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Space and Astronomy Thread |
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#1651 |
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Quote:
yes only 2 programmes i can see might be worth watching
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#1652 |
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30 Years ago today
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00dm82w 50 Years ago today http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12895822 |
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#1653 |
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Quote:
The Sky at Night and First Men in the Moon were shown earlier this year but are woth a look if you haven't seen them, the programmes on The Shuttle, Soviet Space Program and Titan look interestering.
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#1654 |
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Excellent Gagarin programmes...
...but the difference is that they are on radio and here they are:
Witness Yuri Gagarin It is 50 years since Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00fvmwh Random Edition 1961 First Man in Space 50th Anniversary Special http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0105vtr Discovery Fifty Years of Human Spaceflight - The Yuri Gagarin Legacy Experts discuss the future of the Russian space programme http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00fvmnd Afternoon Play Titanium The story of Gagarin's first space flight through the eyes of his training partner Titov http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01061ht All good stuff - enjoy! |
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#1655 |
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Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky.
With a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, it is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. The name "Sirius" is derived from the Ancient Greek Σείριος Seirios ("glowing" or "scorcher"). Sirius appears bright because of both its intrinsic luminosity and its proximity to Earth. At a distance of 2.6 parsecs (8.6 ly), the Sirius system is one of Earth's near neighbors. Sirius is about twice as massive as the Sun and has an absolute visual magnitude of 1.42. It is 25 times more luminous than the Sun The heliacal rising of Sirius marked the flooding of the Nile in Ancient Egypt and the "dog days" of summer for the ancient Greeks, Sirius, known in ancient Egypt as Sopdet (Greek: Sothis), is recorded in the earliest astronomical records. During the era of the Middle Kingdom, Egyptians based their calendar on the heliacal rising of Sirius, namely the day it becomes visible just before sunrise after moving far enough away from the glare of the Sun. This occurred just before the annual flooding of the Nile and the summer solstice,after a 70-day absence from the skies. The hieroglyph for Sothis features a star and a triangle. Sothis was identified with the great goddess Isis, who formed a part of a trinity with her husband Osiris and their son Horus, while the 70-day period symbolised the passing of Isis and Osiris through the duat (Egyptian underworld). Many cultures have historically attached special significance to Sirius, particularly in relation to dogs. Indeed, it is often colloquially called the "Dog Star" as the brightest star of Canis Major, the "Great Dog" constellation. Sphinx is facing Sirius at the time when the star rises over the horizon at sunrise at the summer solstice, the time when the Nile started flooding, and the Egyptians probably held great ceremonies when that happened. The day that the Star Sirius returned, appearing just ahead of the Sun at dawn, was considered to be the beginning of the ancient Egyptian New Year. In our day and age, this day falls on or about August 1. Three thousand years ago this day occurred in early July. This shift of dates is due to the apparent slow shifting of the stars from our point of view on earth. Before the building of the Aswan Dam the Nile floods still began to rise and get their start in late June and by August 1st the inundation of the land of Egypt was going strong. The ancient Egyptians believed that their most beloved Goddess, the Divine Mother, Isis, was the Soul of the Star Sirius and they saw Sirius as a cosmic manifestation of Her. |
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#1656 |
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quote
The day that the Star Sirius returned, appearing just ahead of the Sun at dawn, was considered to be the beginning of the ancient Egyptian New Year. In our day and age, this day falls on or about August 1. Three thousand years ago this day occurred in early July. end quote Sad to think that the first rising of Sirius above the horizon has now shifted by so many days since say 5000 years ago. Maybe in 3000 BC the first appearance of Sirius above the horizon coincided with the rising of the river Nile ? Though I suppose with the Aswan dam they dont get floods anymore in the Delta ! |
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#1657 |
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Sirius is also a binary star system. Sirius Beta was the first white dwarf star ever discovered. Sirius was the first star I ever observed at Mill Hill Observatory during my degree and as I have a special interest in Egyption astronomy it has special significance to me.
