Space...the final frontier news!

[Charger]

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

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

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.

[Zzzptm]

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.

[Charger]

Quite the fireball over Scandinavia last night:

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

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

North Korea testing their long range missiles! 

[Vyn]

Aliens.

[Zzzptm]

No. Deep Purple fans, many of whom live in Scandinavia.

[Zzzptm]

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

[Charger]

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

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...

[Zzzptm]

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.

[Vyn]

End of an era.

[Zzzptm]

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

[Zzzptm]

Just watched this video about cosmic background radiation... very fun stuff to think about at the end!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATpd9ZRud94

[Charger]

And now it is gone...

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.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

I saw that earlier, very sad, and some decent maintenance would have prevented it from happening.