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Space: The Final Frontier

W

WeAreStarStuff

Member
derFeef said:
Solar Tornado, 5 times the size of earth.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/...lar-tornadoes-biggest-nasa-sdo-space-science/

suntornado.gif
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I have never heard of a 'solar tornado.'
 
O

Orgun

Member
CiSTM said:
More Tyson:
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson on being a living 'badass' meme - On The Verge episode 004
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-sp1QyieuMg

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9IQrJ7C2LI&feature=relmfu
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghLa9rwZQVI&feature=relmfu

edit. I know not really space related but didn't really want to do another thread for it :/
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Cool thanks for that! Love anything Neil deGrasse Tyson :) Probably going to pick up his book, didn't know about it until The Verge show (totally didnt know they had a show either).
 
A

Agnostic

but believes in Chael
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson will be on C-Span2 in about an hour on BookTV talking about his new book.

Starts at 7pm (ET)
 
L

Lucky Forward

Member
'Titanic' director tweaks the sky

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson doesn't mind that "Titanic" film director James Cameron called him a "son of a bitch" for shaming him into correcting the movie's constellations.

"I take it as a frustrated expression of affection," Tyson, director of New York's Hayden Planetarium, told me today. "As in, 'you son of a bitch, you got me there.'"
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In a widely quoted interview with the British magazine Culture, Cameron said the sky scene was the only shot he fixed for this year's 3-D re-release:

"It's because Neil deGrasse Tyson, who is one of the U.S.' leading astronomers, sent me quite a snarky email saying that, at that time of year, in that position in the Atlantic in 1912, when Rose is lying on the piece of driftwood and staring up at the stars, that is not the star field she would have seen, and with my reputation as a perfectionist, I should have known that and I should have put the right star field in.

"So I said, 'All right, you son of a b**ch, send me the right stars for the exact time, 4:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912, and I'll put it in the movie.' So that's the one shot that has been changed."
Click to expand...
 
N

noah111

Still Alive
Yeah, I've seen many interviews with Neil on that issue, was pretty hilarious to see him tell his story. I think there's a good Stephen Colbert interview where he tells it all. Fun to see he finally got his wish.
 
N

noah111

Still Alive
That's the one! I enjoyed it a lot, I was never a fan of Colbert but after that I was searching for some videos of him being 'real'. Neil on the Verge was pretty good as well, can't get enough of him.
 
D

dubc35

Member
AAequal said:
Stephen Colbert Interviews Neil deGrasse Tyson at Montclair Kimberley Academy - 2010-Jan-29. It's great interview, nice to see Colbert out of his persona every now and then.
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Amazing, thanks! I recently heard Tyson was in Seattle for a StarTalk recording at the Neptune and I missed it. :(


edit, I don't know where to post this. Has anyone watched L5? The community funded scifi series? I thought about starting a thread but I have yet to start a thread here, lol. I watched the first episode tonight and I thought it was pretty good.
 
M

Maklershed

Member
Goldilocks Planet May be Found by 2014

The first true "alien Earth" will likely be discovered in the next two years, a NASA scientist says.

Astronomers have found more than 750 alien planets to date, and NASA's Kepler Space Telescope has flagged 2,300 additional "candidates" awaiting confirmation by follow-up studies. This haul has not yet included an Earth-like exoplanet — one that's the size of our planet and orbits at the right distance from its star to support liquid water and, possibly, life as we know it.

But that could change soon, according to Shawn Domagal-Goldman, a researcher at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. who specializes in exoplanet biology.

"I believe Kepler will find a 'Goldilocks planet' within the next two years," Domagal-Goldman said in a statement. "We'll be able to point at a specific star in the night sky and say 'There it is — a planet that could support life!'"
 
X

XMonkey

lacks enthusiasm.
No doubt. With Kepler, the more time that passes, the more they can verify orbits of planets that have longer orbits or are generally smaller in size. Such a planet might already be in the data they've collected, but they need more observation time to sift it out.