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#1658 |
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Join Date: Mar 2004
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hello! Was just looking at this again today and thought I'd share it in this thread for those who might not have seen it before -
http://www.kiroastro.com/writings/perspective Makes you feel that little bit small
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#1659 |
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Join Date: May 2004
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Quote:
hello! Was just looking at this again today and thought I'd share it in this thread for those who might not have seen it before -
http://www.kiroastro.com/writings/perspective Makes you feel that little bit small ![]() !![]() It's also a pity that Venus does not orbit where Mars does now because it would probably be a perfectly inhabitable planet. |
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#1660 |
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News & Programme Update...
Red dwarves and black plants
Recent research has indicated that any plants on life-bearing planets orbiting around red dwarf stars could by either black or grey in colour so as to make maximum use of the predominantly red and infrared output from these red dwarf stars. It would certainly look strange to human eyes with perhaps a huge blood red star permanently on the horizon and black grasses and shrubs. More here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13130740. $269.3 million to go to spaceship developments NASA has just given away $269.3 million to four commercial companies to allow them to continue development work on possible replacements to the space shuttle. The companies concerned are SpaceX http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_x, Boeing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing, Sierra Nevada Corporation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_Corporation and Blue Origin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Origin. More on this story here http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110418/..._space_taxis_1. Space & Astronomy themed programmes We have 3 today and they are all radio programmes. Two are available via iPlayer and they are In Business http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b010dw0k which looks at private space ventures and Science Cafe http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00848zw about the National Astronomy Meeting in Llandudno, Wales. Tonight, on BBC Radio 4 at 8pm, there's Archive Hour presented by Professor Brian Cox http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00jkv2j about the late American astronomer Carl Sagan. |
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#1661 |
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Some great progams there
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#1662 |
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Interesting article:
Was the early Universe One Dimensional http://www.space.com/11470-universe-...cs-theory.html |
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#1663 |
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#1664 |
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Voyager Event Quote:
NASA will hold a special NASA Science Update at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT) on Thursday, April 28, to discuss the unprecedented journey of NASA's twin Voyager spacecraft to the edge of our solar system. The event will be held at NASA Headquarters in Washington and will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed at http://www.nasa.gov . In addition, the event will be carried live on Ustream, with a live chat box available, at http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2.
.http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-124b |
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#1665 |
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Quote:
Quote:
Once Hubble had his contact lenses fitted
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#1666 |
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Endeavour's Final Journey
Endeavour last launch tonight @ 8:47pm BST.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13225009 NASA TV HD >>> http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv |
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#1667 |
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Quote:
Endeavour last launch tonight @ 8:47pm BST.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13225009 NASA TV HD >>> http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv |
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#1668 |
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#1669 |
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Endeavour's last launch will be visible about 20 mins later over the UK http://www.universetoday.com/85166/s...-final-launch/ Quote:
Yes! You can watch the Shuttle fly over the UK roughly 20 minutes after launch (launch time is currently set for 3:47 p.m. EDT – 8:47 p.m. UK Time) if the timing is right and skies are clear. It will be accompanied by its bright orange external fuel tank as it sails across the sky
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#1670 |
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Quote:
Endeavour's last launch will be visible about 20 mins later over the UK
http://www.universetoday.com/85166/s...-final-launch/ |
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#1671 |
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Quote:
What happens to the fuel tank, does it completly burn up or is it targeted to land in the ocean?.
I saw the shuttle and external tank a couple of years ago from the uk. an early morning lauch from here. The orange colour of the tank was very vivid. |
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#1672 |
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An actual video of the re-entry is hard to find; I have seen it though. The Tank exploded when the remaining fuel ignited, I assume. I'll see if I can find it. *Edit* Easier than I thought. You can find the link here: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/ind...?topic=18922.0
I shall be watching the excellent coverage from Spaceflightnow with Miles O'Brien. It starts at 15.00. |
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#1673 |
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Actually, make that 16.00. Got my GMTs and BSTs mixed up.
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#1674 |
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Quote:
An actual video of the re-entry is hard to find; I have seen it though. The Tank exploded when the remaining fuel ignited, I assume. I'll see if I can find it. *Edit* Easier than I thought. You can find the link here: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/ind...?topic=18922.0
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#1675 |
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Shuttle launch scrubbed for *at least* 48 hours.
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