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Space and Astronomy Thread
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tdenson
17-04-2016
Originally Posted by atg:
“And of course a star that will outlive the sun, otherwise it's a bit pointless.”

There are plenty of other potential catastrophes (including man-made ones) which could cause humankind to have to vacate the earth long before the sun expires.
Rich Tea.
18-04-2016
The sun may be going supernova in about 5,000,000,000 years time from now but the Earth will be long gone as we know it long before then. It's estimated that in just 20% of that time in the future, a billion years from now the earth will have become the same as Venus is right now. Global warming, you ain't seen nothing yet and it's not going to be manmade that's a cert.
atg
18-04-2016
The sun isn't big enough to go supernova, just red giant and collapse to white dwarf.
An Thropologist
18-04-2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVMgnmi2D1w

I am sure someone will have posted this here already but just in case.

Absolutely stunning.
Rich Tea.
19-04-2016
Originally Posted by atg:
“The sun isn't big enough to go supernova, just red giant and collapse to white dwarf.”

Yes, of course, thanks for reminding me.
Jellied Eel
19-04-2016
By the time someone reaches their 18th birthday, they'll have travelled over 10.5bn miles. Yet still want a car. And don't try to claim mileage from HMRC, or say 'oh, about 30km/s' when an officer asks how fast you were going.
njp
19-04-2016
Originally Posted by Rich Tea.:
“The sun may be going supernova in about 5,000,000,000 years time from now but the Earth will be long gone as we know it long before then. It's estimated that in just 20% of that time in the future, a billion years from now the earth will have become the same as Venus is right now. Global warming, you ain't seen nothing yet and it's not going to be manmade that's a cert.”

True enough. But long before solar luminosity has increased sufficiently to cause a runaway greenhouse effect by boiling off the oceans, CO2 levels will have dropped below the levels required to sustain photosynthesis. So game over for most life on the planet.
Keyser_Soze1
19-04-2016
Originally Posted by Rich Tea.:
“Yes, of course, thanks for reminding me.”

Horizon discussed this very topic recently.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b077nl9f

Truly fantastic new images of Ceres, after almost 40 years a plausible scientific explanation for the enigmatic alien 'Wow!' signal and finally - will scientists ever prove that the Multiverse is real?

http://phys.org/news/2016-04-ceres-i...t-craters.html

https://www.theguardian.com/science/...e_b-gdnscience

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/scienc...eal-180958813/
atg
19-04-2016
Originally Posted by Keyser_Soze1:
“Horizon discussed this very topic recently.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b077nl9f

Truly fantastic new images of Ceres, after almost 40 years a plausible scientific explanation for the enigmatic alien 'Wow!' signal”

But why does he need to wait until the comet passes the same spot? Surely the signal would be continuous.
Keyser_Soze1
20-04-2016
Originally Posted by atg:
“But why does he need to wait until the comet passes the same spot? Surely the signal would be continuous.”

The last couple of paragraphs state some objections to the theory and no doubt there will me much more on this story on the various astronomy sites.

https://www.newscientist.com/article...ts-not-aliens/
TelevisionUser
21-04-2016
I only have one thing to post tonight; moonset (Phobos) on Mars: http://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/as...22012938_o.png
Keyser_Soze1
26-04-2016
Can life exist in the blackest, coldest vacuum of interstellar space?

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160...of-outer-space

A small dark moon has been discovered orbiting around the distant dwarf planet Makemake in the Kuiper Belt.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....-solar-system/

http://phys.org/news/2016-04-hubble-...rf-planet.html

The Cassini probe is continuing to explore the mysterious methane seas on Titan.

http://phys.org/news/2016-04-cassini...sea-titan.html
TelevisionUser
27-04-2016
Originally Posted by Keyser_Soze1:
“A small dark moon has been discovered orbiting around the distant dwarf planet Makemake in the Kuiper Belt.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....-solar-system/

http://phys.org/news/2016-04-hubble-...rf-planet.html”

Interestingly, Makemake could have theoretically been discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in his search for trans-Neptunian planets because it would have been detectable by the Earth-based telescopes of that time. In terms of composition, spectroscopy can be used to determine what compounds are present on far away Makemake and other similar bodies: http://web.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/out/kbcomp.pdf

In other news:

Revealed for the first time in all its glory - the main mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope, which will be launched in 2018. JWST is regarded as the successor to Hubble, and will carry technologies capable of detecting the light from the first stars to shine in the Universe.

I vehemently oppose that telescope's description as the successor to Hubble - it isn't, not least because it's meant to observe in the long wavelength (orange-red) visible light spectrum through to infrared wavelengths.

Back in 2012, NASA received a donation of two space telescopes from the United States National Reconnaissance Office. It looks like one of those will be used for the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope project but I'd like to see the other one used as a visible wavelength replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope.
Keyser_Soze1
28-04-2016
Originally Posted by TelevisionUser:
“Interestingly, Makemake could have theoretically been discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in his search for trans-Neptunian planets because it would have been detectable by the Earth-based telescopes of that time. In terms of composition, spectroscopy can be used to determine what compounds are present on far away Makemake and other similar bodies: http://web.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/out/kbcomp.pdf

In other news:

Revealed for the first time in all its glory - the main mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope, which will be launched in 2018. JWST is regarded as the successor to Hubble, and will carry technologies capable of detecting the light from the first stars to shine in the Universe.

