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[Partial Gamification]

That is mindboggling. A great video though, love how he explains it. To me it makes perfect sense that the total energy is zero, any other number would have been arbitrary and would have required some exotic explanations about how stuff became to be. But I must say that I struggle to grasp the shape of spacetime, other than using the stretching balloon analogy, in case the gas analogy is inaccurate.

clusters and superclusters - if you zoomed back enough though, wouldn't they eventually seem evenly distributed too? Meaning that there is no centre etc.

It is mind boggling. Trying to "wind-back" the Universe, as a model that fits known laws and phenomenon, astrophysicists can employ light-cones to represent the "shape of [space-]time." Here is a short youtube video on this.

From how I understand what is theorized, the Big Bang was a quantum sinugularity that expand outward "in all directions." The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is a one-to-one mapping to these quantumn fluctuations, "seen" just before the primodial Universe. This is to say the quantumn fluctuations, streched out across the universe, "cooled into the form" of the CMB and gave the universe "shape." The galatic clusters generally exist in the troughs or valleys of this "wave front" that is the CMB (as a surface in a set of concentric inflating balloons).

I don't think there is a center in the intuitive sense, as "all points serve as the center" (I cannot explain that one, it could hinge on an infinite Universe). It almost more of an existential "problem of being," as an observer, during the very early Universe. I think that by virtue of the quantum singularity not producing a "flat wave front," matter (energy) was never "evenly" distibuted. Perhaps if it were, energy might find an equilibrium and the Universe would have become static, but that claim would rest on knowing wtf is dark energy, etc., and how it all effects the "normal" matter.

Sorry for all the quotes, I am more of an affectionatto than an expert, and I am trying to be careful with the vocaulary employed to illustrate where there are gaps in my understanding.

 

[Naked Snake]

I geeked out on this video:

Where did the Sun come from? (M67) - Deep Sky Videos

 

[Kenka]

Speaking of size, I always liked this picture:

This 200 ly figure is the maximal distance a signal from Earth has ever reached?

 

[Mario]

This 200 ly figure is the maximal distance a signal from Earth has ever reached?

"200 light years in diameter"

So, radio/broadcast signals have only reached 100 light years from Earth.

Radio signals travel at the speed of light, so they'll only ever be a distance in light years equal to the number of years ago when radio broadcasts started.

 

[Kenka]

"200 light years in diameter"

So, radio/broadcast signals have only reached 100 light years from Earth.

Radio signals travel at the speed of light, so they'll only ever be a distance in light years equal to the number of years ago when radio broadcasts started.

This is depressing. And thank you to correct my broken math.

 

[Mario]

This is depressing.

Depends how you approach it. Perhaps if you expect us to have to make contact only beyond this distance and then wait a hundred years or more for a reply. And the further the signal gets, the longer it will take to hear back. And of course, they have to be listening in the first place.

But, it could be the case an alien civilization has already messaged back, perhaps decades ago, and the signal is about to reach us imminently.

Or perhaps there have been civilizations broadcasting for thousands or even millions of years. Maybe even broadcasting plans for advanced communications and interstellar travel technologies, in the manner of Contact.

I'm hoping if we keep listening, we'll hear something in my lifetime. Though to be honest I'd rather see something.

 

[astroturfing]

I geeked out on this video:

Where did the Sun come from? (M67) - Deep Sky Videos

thanks, that was very interesting. i had no idea :O sucks that we can't know for sure though.

 

[Naked Snake]

thanks, that was very interesting. i had no idea :O sucks that we can't know for sure though.

You had no idea that the sun is not from M67?

 

[microtubule]

I geeked out on this video:

Where did the Sun come from? (M67) - Deep Sky Videos

Interesting, thanks for posting it.

Just "spotted" this Edgy Spiral at Bad Astronomy:

more info here

 

[derFeef]

This is one fantastic Aurora.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

 

[Maklershed]

That's can't be real can it? That looks like a dragon head.

 

[Melchiah]

That's can't be real can it? That looks like a dragon head.

 

[derFeef]

That's can't be real can it? That looks like a dragon head.

It is.

During the Shelios Expedition to Greenland in late August, even veteran sky enthusiasts saw auroras so colorful, so fast changing, and so unusual in form that they could remember nothing like it. As the ever changing auroras evolved, huge shapes spread across the sky morphed from one familiar form into another, including what looked to be the head of a goat (shown above), the head of an elephant, a strange green-tailed comet, and fingers on a celestial hand. Even without the aurora, the sky would be notable for the arching band of our Milky Way Galaxy and the interesting field of stars, nebulas, and galaxies.

