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Space: The Final Frontier
- Thread starter Windu
- Start date
WeAreStarStuff
Member
I've seen this before; it's a great video. I believe it was even on one of the Ted Talks IIRC.
Insane Metal
Member
Yeah, nice ones too!
half a moon
Banned
This thread has only had 5.6k posts in 4 years?
I always feel like there's a lot of new content when I look.
I guess it's content vs. filler
I always feel like there's a lot of new content when I look.
I guess it's content vs. filler
half a moon
Banned
I really want a simulator where I can just fly around earth and the know universe in a spaceship.
If I had a simulator of the known universe I'd visit Uranus first.
maquiladora
Member
X flare on the sun today has launched a CME directed at earth. Expected to arrive Saturday.
WeAreStarStuff
Member
X flare on the sun today has launched a CME directed at earth. Expected to arrive Saturday.
Insane Metal
Member
X flare on the sun today has launched a CME directed at earth. Expected to arrive Saturday.
That is so cool. Thx
maquiladora
Member
The CME is moving faster that expected. NASA have revised their estimate of the time of arrival.
The sunspot group that spawned it has recovered and grown in size and complexity, and its still earth facing. So there is a chance of another, maybe larger, flare & CME happening after this one.
The sunspot group that spawned it has recovered and grown in size and complexity, and its still earth facing. So there is a chance of another, maybe larger, flare & CME happening after this one.
Hmm, if it strong enough, maybe we could get lucky in Helsinki and see some auroras. Those do happen here sometimes...
What are chances the flare is strong enough to disrupt satellites and other electronic devices badly?
maquiladora
Member
Not a chance from this one. You would need a massive storm well beyond the highest threshold of Kp 9 to have any chance of seeing aurora in Houston.
This CME will probably only get to about Kp 6.
maquiladora
Member
Yep, good chance in Helsinki. At the moment the warning is only for "minor impact on satellite operations", but the CME hasn't arrived yet, so that might change but it's not likely to be too severe.
Hmm, guess i'll go walking
Of course nights here are not very dark during summers*, i reckon any aurorae need to be pretty bright to be visible.
Speaking of this, almost 5AM, Sun has risen quite a lot already, based on the sky anyway.
maquiladora
Member
Not looking likely at the moment to be south of northern Maine/Michigan. We'll only know for certain once the CME starts to reach earth though.
half a moon
Banned
Not a chance from this one. You would need a massive storm well beyond the highest threshold of Kp 9 to have any chance of seeing aurora in Houston.
This CME will probably only get to about Kp 6.
So, I can't see this in South Tennessee right?
maquiladora
Member
The coronal mass ejection is just starting to impact earth now. At the moment the forecast is for the aurora to only reach as far south at the green line on that map above.
And for the other side of the world.
And for the other side of the world.
The coronal mass ejection is just starting to impact earth now. At the moment the forecast is for the aurora to only reach as far south at the green line on that map above.
And for the other side of the world.
Hmm, let's hope it's clear night here in Helsinki... Weather forecast seems good.
maquiladora
Member
Geomagnetic storm warning has been increased to Kp 6.
Hoppefully good news for people a little further south looking to see the aurora.
Hoppefully good news for people a little further south looking to see the aurora.
Higher concentration of stars and gases I believe.
maquiladora
Member
SniperHunter
Banned
there's also a super massive blackhole in the centre
maquiladora
Member
There is a chance it will reach the Kp 8 severe level. Too early to say yet.
Is that a fact?
maquiladora
Member
http://helios.swpc.noaa.gov/ovation/Europe.html
Ah it looks like just a little bit too far from you, maybe low on the horizon if it is dark enough?
This is newer forecast?
Finnish horizon's never that dark during summer so there's no chance i'm going to see aurorae today.
Oh, well. Maybe someday.
maquiladora
Member
Yes it updates every few minutes. Oh well, better luck next time!
Tesseract
Banned
Cool!
Darth Sonik
we need more FPS games
Just popped out of the house, staying up for the Khan fight.
Loved the sight that Jupiter, Venus & the waxing Moon provided, just as the first light of the Sun appeared. I wish I had a proper camera.
Loved the sight that Jupiter, Venus & the waxing Moon provided, just as the first light of the Sun appeared. I wish I had a proper camera.
maquiladora
Member
Geomagnetic storm is in progress. We are almost at Kp 7 (Strong) now.
The forecasted level in the next few hours on this USAF chart has it going to the very top of the scale Kp 9 (Severe to Extreme).
The forecasted level in the next few hours on this USAF chart has it going to the very top of the scale Kp 9 (Severe to Extreme).
The sun is trying to control your mind
Chittagong
Gold Member
With the Virgin Galactic news today, I began wondering about weightlessness. How does it work in space?
Wikipedia revealed to me that people in ISS are not weightless because of their increased distance to earth, but because they are in orbit. I don't know if the same applies to Virgin Galactic.
I always had this romantic image of escaping the gravitational pull of earth because gravity is so weak and drops off fast. However based on this it seems that only the moon missions were "really" weightless in this sense.
At what point does non-orbital weightlessness kick in then?
Wikipedia revealed to me that people in ISS are not weightless because of their increased distance to earth, but because they are in orbit. I don't know if the same applies to Virgin Galactic.
I always had this romantic image of escaping the gravitational pull of earth because gravity is so weak and drops off fast. However based on this it seems that only the moon missions were "really" weightless in this sense.
At what point does non-orbital weightlessness kick in then?
SniperHunter
Banned
yes, it was confirmed a while back. All galaxies have a supermassive blackhole in the centre
I guess you have to be far enough from a body that its gravity does not have discernible influence on you. I know that gravitation falls away at a square of the distance to a body, so it would be a few thousand miles for you to feel weightless. Having said that, unless in an orbit, if you floated stationary here in the Solar system, you will be dragged in by another body, most likely the Sun...so you are never truly weightless but you will not feel any discernible weight.
Indeed.
I'll note that gravity has infinite range though, so you can never be free of it, not completly.
Chittagong
Gold Member
Pretty much what I gathered. So a few thousand miles maybe to not be able to detect it. From that perspective, the moon missions were truly remarkable and unprecedented even today, as everyone is just whizzing around the orbit.
From this perspective - both orbit and distance based weightlessness - I find most film portrayals of weightlessness a bit odd. It's always just "BAM, you are weightless", whereas you'd expect it to gradually take effect.
Well, if cosmic acceleration keeps going on infinitely, eventually the space between molecules will grow faster than light and gravity will no longer be able to be communication between particles.
If.
But in any case, that won't matter to us (humans, any life, probably), we'll be long gone by then.