|
||||||||
Space and Astronomy Thread |
![]() |
|
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
|
#3251 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: The Sixth Circle of Hell
Posts: 20,184
|
Quote:
Two updates today:
NASA reveals new close-up images of Pluto. Released both as a high-res still and in the form of a video, the new images form a mosaic spanning part of the hemisphere of Pluto that the New Horizons spacecraft flew over back on July 14, 2015. At 10:29pm BST (21:29 UT) on Monday, 30 May 2016, Earth and Mars will be 46,777,480 miles (75,281,050 kilometres) apart — the closest that the pair have been since 30 October 2005. Look due south towards the horizon to see Mars. Interestingly, Mars will be close to the star Antares and that star's name means "rival of Mars" due to its red colour. ![]() More on Ceres http://phys.org/news/2016-05-life-ce...ht-baffle.html |
|
|
|
|
Please sign in or register to remove this advertisement.
|
|
|
#3252 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: The Sixth Circle of Hell
Posts: 20,184
|
How would you react if alien life was ever discovered?
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/scienc...ife-180959286/ Just what are the mysterious flashes in the sky called fast radio bursts? http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160...rom-deep-space |
|
|
|
|
|
#3253 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: London
Posts: 4,020
|
Quote:
How would you react if alien life was ever discovered?
|
|
|
|
|
|
#3254 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: The Sixth Circle of Hell
Posts: 20,184
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#3255 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Closed
Posts: 7,796
|
Quote:
How would you react if alien life was ever discovered?
|
|
|
|
|
|
#3256 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Nottingham, UK
Posts: 11,878
|
Quote:
How would you react if alien life was ever discovered?
If it is extra-terrestrial bacteria found within the solar system, then that's a lot more exciting (although also quite likely in my view). My first question would be, does it use the same DNA encoding as us? If yes, then that makes me think we might have the same origin and it isn't really alien. If we find more than one way to be alive than that would make me very happy. If it's an alien message from outer space, then that's a bigger deal because it implies intelligence. I think this is much less likely. We've been doing SETI for decades, so if it was going to happen, it would have happened already. I'd be excited, but also scared. The next step is to decode it. How I'd react then partly depends on what it says. Aliens landing here is even less likely. There are so many possible scenarios here (I read a lot of SF) that I'd need more details before reacting. Peaceful or war-like, one craft or many, where did they come from, what's their technology like? |
|
|
|
|
|
#3257 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: The Sixth Circle of Hell
Posts: 20,184
|
Quote:
Depends on the details. If it's Kepler finding, in the spectrum of a distant planet, a chemical imbalance that requires organic life to sustain, well, good, but there's not much we can do with it. And frankly I think it's pretty much inevitable something like this will happen, and probably fairly soon.
If it is extra-terrestrial bacteria found within the solar system, then that's a lot more exciting (although also quite likely in my view). My first question would be, does it use the same DNA encoding as us? If yes, then that makes me think we might have the same origin and it isn't really alien. If we find more than one way to be alive than that would make me very happy. If it's an alien message from outer space, then that's a bigger deal because it implies intelligence. I think this is much less likely. We've been doing SETI for decades, so if it was going to happen, it would have happened already. I'd be excited, but also scared. The next step is to decode it. How I'd react then partly depends on what it says. Aliens landing here is even less likely. There are so many possible scenarios here (I read a lot of SF) that I'd need more details before reacting. Peaceful or war-like, one craft or many, where did they come from, what's their technology like? ![]() Just how big is the Universe? http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160...f-the-universe An ingenious method that an alien civilisation could use to contact us with lasers. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2...-kepler-space/ |
|
|
|
|
|
#3258 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Closed
Posts: 7,796
|
Quote:
An ingenious method that an alien civilisation could use to contact us with lasers.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2...-kepler-space/ Unless they did it as a trap. A honey pot trap, or maybe they are Venus man traps and they drop their high power lasers around like seedlings. More likely they'd use the technology to hide their signal imho. |
|
|
|
|
|
#3259 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 1,549
|
The world’s biggest, baddest rocket launched Saturday and it was stunning.
http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/...gogh-painting/ Delta IV NROL-37 Launch Highlights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR-qOwIf9sY |
|
|
|
|
|
#3260 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: London
Posts: 4,020
|
Quote:
The world’s biggest, baddest rocket launched Saturday and it was stunning.
http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/...gogh-painting/ Delta IV NROL-37 Launch Highlights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR-qOwIf9sY ![]() More serious observation, this looked different from most, if not all previous launches. The initial burst of flame on ignition didn't seem to be under much force and licked a long way up the vehicle rather than blown out the side by baffles. After that it looked a lot less fiery than usual, apart from some odd looking flames at the fuel tank end of the nozzles, visible at 1:42-1:44. Is the almost invisible and streamlined nature of the exhaust due to improved efficiency in burning the fuel, or design, or something else? |
|
|
|
|
|
#3261 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: The Sixth Circle of Hell
Posts: 20,184
|
LIGO has detected gravitational waves for the second time!