Altough I agree on dragon, and not a goat.

 

[Amir0x]

holy fuck, I'd die happy if I could witness that in person

bonus if I can witness that in person while tripping balls, goddamn. it's just amazing Aurora *swoon*

 

[Gorgon]

That is mindboggling. A great video though, love how he explains it. To me it makes perfect sense that the total energy is zero, any other number would have been arbitrary and would have required some exotic explanations about how stuff became to be. But I must say that I struggle to grasp the shape of spacetime, other than using the stretching balloon analogy, in case the gas analogy is inaccurate.

clusters and superclusters - if you zoomed back enough though, wouldn't they eventually seem evenly distributed too? Meaning that there is no centre etc.

Not really, they are not homogenous, that is, not evenly distributed, you would still see zones of emptiness and zones richer in clusters and superclusters. But this has nothing to do with having a center or not, that is something else that has to do with the topology of the cosmos. They are independent things.

 

[ShinHayase]

You can get this for less than half that price using Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1426208944/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Hubble Imaging Space and Time:
"In the spirit of National Geographic’s top-selling Orbit, this large-format, full-color volume stands alone in revealing more than 200 of the most spectacular images from the Hubble Space Telescope during its lifetime, to the very eve of the 2008 final shuttle mission to the telescope. Written by two of the world’s foremost authorities on space history, Hubble: Imaging Space and Time illuminates the solar system’s workings, the expansion of the universe, the birth and death of stars, the formation of planetary nebulae, the dynamics of galaxies, and the mysterious force known as "dark energy."

Thanks!

 

[Hari Seldon]

Don't know if this has been discussed yet, but Space.com is reporting that NASA is looking into a new ISS style station at the L2 Lagrange point on the far side of the moon.

They even go so far to say that an announcement might come after the election, but I'll believe it when I see it.

http://www.space.com/17856-nasa-deep-space-station-moon-farside.html

It would be at point L2 here:

That is pretty BA.

 

[WeAreStarStuff]

Don't know if this has been discussed yet, but Space.com is reporting that NASA is looking into a new ISS style station at the L2 Lagrange point on the far side of the moon.

They even go so far to say that an announcement might come after the election, but I'll believe it when I see it.

http://www.space.com/17856-nasa-deep-space-station-moon-farside.html

It would be at point L2 here:

That is pretty BA.

Don't toy with my emotions.

 

[Naked Snake]

Don't know if this has been discussed yet, but Space.com is reporting that NASA is looking into a new ISS style station at the L2 Lagrange point on the far side of the moon.

They even go so far to say that an announcement might come after the election, but I'll believe it when I see it.

http://www.space.com/17856-nasa-deep-space-station-moon-farside.html

It would be at point L2 here:

That is pretty BA.

I'm automatically assuming that would NOT be a manned station (but then what makes it ISS-like?), otherwise the logistics of regularly sending crew and supplies back and forth seem daunting to me for the foreseeable future.

 

[Hari Seldon]

I'm automatically assuming that would NOT be a manned station (but then what makes it ISS-like?), otherwise the logistics of regularly sending crew and supplies back and forth seem daunting to me for the foreseeable future.

Well the article seemed to indicate it would be manned. The ISS comment is that it seems to be a multinational thing and not just NASA. Russia is going to provide a lot of the tech apparently.

 

[derFeef]

Well the article seemed to indicate it would be manned. The ISS comment is that it seems to be a multinational thing and not just NASA. Russia is going to provide a lot of the tech apparently.

Uhuh...
But good to see they are pushing.

 

[Hootie]

Don't know if this has been discussed yet, but Space.com is reporting that NASA is looking into a new ISS style station at the L2 Lagrange point on the far side of the moon.

They even go so far to say that an announcement might come after the election, but I'll believe it when I see it.

http://www.space.com/17856-nasa-deep-space-station-moon-farside.html

It would be at point L2 here:

That is pretty BA.

 

[Partial Gamification]

That is a great image of the Lagrange points.

 

[GaimeGuy]

The cool thing to me about radio waves is how quickly they went from being a mathematical/physics discovery/prediction by Maxwell in 1867 to being used in practice for telecommunications.

After the presence of aether drift was experimentally ruled out in 1881, Heinrich Hertz was able to modify and apply maxwell's theory for engineering purposes, creating the hertz antenna in 1887. And in 1892, Tesla demonstrated the transmission, radiation, and safety of radio wave radiation and proposed its use for long range telecommunications. 3 years later, in 1895, Marconi built a radio transmitter that worked at ranges of up to 1.5 miles/2.4 km.