This is also very exciting:

"With better detectors and instruments designed to block the glare of the parent stars, these next-generation telescopes could not only find a Goldilocks planet, but also tell us what its atmosphere is made of, what sort of cloud cover graces its skies, and maybe even what the surface is like — whether oceans cover part of the globe, how much land there is, and so on," Hudgins said.
Click to expand...
 
T

teruterubozu

Member
Maklershed said:
Goldilocks Planet May be Found by 2014

The first true "alien Earth" will likely be discovered in the next two years, a NASA scientist says.

Astronomers have found more than 750 alien planets to date, and NASA's Kepler Space Telescope has flagged 2,300 additional "candidates" awaiting confirmation by follow-up studies. This haul has not yet included an Earth-like exoplanet — one that's the size of our planet and orbits at the right distance from its star to support liquid water and, possibly, life as we know it.

But that could change soon, according to Shawn Domagal-Goldman, a researcher at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. who specializes in exoplanet biology.

"I believe Kepler will find a 'Goldilocks planet' within the next two years," Domagal-Goldman said in a statement. "We'll be able to point at a specific star in the night sky and say 'There it is — a planet that could support life!'"
Click to expand...


It's exciting but this is a bit of a PR stunt by the Kepler team. Funding is scheduled to run out in November 2012 so they are gunning for more time.
 
X

XMonkey

lacks enthusiasm.
Thought I read recently on Bad Astronomy that Kepler, along with several other NASA missions, was given funding until FY 2016?
 
T

teruterubozu

Member
XMonkey said:
Thought I read recently on Bad Astronomy that Kepler, along with several other NASA missions, was given funding until FY 2016?
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Ah yes, correct, although there is a stipulation that Kepler will be "under review" in 2014 (thus interesting that they claim the Goldilocks Planet may be found by then). It's always an unphill battle for these guys.
 
H

Hootie

Member
teruterubozu said:
Ah yes, correct, although there is a stipulation that Kepler will be "under review" in 2014 (thus interesting that they claim the Goldilocks Planet may be found by then). It's always an unphill battle for these guys.
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Whereas Navy superlasers and trillion dollar fighter jets are fully funded and supported. Goddamnit.
 
C

CFMOORE!

Member
WeAreStarStuff said:
Exactly. Humanity WTF is wrong with you?
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i certainly can't speak for other countries priorities with space, but here in the US we are definitely fucking stupid when it comes to this. it saddens me every time i am reminded of how much money is spent on making better more effective killing machines. not that i am some crazy antiwar person, i am just insanely pro space and astronomy.

and yes, i understand there is a need to fuel military development as we have great things that were born out of that, but when space agencies need to beg and plead for pennies compared to the military it sickens me.

as others have said, we need something to kickstart the mass appeal into space again.
 
W

WeAreStarStuff

Member
Davedough said:
Read this yesterday and found it interesting http://www.space.com/15166-milky-center-black-hole-sagittariusastar.html

Scientists are close to being able to "see" Sagittarius A*, or the black hole theorized to reside in the center of our galaxy and talks of the Event Horizon Telescope. Fascinating stuff.
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An interesting read, though I thought it was pretty much accepted that massive black holes are at the center of most if not all galaxies - the pics should be exceptional! I like how it mentions the incompatibility of general relativity and quantum mechanics. I just finished reading Brain Greene’s The Elegant Universe, which details how string theory/m theory offers a solution to this problem. I recommend the book to those that love science.
 
M

Memphis Reigns

Member
derFeef said:
Someone should tell them that there MIGHT be a bigger war in space somewhere, maybe we would be a space race in an eyeblink ;)
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We need some powerful scientist to construct a fake message from space from some aliens like in Contact but instead of being friendly, it would be saying they are on their way to destroy us.
 
W

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
637264main_ATV_docking_full_full.jpg
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ATV-3 Approaches the Station
In this photo taken from the International Space Station, the European Space Agency’s Automated Transfer Vehicle-3 (ATV-3) is seen on approach for docking. The unmanned cargo spacecraft docked to the space station at 6:31 p.m. EDT on March 28, 2012.

