....

position wise Id guess what Im seeing is Venus
at 9 pm like a very bright star.... the only star in the sky !
albertd
24-05-2015
Originally Posted by xxtimbo:
“About 9 pm at night, Im seeing a quarter size moon in west.. quite high up in the sky and a little further over one very bright star (? ) the only star in the sky at that time
( or is it a space station )”

The only space station is the ISS which is very bright and moves quite visibly, taking only about 7 minutes to cross right over the sky from west to east during its highest passes.
atg
24-05-2015
Originally Posted by xxtimbo:
“Thanks a ton for the link.....

position wise Id guess what Im seeing is Venus
at 9 pm like a very bright star.... the only star in the sky !”

Yes, I think that's definitely right. It was quite spectacular with the thin crescent Moon passing below it last week. Jupiter is higher and further south (up and to the left), but not quite so bright and will be the second 'star' you will see as it gets dark. The two planets are rapidly approaching each other, at least from where we are looking, and on June 30th or July 1st they will be so close together the full Moon could cover both of them, which should be worth seeing.
Eddie Badger
28-05-2015
Getting closer to Ceres http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4605

Looks like it's taken quite a battering.
TelevisionUser
28-05-2015
Originally Posted by Eddie Badger:
“Getting closer to Ceres http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4605

Looks like it's taken quite a battering.”

Yes, the early Solar System was indeed a violent and turbulent place:

Late Heavy Bombardment
Keyser_Soze1
28-05-2015
Originally Posted by TelevisionUser:
“Yes, the early Solar System was indeed a violent and turbulent place:

Late Heavy Bombardment”

As expected poor Ceres has had the living shit kicked out of it over the billions of years of it's existence!

Posted this link before but for new readers of the thread this National Geographic blog is always a very good read.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....ace-like-home/
TelevisionUser
09-06-2015
Originally Posted by Keyser_Soze1:
“As expected poor Ceres has had the living shit kicked out of it over the billions of years of it's existence!

Posted this link before but for new readers of the thread this National Geographic blog is always a very good read.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....ace-like-home/”

That video's good and it reminded me of the planet Mercury with its heavily cratered surface.

And now it's Pluto time!

NASA's 'Pluto Time' Shows You How Bright It Is on Dwarf Planet
A new NASA Web tool called "Pluto Time" allows people around the world to experience the light levels that prevail at noon on the dwarf planet. Users enter their location, and Pluto Time tells them the next available opportunity to go outside and see what midday Plutonian rays would look like. (Everyone has two chances each day, around dusk and dawn.)
http://www.space.com/29600-pluto-tim...-horizons.html

Hubble observes chaotic dance of Pluto’s moons
In a new study, scientists have gathered all available NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope data on the four outer moons of Pluto to analyse the system in more depth than ever before. The observations show that at least two of Pluto’s moons are not neatly rotating on their axes but are in chaotic rotation while orbiting around Pluto and its companion Charon. The study also hints that one of the moons has a mysterious jet-black colouring. These surprising results appear in the 4th June issue of the journal Nature.
http://astronomynow.com/2015/06/04/h...-plutos-moons/
http://www.spacetelescope.org/static.../heic1512a.pdf

Meanwhile, high in Earth's upper atmosphere:

Huge parachute shredded during Mars entry experiment
Flying more than twice the speed of sound in the thin air 34 miles above Hawaii, a flying saucer-shaped test vehicle successfully inflated a doughnut-like airbrake, technology needed to slow heavy payloads down during descent to Mars, but a huge supersonic parachute ripped apart seconds after release in the $230 million program’s second straight failure. “First off, it looked like our rockets fired correctly, it looks like we got up to the altitude and the speed we were looking for,” said Daniel Coatta, a mechanical engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. “The (airbrake) inflated, it looked like it performed great.”
http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/06/08...ry-experiment/

Back on terra firma:

Construction to begin on world’s largest optical telescope
The Giant Magellan Telescope Organization announced today that its 11 international partners have committed more than $500 million to begin construction of the first of a new generation of extremely large telescopes. Once it is built, the Giant Magellan Telescope is poised to be the largest optical telescope in the world. The telescope’s seven mirrors, produced at the University of Arizona, will focus more than six times the amount of light of the current largest optical telescopes into images up to 10 times sharper than those of the Hubble Space Telescope. The GMT will enable astronomers to look deeper into space and farther back in time than ever before.
http://astronomynow.com/2015/06/03/c...cal-telescope/
Eddie Badger
10-06-2015
New closer views of Ceres
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4619
balthasar
11-06-2015
Originally Posted by Eddie Badger:
“New closer views of Ceres
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4619”


Thank you for posting the link, very good pictures.
Eddie Badger
11-06-2015
Originally Posted by balthasar:
“Thank you for posting the link, very good pictures.”