I vehemently oppose that telescope's description as the successor to Hubble - it isn't, not least because it's meant to observe in the long wavelength (orange-red) visible light spectrum through to infrared wavelengths.

Back in 2012, NASA received a donation of two space telescopes from the United States National Reconnaissance Office. It looks like one of those will be used for the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope project but I'd like to see the other one used as a visible wavelength replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope.”

Interesting stuff.

The search for rogue planets.

http://news.discovery.com/space/alie...-on-160427.htm
TelevisionUser
28-04-2016
Originally Posted by Keyser_Soze1:
“Interesting stuff.

The search for rogue planets.

http://news.discovery.com/space/alie...-on-160427.htm”

...and then the definition question comes in - is it a big Jupiter or a small brown dwarf failed star? http://www.space.com/23798-brown-dwarfs.html

In other news:

SpaceX founder Elon Musk announces company plans to send capsule to Mars in 2018. The move will be the first step on the way to colonising Mars - which Musk has previously said is his insurance plan for human life on Earth.

It's basically going to be an uncrewed test run a bit like the Soviet Zond missions to the Moon and back all those decades ago.

The demise and break up of the old Soviet Union meant that the Baikonur launch centre ended up not in Russia but in the new country of Kazakhstan, In order not to be wholly reliant on launch facilities in another country, Russia has a shiny new cosmodrome in Russia's far east:

A Soyuz rocket streaked into sunny skies over a new multibillion-dollar Siberian spaceport Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin watching from a nearby viewing stand, opening another gateway to space for satellites, and eventually cosmonaut crews. The Soyuz-2.1a rocket took off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome with three satellites at 0201 GMT Thursday (10:01 p.m. EDT Wednesday), one day after a technical glitch scrubbed the launch in the final minutes of the countdown.

Location = https://goo.gl/maps/79hhoCaNum22

The surface of Mars — including the location of Beagle-2 — has been shown in unprecedented detail by UCL scientists using a revolutionary image stacking and matching technique...A paper describing the technique, called Super-Resolution Restoration (SRR), was published in Planetary and Space Science in February but has only recently been used to focus on specific objects on Mars.

Mars is about to get a little more crowded as another space-faring nation revealed its ambitions to send a spacecraft there. The mission is high on China’s priority list as it will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the ruling Communist Party. “The probe is expected to orbit the Red Planet, land and deploy a rover all in one mission, which is quite difficult to achieve,” said Xu Dazhe, director of China’s National Space Administration (CNSA).

Recent Planet Nine update articles:

How do we know there's a Planet 9?

Scientists claim breakthrough in hunt for Planet Nine

The Hunt for Planet Nine: Atmosphere, Spectra, Evolution, and Detectability

Now all we need to do is actually find this world!
Keyser_Soze1
29-04-2016
Originally Posted by TelevisionUser:
“...and then the definition question comes in - is it a big Jupiter or a small brown dwarf failed star? http://www.space.com/23798-brown-dwarfs.html

In other news:

SpaceX founder Elon Musk announces company plans to send capsule to Mars in 2018. The move will be the first step on the way to colonising Mars - which Musk has previously said is his insurance plan for human life on Earth.

It's basically going to be an uncrewed test run a bit like the Soviet Zond missions to the Moon and back all those decades ago.

The demise and break up of the old Soviet Union meant that the Baikonur launch centre ended up not in Russia but in the new country of Kazakhstan, In order not to be wholly reliant on launch facilities in another country, Russia has a shiny new cosmodrome in Russia's far east:

A Soyuz rocket streaked into sunny skies over a new multibillion-dollar Siberian spaceport Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin watching from a nearby viewing stand, opening another gateway to space for satellites, and eventually cosmonaut crews. The Soyuz-2.1a rocket took off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome with three satellites at 0201 GMT Thursday (10:01 p.m. EDT Wednesday), one day after a technical glitch scrubbed the launch in the final minutes of the countdown.

Location = https://goo.gl/maps/79hhoCaNum22

The surface of Mars — including the location of Beagle-2 — has been shown in unprecedented detail by UCL scientists using a revolutionary image stacking and matching technique...A paper describing the technique, called Super-Resolution Restoration (SRR), was published in Planetary and Space Science in February but has only recently been used to focus on specific objects on Mars.

Mars is about to get a little more crowded as another space-faring nation revealed its ambitions to send a spacecraft there. The mission is high on China’s priority list as it will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the ruling Communist Party. “The probe is expected to orbit the Red Planet, land and deploy a rover all in one mission, which is quite difficult to achieve,” said Xu Dazhe, director of China’s National Space Administration (CNSA).

Recent Planet Nine update articles:

How do we know there's a Planet 9?

Scientists claim breakthrough in hunt for Planet Nine

The Hunt for Planet Nine: Atmosphere, Spectra, Evolution, and Detectability

Now all we need to do is actually find this world!”