![]() http://www.livescience.com/55081-gra...collision.html http://www.seeker.com/more-gravitati...860493586.html http://www.wired.com/2016/06/ligo-an...e-observation/ |
|
|
|
|
|
#3262 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 1,549
|
Quote:
Very impressive. A couple of observations, first of all having asked for a nice clear "go/no go", there's always one rebel show pony who has to say "clear to proceed" instead
![]() More serious observation, this looked different from most, if not all previous launches. The initial burst of flame on ignition didn't seem to be under much force and licked a long way up the vehicle rather than blown out the side by baffles. After that it looked a lot less fiery than usual, apart from some odd looking flames at the fuel tank end of the nozzles, visible at 1:42-1:44. Is the almost invisible and streamlined nature of the exhaust due to improved efficiency in burning the fuel, or design, or something else? |
|
|
|
|
|
#3263 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 10,236
|
Quote:
I could be mistaken but I believe it is do to the liquid hydrogen/oxygen fuel they use that burns mostly clear.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#3264 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: The Sixth Circle of Hell
Posts: 20,184
|
For anyone interested in Astronomy this site is constantly updated with the latest stories.
http://phys.org/space-news/ The Nasa probe Juno is about to arrive at Jupiter and (hopefully) send images back to Earth in unprecedented detail. ![]() http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2...ace-astronomy/ |
|
|
|
|
|
#3265 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Pembrokeshire.
Posts: 40,686
|
Mr Peake on his way home - wishing him and the other crew a safe journey home
|
|
|
|
|
|
#3266 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Dirty thirty and proud!
Posts: 54,328
|
Come home safely, Tim. You have done a magnificent job
|
|
|
|
|
|
#3267 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Dirty thirty and proud!
Posts: 54,328
|
Great pictures of Tim safely back on Earth. Does he never stop smiling?
|
|
|
|
|
|
#3268 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 5,499
|
Tim Peake will come back a hero. The things he has done beaming images from the space station on twitter, talking on satellite to schools and doing experiments up there. Seems a really nice bloke with a great smile too.
Need a big parade to welcome him back to england. |
|
|
|
|
|
#3269 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Calle Embajadores 28010
Posts: 7,691
|
Quote:
Tim Peake will come back a hero. The things he has done beaming images from the space station on twitter, talking on satellite to schools and doing experiments up there. Seems a really nice bloke with a great smile too.
Need a big parade to welcome him back to england.
|
|
|
|
|
|
#3270 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 5,499
|
Quote:
I was waiting for someone to chime in with 'Hero'. He was doing his job FFS.
![]() |
|
|
|
|
|
#3271 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Nottingham, UK
Posts: 11,878
|
Quote:
The world’s biggest, baddest rocket launched Saturday and it was stunning
Next SpaceX launch is around 15th July, and is to LEO with a return-to-base landing, which ought to be easier. |
|
|
|
|
|
#3272 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,296
|
Quote:
Blue Origin successfully launched their New Shepard capsule on their booster today, 14:35 UTC, June 19th 2016. This booster has flown for the forth time after successfully landing via landing legs on previous missions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIcJ9Hou2e8Pretty awesome video. |
|
|
|
|
|
#3273 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Storbritannia
Posts: 28,927
|
Quote:
A very good post.
![]() Just how big is the Universe? http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160...f-the-universe Quote:
Originally Posted by FIN-MAN} The world’s biggest, baddest rocket launched Saturday and it was stunning.
[url http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/...gogh-painting/[/url]
Delta IV NROL-37 Launch Highlights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR-qOwIf9sY Meanwhile, back on Mars: NASA Mars Orbiters Reveal Seasonal Dust Storm Pattern |
|
|
|
|
|
#3274 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Storbritannia
Posts: 28,927
|
It's Strawberry Moon time! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36584404
...whereas on Venus, it's electric atmosphere time: http://www.natureworldnews.com/artic...atmosphere.htm ...and on Mars, it's mega Grand Canyon time: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160529.html |
|
|
|
|
|
#3275 |
|
Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: The Sixth Circle of Hell
Posts: 20,184
|
Two very thought provoking articles on the latest research on Black Holes.
http://www.livescience.com/55179-bla...omed-star.html http://www.seeker.com/black-hole-ima...878850941.html |
|
|
|
![]() |
|
All times are GMT. The time now is 03:39.