I can't wait to see more close up images of those bright spots.
Eddie Badger
12-06-2015
Latest from Philae and Pluto
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32423509

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33110288
tiger2000
14-06-2015
Quote:
“he European Space Agency (Esa) says its comet lander, Philae, has woken up and contacted Earth.

Philae, the first spacecraft to land on a comet, was dropped on to the surface of Comet 67P by its mothership, Rosetta, last November.

It worked for 60 hours before its solar-powered battery ran flat.

The comet has since moved nearer to the sun and Philae has enough power to work again, says the BBC's science correspondent Jonathan Amos.

An account linked to the probe tweeted the message, "Hello Earth! Can you hear me?"

On its blog, Esa said Philae had contacted Earth, via Rosetta, for 85 seconds in the first contact since going into hibernation in November.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33126885
WhatJoeThinks
14-06-2015
Originally Posted by tiger2000:
“http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33126885”

Woohoo!
atg
20-06-2015
Looks like the end of Iridium flares

http://www.universetoday.com/120761/...ent-this-year/

Shame if so, one of the more impressive random lights in the sky.
Keyser_Soze1
21-06-2015
A very interesting National Geographic magazine article on New Horizons and Pluto, with a photo gallery and video.

Not long to wait now.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/20...uto/drake-text
Eddie Badger
21-06-2015
Originally Posted by Keyser_Soze1:
“A very interesting National Geographic magazine article on New Horizons and Pluto, with a photo gallery and video.

Not long to wait now.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/20...uto/drake-text”

Thanks for that, very interesting. It's going to be a very interesting time coming up with Pluto and Philae coming back online.
Keyser_Soze1
21-06-2015
Originally Posted by Eddie Badger:
“Thanks for that, very interesting. It's going to be a very interesting time coming up with Pluto and Philae coming back online.”

Indeed - 2015 is set to become a standout year for Astronomy and our understanding of the Solar System.
TexAveryWolf
21-06-2015
Originally Posted by atg:
“Looks like the end of Iridium flares

http://www.universetoday.com/120761/...ent-this-year/

Shame if so, one of the more impressive random lights in the sky.”

Damn!

Only just started using the app for these.....

Progress...who needs it?
Keyser_Soze1
26-06-2015
An interesting article on Pluto and New Horizons and make sure you watch the wonderful, emotional and inspiring video at the top.

This is humanity at it's very best - forget about the primitive bullshit of religion - science is the true light.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....ountain-range/
planets
26-06-2015
did anyone get to see any aurora ? it was blanket cloud coverage here
TelevisionUser
27-06-2015
Originally Posted by Eddie Badger:
“New closer views of Ceres
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4619”

Those bright spots are indeed interesting and, based on our current understanding (which might be changed soon), I'd guess that the underlying reflective ice layer has been exposed. It also turns out that there's a mountain visible on Ceres which may or may not be a central crater peak: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/...gallery/477114

Originally Posted by Eddie Badger:
“Latest from Philae and Pluto
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32423509

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33110288”

The pictures and information so gleaned from the light are becoming more and more interesting:

What Is Glittering at Pluto’s North Pole?

New Horizons sees Pluto’s close approach hemisphere and Charon’s ‘dark pole’

Originally Posted by planets:
“did anyone get to see any aurora ? it was blanket cloud coverage here ”

I am afraid not because I only found out the next day what had happened the previous night.

And now for some astro news and highlights:

Pluto, Ceres and an exciting summer for space exploration: Bob McDonald

New study favours cold, icy — not warm, wet — early Mars (that particular debate is still ongoing - were Mars' early seas like the Arctic Ocean or the English Channel?)

Volcanoes on Venus May Still Be Awake

Messier 87 has swallowed an entire galaxy in the last billion years

Falcon 9 rocket passes last major preflight test
zx50
27-06-2015
Originally Posted by Keyser_Soze1:
“An interesting article on Pluto and New Horizons and make sure you watch the wonderful, emotional and inspiring video at the top.

This is humanity at it's very best - forget about the primitive bullshit of religion - science is the true light.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....ountain-range/”

It would be nice if this thread wasn't used to bash religion.
Keyser_Soze1
27-06-2015
Originally Posted by zx50:
“It would be nice if this thread wasn't used to bash religion.”

Fair point.

Yesterday's news was just horrific and I was in a foul mood thinking about all those innocents slaughtered in the name of faith through the ages.
Eddie Badger
28-06-2015
SpaceX rocket explodes just after take off

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33305083
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