The ATV-3 delivered 220 pounds of oxygen, 628 pounds of water, 4.5 tons of propellant and nearly 2.5 tons of dry cargo. Among other items, the station crew received experiment hardware, spare parts, food and clothing.

The six-member Expedition 30 crew adjusted its sleep schedule to accommodate the ATV-3 docking. The crew stayed up late to monitor the approach and docking.
Click to expand...
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2216.html
 
Gorgon

Gorgon

Member
Is there any site were I can get nice walpapers depicting artist renditions of robotic space probes in space, like say Cassini-Huygens orbiting Titan, etc? I see that kind of artwork everywhere but I can't find anything big enough for screensaver.
 
M

Maklershed

Member
Memphis Reigns said:
We need some powerful scientist to construct a fake message from space from some aliens like in Contact but instead of being friendly, it would be saying they are on their way to destroy us.
Click to expand...
It should say "We're willing to share unimaginable technology with you but first you must find us and come to us to get it". Which hopefully would lead us all to group together and create that technology ourselves.
 
M

Memphis Reigns

Member
Maklershed said:
It should say "We're willing to share unimaginable technology with you but first you must find us and come to us to get it". Which hopefully would lead us all to group together and create that technology ourselves.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately it won't happen without an initiatve of this magnitude. The threat of an asteroid would be a good driver as well. But unless our lives are threatened or they find an asteroid made of solid gold, we are gonna be stuck on this rock forever :'(
 
B

Bowdz

Member
Memphis Reigns said:
Unfortunately it won't happen without an initiatve of this magnitude. The threat of an asteroid would be a good driver as well. But unless our lives are threatened or they find an asteroid made of solid gold, we are gonna be stuck on this rock forever :'(
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_mining

Wikipedia said:
Some day, the platinum, cobalt and other valuable elements from asteroids may even be returned to Earth for profit. At 1997 prices, a relatively small metallic asteroid with a diameter of 1.6 km (0.99 mi) contains more than 20 trillion US dollars worth of industrial and precious metals.
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I really, REALLY wish Obama or some future president would pull a Kennedy, and just pledge a mission to claim and mine said (or any of the other mineral rich asteroids we have found) in under a decade. Mining in space presents such a large set of challenges that it seems somewhat analogous to where the US was starting in the late 1950s with respect to putting a man on the moon. A concise mission like this would present a clear set of problems for engineers, controllers, and designers to overcome, would tap multiple disciplines throughout the economy, and would be much more palatable to politicians because of the economic and political benefits a successful mission would bring. Ignoring the 20 trillion dollar prize itself, the US is already feeling the pressure from China and other emerging nations with regards to price manipulation of rare earth minerals and there is no better source than the asteroid belt itself.

Wikipedia said:
A comparatively small M-type asteroid with a mean diameter of 1 km could contain more than two billion metric tons of iron–nickel ore, or two to three times the annual production for 2004. The asteroid 16 Psyche is believed to contain 1.7×1019 kg of nickel–iron, which could supply the 2004 world production requirement for several million years. A small portion of the extracted material would also be precious metals.
Click to expand...

IMO, this is mission that everyone should be pushing for.
 
M

Memphis Reigns

Member
Bowdz said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_mining



I really, REALLY wish Obama or some future president would pull a Kennedy, and just pledge a mission to claim and mine said (or any of the other mineral rich asteroids we have found) in under a decade. Mining in space presents such a large set of challenges that it seems somewhat analogous to where the US was starting in the late 1950s with respect to putting a man on the moon. A concise mission like this would present a clear set of problems for engineers, controllers, and designers to overcome, would tap multiple disciplines throughout the economy, and would be much more palatable to politicians because of the economic and political benefits a successful mission would bring. Ignoring the 20 trillion dollar prize itself, the US is already feeling the pressure from China and other emerging nations with regards to price manipulation of rare earth minerals and there is no better source than the asteroid belt itself.



IMO, this is mission that everyone should be pushing for.
Click to expand...

