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Space and Astronomy Thread |
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#3326 |
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Join Date: Sep 2011
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Quote:
Yes, and glorified fireworks, which is what they really are, will only get humanity so far (and that's not been very far at all).
Yes, they are glorified fireworks if you like. In the same sense that the human race are glorified apes.
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#3327 |
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Quote:
Yes, and glorified fireworks, which is what they really are, will only get humanity so far (and that's not been very far at all).
![]() On another matter - I am really looking forward to the JWST directly imaging some of the Kuiper belt objects such as Eris in the near future. ![]() Some more recent articles http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-37158561 http://phys.org/news/2016-08-spitzer...ope-phase.html http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2...space-science/ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2...space-science/ |
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#3328 |
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As we venture out into the universe, with necessarily high speed probes, I wonder if Lloyds will insure the voyages. If we aim them at possibly inhabited worlds, shouldn't we consider the damage they could cause if we scored a hit? I even wonder if there are strict speed limits in some parts.
Wouldn't want some grumpy aliens arriving with evidence of destruction caused by human carelessness. 'Sorry' may not cover it, but Lloyds (or similar) cover may be astronomical. |
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#3329 |
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Join Date: May 2004
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...and now for something completely different and scary
!![]() Yes, it's Ghost Galaxy time: Ghost galaxy is 99.99 per cent dark matter with almost no stars The Milky Way has a dark twin. A dimly lit massive galaxy, called Dragonfly 44, consists of a record 99.99 per cent dark matter, and could help rewrite our theories of galaxy formation. Dragonfly 44 is the Milky Way’s doppelgänger in mass, but its opposite in number of stars and structure. |
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#3330 |
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^^ When the SMBH is away, the WIMPs will play.
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#3332 |
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SpaceX have lost a rocket and payload during a pre-launch test. No-one was hurt, but the payload was a satellite valued at $200m. The explosion was spectacular. The cause isn't yet known, but seemed to originate in the second stage oxygen tank during propellant loading. Apparently having the payload on the rocket for these tests saves a day off the schedule.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-37247077 |
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#3333 |
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Quote:
![]() I guess they meant — which is '& mdash;' The article was interesting too. Thanks again. |
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#3334 |
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This is one of the best threads on here.
![]() An mysterious alien signal? Nope! ![]() http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-...ens-180960292/ http://www.livescience.com/55954-mys...hly-cause.html http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2...space-science/ |
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#3335 |
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Join Date: Nov 2008
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Quote:
SpaceX have lost a rocket and payload during a pre-launch test. No-one was hurt, but the payload was a satellite valued at $200m. The explosion was spectacular. The cause isn't yet known, but seemed to originate in the second stage oxygen tank during propellant loading. Apparently having the payload on the rocket for these tests saves a day off the schedule.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-37247077 |
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#3336 |
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Join Date: May 2004
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Quote:
SpaceX have lost a rocket and payload during a pre-launch test. No-one was hurt, but the payload was a satellite valued at $200m. The explosion was spectacular. The cause isn't yet known, but seemed to originate in the second stage oxygen tank during propellant loading. Apparently having the payload on the rocket for these tests saves a day off the schedule.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-37247077 Quote:
That was a hell of an "anomaly".
And now for something really new: NASA's Dawn Mission Spies Ice Volcanoes on Ceres Observations by NASA's Ceres-orbiting Dawn spacecraft indicate that "ice volcanos" have erupted on the dwarf planet in the recent past and that Ceres' crust is an odd ice-rock mixture that has never been observed before, scientists reported in a series of six new studies published online today (Sept. 1) in the journal Science. |
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#3337 |
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This was a new rocket not a recycled one.
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#3338 |
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That is the understatement of the year and I assume that they don't yet have a clue as to which component(s) went wrong.
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#3339 |
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Join Date: Jul 2011
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Loved the recent Jupiter images. My old A level Physics tutor said "Astronomy and astrophysics isn't all about looking at the pretty pictures" when he found out I was interested in studying this at University
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#3340 |
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Quote:
Made me wonder what the mysterious "&mash;" is which, along with gravity, holds the cluster together.