If it's there the JWT will find it.

A lost sighting of the brightest supernova in recorded history has been discovered in an ancient text and a new modified form of the famous Drake Equation.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2...rab-astronomy/

http://phys.org/news/2016-04-limits-uniqueness.html
Blackjack Davy
29-04-2016
Originally Posted by njp:
“True enough. But long before solar luminosity has increased sufficiently to cause a runaway greenhouse effect by boiling off the oceans, CO2 levels will have dropped below the levels required to sustain photosynthesis. So game over for most life on the planet.”

500mY - 1000mY tops for type I photosynthesis, type II may continue a bit longer. Funny to think theres been life for up to 3500mY+ but multicellular life for only 500mY and theres about the same time left before it ceases.
Rich Tea.
29-04-2016
Originally Posted by Keyser_Soze1:
“If it's there the JWT will find it.

A lost sighting of the brightest supernova in recorded history has been discovered in an ancient text and a new modified form of the famous Drake Equation.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2...rab-astronomy/

http://phys.org/news/2016-04-limits-uniqueness.html”

Really enjoyed reading these KS.
Keyser_Soze1
02-05-2016
Originally Posted by Rich Tea.:
“Really enjoyed reading these KS. ”

You are very welcome.

The highest resolution global map of Pluto so far, three earth sized exoplanets orbiting a 'nearby' tiny ultracool star and a rocky, tailless comet that may be a chunk left over from the very origins of the solar system.

http://phys.org/news/2016-05-scienti...omprising.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2...rf-star-space/

http://phys.org/news/2016-05-years-e...host-life.html

http://www.livescience.com/54614-wei...discovery.html
TelevisionUser
04-05-2016
Originally Posted by Keyser_Soze1:
“You are very welcome.

The highest resolution global map of Pluto so far, three earth sized exoplanets orbiting a 'nearby' tiny ultracool star and a rocky, tailless comet that may be a chunk left over from the very origins of the solar system.

http://phys.org/news/2016-05-scienti...omprising.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2...rf-star-space/

http://phys.org/news/2016-05-years-e...host-life.html

http://www.livescience.com/54614-wei...discovery.html”

It sounds like it's a dim and cool L-class dwarf star but, personally, I think it's only worth looking into F, G, K, M class stars [Sun = G2] when it comes to potentially habitable planets. Might be worth sending a few Starshot laser sail probes there though if that project ever gets off the ground.

In other news, Elon's going to Mars, or rather he's sending an empty capsule there as a technology demonstrator:

SpaceX's Red Dragon Could Soar Off on Mars Mission in 2018. SpaceX last week announced plans to launch a mission for Mars in 2018, with help from the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Red Dragon, a variant of the SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft, will make the unmanned journey. The Falcon Heavy 9 space launch vehicle will send it on its way.


...which reminds me:

Mars in coming weeks. Over the weeks following its opposition, Mars will reach its highest point in the sky four minutes earlier each night, gradually receding from the pre-dawn morning sky while remaining visible in the evening sky for a few months.
Keyser_Soze1
05-05-2016
Ground breaking images of Zeta Andromeda - by the using cutting-edge technique interferometry astronomers have shown the surface of a star 181 light years away - simply incredible!

http://phys.org/news/2016-05-ground-...r-insight.html

http://cdn.phys.org/newman/csz/news/...arwithdiff.jpg
Keyser_Soze1
06-05-2016
A galactic peanut.

http://phys.org/news/2016-05-galaxy-...-software.html
TelevisionUser
06-05-2016
Originally Posted by Keyser_Soze1:
“Ground breaking images of Zeta Andromeda - by the using cutting-edge technique interferometry astronomers have shown the surface of a star 181 light years away - simply incredible!

http://phys.org/news/2016-05-ground-...r-insight.html

http://cdn.phys.org/newman/csz/news/...arwithdiff.jpg”

However, that star is a giant one and giant stars do not have happy endings

In other news:

Mysterious tracks on Mars may be formed by boiling water, study shows. Water seeping to the surface during the Martian summer might boil so violently it blasts dust off the ground, helping to explain the size of the streaks.

Scientists Have Figured Out What Caused The "Alien Radio Signal" Coming From A Distant Exoplanet...Based on a series of mathematical calculations, the most likely culprit behind the somewhat weak radio signal was a planet-wide lightning storm.
brangdon
07-05-2016
SpaceX have had another successful launch, and another successful sea landing. This landing was much more difficult than the previous one because the satellite was going to geostationary transfer orbit, meaning the first stage was travelling much faster and had less fuel left over to decelerate with. They needed to use all 3 engines rather than 1. (The Falcon 9 first stage has 9 engines but only 3 are gimbled for manoeuvring during landing.)

Technical broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lYZLxr3L4E
Hosted broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0bMeDj76ig

Not so much to see because it was dark, and there was chase plane footage.
atg
07-05-2016
Originally Posted by brangdon:
“
Technical broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lYZLxr3L4E
.”

Landing at 29:30, so far as you can see it.
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