The Community
General Category => Matters of Life and The Universe => Topic started by: Charger on October 21, 2020, 07:13:49 AM
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I don't know if you guys are as interested in space related stuff as I am but I thought I'd still post some news from out there here.
NASA's Osiris-REx probe has succesfully taken a sample from the surface of the asteroid BENNU and is bringing it back to earth as we speak.
https://videos.space.com/m/r9Zm0mRL/touch-and-go-complete-nasa-osiris-rex-completes-maneuver-to-sample-asteroid-bennu?list=6DUiA9a3&fbclid=IwAR0WMuQSty99yjodJ3qYrlZAIk718BGOfRpytf3fRuh0x5nuRnD032RYUT8 (https://videos.space.com/m/r9Zm0mRL/touch-and-go-complete-nasa-osiris-rex-completes-maneuver-to-sample-asteroid-bennu?list=6DUiA9a3&fbclid=IwAR0WMuQSty99yjodJ3qYrlZAIk718BGOfRpytf3fRuh0x5nuRnD032RYUT8)
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I love me some space exploration stuff, ever since the Voyager craft sent back data in the 70s.
I like the various documentaries that get shown from time to time.
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YES! MOAR SPAES!!!
I'm very interested in what that probe brings back.
Also, did anyone else see a story recently about "sonification" of stellar images? Basically, take the image data and use it to drive a MIDI to create a sonic version. It actually helps in spotting patterns.
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Quite the fireball over Scandinavia last night:
http://norskmeteornettverk.no/meteor/20201107/212700/larvik/cam2/larvik-20201107212700-gnomonic.mp4 (http://norskmeteornettverk.no/meteor/20201107/212700/larvik/cam2/larvik-20201107212700-gnomonic.mp4)
It was spotted in Norway, Sweden and also here in Finland..
This one was captured by a URSA's fireball camera in Tampere:
https://www.taivaanvahti.fi/observations/show/94749#o94749-8 (https://www.taivaanvahti.fi/observations/show/94749#o94749-8)
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North Korea testing their long range missiles! 8)
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Aliens.
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No. Deep Purple fans, many of whom live in Scandinavia.
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https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/fast-radio-bursts-blasts-space-galaxy-frb-b1723714.html
Cool link between FRBs and Magnetars
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Extremely sad news coming in:
Arecibo radio telescope, an icon of astronomy, is lost:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) will decommission Arecibo Observatory's massive radio dish after damage has made the facility too dangerous to repair, the agency announced today (Nov. 19).
https://www.space.com/arecibo-observatory-radio-telescope-to-be-destroyed?fbclid=IwAR01zm16qx7Qo9qctKchKEMFc0EJNxTS7ymAFO89yaotIihmfI1dNN0IDr4 (https://www.space.com/arecibo-observatory-radio-telescope-to-be-destroyed?fbclid=IwAR01zm16qx7Qo9qctKchKEMFc0EJNxTS7ymAFO89yaotIihmfI1dNN0IDr4)
This landmark radio telescope has been featured in movies, tv series and computer games and has done some extremely valuable research over the years...and the void that it leaves can not be filled with any radio telescope on earth at the moment...
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Yeah, I saw that news earlier today. The telescope has been having maintenance issues for many years and the storms of the past few I guess were too much to handle.
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End of an era.
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Meanwhile, wondering how real estate agents would spin "atmosphere of vaporized rock" and sell plots on this planet:
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/bizarre-molten-planet-discovered-lava-ocean-supersonic-winds-n1246654
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Just watched this video about cosmic background radiation... very fun stuff to think about at the end!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATpd9ZRud94
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And now it is gone...
https://www.space.com/arecibo-observatory-radio-telescope-collapse-photos?fbclid=IwAR1FyDNAgft3G2Le_IJwywHrfVZoDLuy9Xso6_e3YcL9omGRqpR8JKDjJ1o (https://www.space.com/arecibo-observatory-radio-telescope-collapse-photos?fbclid=IwAR1FyDNAgft3G2Le_IJwywHrfVZoDLuy9Xso6_e3YcL9omGRqpR8JKDjJ1o)
The National Science Foundation's Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, known for its studies of asteroids and aliens and for its cameo in a James Bond film, collapsed this morning (Dec. 1). The 900-ton platform that hung above the radio dish fell 450 feet (140 meters) into the structure below around 8 a.m. local time, causing massive damage documented online.
(https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/R3isUwMTZYtsmDL6E5ar9E-970-80.jpg)
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I saw that earlier, very sad, and some decent maintenance would have prevented it from happening. :(
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I saw that earlier, very sad, and some decent maintenance would have prevented it from happening. :(
I know... now it's much more expensive to revive, and that makes it all the less likely to get revived.
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I saw that earlier, very sad, and some decent maintenance would have prevented it from happening. :(
I am told in the headset that Jodie Foster wants to Contact Magneto ...
seriously, really a shame. :(
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Video of the collapse of Arecibo:
https://www.space.com/arecibo-observatory-collapse-drone-video-nsf-evaluation?fbclid=IwAR1PLdglnUpZiXT8pVdLmEzrhY6f8ymR-q0K9lGFdoPoJjGdagE8MdPT7qA (https://www.space.com/arecibo-observatory-collapse-drone-video-nsf-evaluation?fbclid=IwAR1PLdglnUpZiXT8pVdLmEzrhY6f8ymR-q0K9lGFdoPoJjGdagE8MdPT7qA)
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whoaaaaa... cool in a way, sad in another...