I long for the day we get a scientific literate president, or at least have one of his advisors be scientifically driven. I think most presidents are just completely oblivious to these kinds of things, and that probably has more to do with the fact that science in America takes a back seat to everything else (unless of course they need science to aid in warfare).
 
C

CFMOORE!

Member
Memphis Reigns said:
I long for the day we get a scientific literate president, or at least have one of his advisors be scientifically driven. I think most presidents are just completely oblivious to these kinds of things, and that probably has more to do with the fact that science in America takes a back seat to everything else (unless of course they need science to aid in warfare).
Click to expand...

maybe we can hope Obama is an astronomy nerd secretly biding his time until reelection and then he goes nuts on space. i wish :(
 
B

Bowdz

Member
Memphis Reigns said:
I long for the day we get a scientific literate president, or at least have one of his advisors be scientifically driven. I think most presidents are just completely oblivious to these kinds of things, and that probably has more to do with the fact that science in America takes a back seat to everything else (unless of course they need science to aid in warfare).
Click to expand...

Admittedly, mining in space has many hurdles to overcome, chief among them being price, but that is entirely what R&D and strong funding are for. What is encouraging about asteroid mining is that there is a tangible economic gain to be had by successfully completing a mission. Political parties could sell any expenditure as securing our economic future or dominance and you would have to imagine that a resurgent US space program with acquiring resources as its primary objective would spur competition among the Chinese and Russian programs.

I know he has said he has no political inklings, but I would love to see Neil deGrasse Tyson be a science adviser to Obama (or at least meet with the President frequently ala Warren Buffet). In a one-on-one setting, Dr. Tyson could convince an Amish man about the benefits of space exploration.
 
L

LOCK

Member
I would expect decades from now, companies probably will be looking to space for resources. Seems only reasonable, and as technology advances, so will the hungry out look for profit.
 
C

Clevinger

Member
LOCK said:
I would expect decades from now, companies probably will be looking to space for resources. Seems only reasonable, and as technology advances, so will the hungry out look for profit.
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Those resources will have be to worth more than the incredible cost of going out there, harvesting it, and bringing it back.
 
C

Cranzor

Junior Member
Is the Cosmos book pretty much the same as the television series? I've never read the book or seen the show, so I'm not sure which one I should go with. I also think I'm going to pick up Neil deGrasse Tyson's new book. Can't get enough of the guy. The Cosmos reboot will be fantastic.
 
T

ThoseDeafMutes

Member
Hootie said:
Whereas Navy superlasers and trillion dollar fighter jets are fully funded and supported. Goddamnit.
Click to expand...

Laser technology is directly related to our future in space, and not just as a weapon. Laser sails and laser-ablative propulsion are promising ways to propel spacecraft, and the latter can also be used to launch cargo into space.


Clevinger said:
Those resources will have be to worth more than the incredible cost of going out there, harvesting it, and bringing it back.
Click to expand...

The cost is high but the rewards are immense. There are a very large number of asteroids that swing by Earth containing enormous quantities of mineral wealth. Nudging asteroids into an Earth orbit allows for far easier access.
 
B

Bowdz

Member
ThoseDeafMutes said:
Laser technology is directly related to our future in space, and not just as a weapon. Laser sails and laser-ablative propulsion are promising ways to propel spacecraft, and the latter can also be used to launch cargo into space.
Click to expand...

Not to mention the multiple applications railgun technology can have in space activities (transport, mining, etc.)

ThoseDeafMutes said:
The cost is high but the rewards are immense. There are a very large number of asteroids that swing by Earth containing enormous quantities of mineral wealth. Nudging asteroids into an Earth orbit allows for far easier access.
Click to expand...

I was reading wikipedia about colonization of Ceres and one of the primary reasons would be to establish a central mining hub for the asteroid belt which could have an easier time shipping materials back to Earth. Pretty cool to think about.

Also, I am very ignorant as to how rare earth minerals are sold by an individual country. The massive wealth that asteroids provide should be enough to supply a single country with more minerals than they would ever realistically need, but I am assuming that the US couldn't just sell the 20 trillion dollars worth of minerals on the market correct?
 
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