![]() I guess they meant — which is '& mdash;' The article was interesting too. Thanks again. |
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#3341 |
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Quote:
Loved the recent Jupiter images. My old A level Physics tutor said "Astronomy and astrophysics isn't all about looking at the pretty pictures" when he found out I was interested in studying this at University
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#3342 |
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#3343 |
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Great news! ![]() I've been playing Kerbal Space Program for the past week, so I'm now a fully-fledged armchair expert on orbital dynamics. Thinking back, the way that Rosetta deployed Philae now seems fairly peculiar. IIRC the lander was propelled from the orbiter in a radial direction (directly downwards), which was bound to increase its orbital velocity, causing it to bounce for miles. As I understand it, the lander should have been propelled in a retrograde direction, decreasing its orbital velocity (so from the point of view of the orbiter it would have looked like it was heading off into space to begin with, before gradually moving towards the comet).Obviously I'm bound to be wrong. I'm not cleverer than all the space scientists at NASA even with 20-20 hindsight. I'm just finding this sort of thing interesting to ponder at the moment.
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#3344 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 21,645
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Quote:
Great news!
![]() I've been playing Kerbal Space Program for the past week, so I'm now a fully-fledged armchair expert on orbital dynamics. Thinking back, the way that Rosetta deployed Philae now seems fairly peculiar. IIRC the lander was propelled from the orbiter in a radial direction (directly downwards), which was bound to increase its orbital velocity, causing it to bounce for miles. As I understand it, the lander should have been propelled in a retrograde direction, decreasing its orbital velocity (so from the point of view of the orbiter it would have looked like it was heading off into space to begin with, before gradually moving towards the comet).Obviously I'm bound to be wrong. I'm not cleverer than all the space scientists at NASA even with 20-20 hindsight. I'm just finding this sort of thing interesting to ponder at the moment. |
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#3345 |
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Without applying too much thought to this, isn't the issue that the gravitational pull was so low that the orbiter essentially had to be flown around the comet? So it was never really in orbit. And if you then propelled the lander anywhere other than straight down, it would just disappear into space. It was never being "deorbited".
I suppose the radial approach would have worked perfectly if the tie-down bolts hadn't failed. [Edit] I'm just thinking out loud here. I'm certainly not trying to pooh-pooh NASA's efforts. I watched the Rosetta mission with the greatest admiration and punched the air like a fellow American when they pulled it off. Go science!
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#3346 |
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Join Date: Feb 2014
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Linked to this site before but it seems to have the fastest updates of the ones I read.
![]() http://phys.org/space-news/ |
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#3347 |
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Join Date: Jul 2011
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And did you? If so, where?
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#3348 |
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Join Date: May 2004
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Tonight, 10pm on BBC Four:
Interstellar: The Journey to Proxima b Interstellar travel has always seemed impossible - the realm of science fiction rather than reality. But that view is now changing. On this month's Sky at Night the team are joined by Jim al-Khalili to investigate if it will be possible to travel to the sun's nearest neighbouring star - Proxima Centauri - within our lifetimes. |
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#3349 |
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Devon
Posts: 12,838
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My EPGs still showing The Comet's Tale, which I've seen before.
Lots of good stuff tonight. 2 x PVRs is very useful sometimes Edit: Oh that's at 2100. It's the Sky at Night |
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All times are GMT. The time now is 03:39.






!

Thinking back, the way that Rosetta deployed Philae now seems fairly peculiar. IIRC the lander was propelled from the orbiter in a radial direction (directly downwards), which was bound to increase its orbital velocity, causing it to bounce for miles. As I understand it, the lander should have been propelled in a retrograde direction, decreasing its orbital velocity (so from the point of view of the orbiter it would have looked like it was heading off into space to begin with, before gradually moving towards the comet).
Go science!