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whoaaaaa... cool in a way, sad in another...
Yeah I know...I've seen that collapse gazillion times in BF4 and it's cool...but see it happen for real....so so sad.
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They should maybe have launched it into space... Voyager spacecraft are still sending back usable data, and we think we have a new kind of solar radiation discovered based on that data.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-12/uoi-vsd120120.php
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Jupiter and Saturn merged in the night sky Monday, appearing closer to one another than they have since Galileo’s time in the 17th century.
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That's a good clear image, you can see the moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn.
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Very interesting, very relaxing, discussion of a standout SETI discovery. Three repeats on an unusual signal, for starters...
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When galaxies collide, it can kill them...
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/space/galaxy-stars-death-gas-eso-alma-b1785539.html
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https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/space/quasar-radio-black-hole-jets-b1813993.html
Signals from when the universe was only 780 million years old, 13 billion years ago...
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Does Shatner have no vision? :wtf:
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Plenty of anomalies around this star, I find it fascinating.
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Say hello to Mercury courtesy of BepiColombo:
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2021/10/Hello_Mercury_annotated (https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2021/10/Hello_Mercury_annotated)
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Awesome point for way cool Mercury stuff! I love that mention of "hollows", that got my imagination charged about what's boiling away into space there.
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In just less than 18 minutes Blue Origins flight NS-18 takes off and on board is one living legend mr. WILLIAM SHATNER who will become the oldest person ever in space at the age of 90!!
90!!! Can you imagine that!? What a legend.
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I should be having as much fun as him when I'm 90! :D
Kirk's the OG Enterprise captain, for sure!
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Yup!
Succesful mission and a life altering experience for 4 people...Bill was pretty damn moved by it all but he still managed to say some beautiful words as soon as he got out of the pod...incredible...
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I am truly happy for him, the guy's had a great run in life.
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I still cannot believe that Shatner is 90!! A legend indeed!!
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He's certainly doing great for 90.
I wonder: if Leonard Nimoy was still with us, if they would both have had the invite and gone up together?
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Professor Brian Cox has a new series called Universe, the first episode has has just aired on the BBC. First episode covers the stars. I don't think the information is going to be new to close followers of the subject, but I discovered a couple of things I didn't know before.
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It's possible that the stars like Tabby's Star are all having natural phenomena causing them to appear to dim... but the intervals of dimming are regular... and all the stars with this pattern of dimming are proximate to each other... if it's not intelligent life activity doing these things, then it's a highly-localized stellar phenomenon that we're going to need more data in order to understand. It's a great story in astronomy to follow.
My equally-favorite story is the planned probe to check out the upper atmosphere of Venus for further evidence of possible biological activity.
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Tabby's Star is an interesting phenomenon for sure. I think currently the majority believes it a dust cloud of some kind or a vast field of comets...but they are just theories...
It would be rather awesome if there would be some alien mega structure causing the dimming but I think that's a bit far fetched to be honest. I am 100% sure there are highly advanced alien races out there but building something that big doesn't seem sensible at all.
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True, it makes no sense to us... but we're also not quite at the level of doing more than contemplate the possibilities of such.
And for the natural phenomenon side of the issue... the localized nature of it is what I find most baffling. Next most baffling is how it's cold but sharp-edged, so it's not like planets or dust...
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https://www.independent.co.uk/space/scientists-explosion-cartwheel-galaxy-supernova-b2035265.html
Or, rather, as it *happened*. Light-years and all... :D
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Very cool indeed.
I merged this with the topic we already had for these types of news. ;)
The power of these novas is quite phenomenal considering we can spot one from a galaxy over 500 MILLION light years away.!
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And then... the stuff of those explosions lands on planets... enriching them with metals and higher elements. Prerequisites for higher life as we understand its needs.
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The country of India making some really strides in space exploration.
https://rumble.com/v1jd4q0-isro-the-next-10-years.html?mref=6zof&mc=dgip3&ep=2 (https://rumble.com/v1jd4q0-isro-the-next-10-years.html?mref=6zof&mc=dgip3&ep=2)
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Yes India is becoming a space country as well rather quickly.
The race to Moon and Mars (and beyond) has fueled up several countries...especially with the US and now Russia falling behind...
But I do believe that the future of space travel doesn't lie with countries it lies with private companies... The large structures that might be built on orbit and on the moon might still be mainly funded by countries but the day to day flights might very well be operated by companies.
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Read an article on the fine structure constant, approximated at 1/137. In arriving at it, all the involved units canceled out, leaving just a number. And it seems to not vary with time, but with *location*.
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https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/black-hole-spews-out-material-years-after-shredding-a-star-weve-never-seen-anything-like-this/
The outflow from this black hole consumption event is 3 years later than normal and is moving 5 times faster than normal. Fantastic stuff, discoveries like this that mean we need to re-think some of what we've thought. :)
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Very interesting bits of science from Mars in the last few weeks...
Not proof of life on Mars, but suggestions that it may have once had microbial life. Very interesting stuff.
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Is that...Maria Muldaur behind one of those sand dunes?!?