Essentially, the waves were discovered in 1867. Over the next 15 years, as physics ruled out the existence of the luminiferous aether medium, and through which it was postulated that light propagated like a spring via the mechanism of aether drift, they were able to set down the right path as to the mechanics of radio transmission.

3-5 years later, receivers were created. Less than 5 years after that, transmission devices were engineered. And 3 years later, long distance transmitters were being made.

Once the incorrect theory about the mechanics of light propagation was experimentally ruled out, it took just 15 years for scientists to refine maxwell's theory and use it to engineer long distance radio transmission and reception devices

A similar space-age discovery would be revolutionary like you couldn't even imagine.

James Clerk Maxwell showed mathematically that electromagnetic waves could propagate through free space. Heinrich Rudolf Hertz and many others demonstrated radio wave propagation on a laboratory scale.

Nikola Tesla experimentally demonstrated the transmission and radiation of radio frequency energy in 1892 and 1893 proposing that it might be used for the telecommunication of information.[2][3] The Tesla method was described in New York[4] in 1897.[5][6] In 1897, Tesla applied for two key United States radio patents, US 645576 , first radio system patent, and US 649621 .[7] Tesla also used sensitive electromagnetic receivers,[8][9][10] that were unlike the less responsive coherers later used by Marconi and other early experimenters.[dubious – discuss] Shortly thereafter, he began to develop wireless remote control devices.

In 1895, Marconi built a wireless system capable of transmitting signals at long distances (1.5 mi./ 2.4 km).[11] From Marconi's experiments, the phenomenon that transmission range is proportional to the square of antenna height is known as "Marconi's law".[12] This formula represents a physical law that radio devices use.

 

[Leeroy3101]

Could we just increase the orbit of the ISS by docking a few rockets to it? I'm guessing not because the components can't handle that much force.

 

[Partial Gamification]

A similar space-age discovery would be revolutionary like you couldn't even imagine.

I agree but there is a limited amount of bandwidth that the deep space network has available, from Earth. Here's an article proposing why a supercomputer on the darkside of the Moon would be of great benefit for space-endeavors.

 

[microtubule]

Spotted this at The Atlantic.com:

The Best Way to Find Aliens: Look for Their Solar Power Plants

In 1960, mathematician, physicist, and all-around genius Freeman Dyson predicted that every civilization in the Universe eventually runs out of energy on its home planet, provided it survives long enough to do so. Dyson argued that this event constitutes a major hurdle in a civilization's evolution, and that all those who leap over it do so in precisely the same way: they build a massive collector of starlight, a shell of solar panels to surround their home star. Astronomers have taken to calling these theoretical megastructures Dyson Spheres. Dyson's insight may seem like nothing more than a thought experiment, but if his hypothesis is sound, it has a striking implication: if you want to find advanced alien civilizations, you should look for signs of Dyson Spheres.

Last month a trio of astronomers led by Penn State's Jason Wright began a two-year search for Dyson Spheres, a search that will span the Milky Way, along with millions of other galaxies. Their project was just awarded a sizable grant from the Templeton Foundation, a philanthropic organization that funds research on the "big questions" that face humanity, questions relating to "human purpose and ultimate reality."

 

[Partial Gamification]

The Dyson Sphere might as well be expected have a cloaking technique. I think that as we look deeper into the sky and more precisely at these distant objects, we will find all sorts of neat stuff. It is a crazy [edit: read-cool] idea to build a structure around some star or other object. I can't wait for the James Webb and hope that I can see a couple more generations of telescopes gather data.

 

[Maklershed]

For a great book that has a plot line involving a Dyson Sphere I'd like to recommend the following:


Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton

 

[Prez]

Hey guys and girls,

I think it was already asked but I cannot seem to find the answer. Can you guys recommend me a good book about space with a lot of images? Lots of Hubble and such.

A nice big high quality book but still a good read too.

Thanks so much, for this awesome thread and for any advice.


Go James Webb go!!

For lots of information as well as images, you'll love this book:

Space: From Earth to the Edge of the Universe

Speaking of size, I always liked this picture:

I always interpreted this as the square being the extent of human radio broadcasts. Now I realize that a square wouldn't make any sense.

 

[Hootie]

A SpaceX rocket is launching on a mission to the ISS tonight at 8:35pm EST assuming no delays

http://phys.org/news/2012-10-private-space-station-delivery-sunday.html

Lets hope all goes well!

 

[Partial Gamification]

There is some debris that will come close enough to the ISS, forcing a precautionary avoidance maneuver.
Hoping all goes well! Good for increasing confidence among private investors.

 

[Noirulus]

Simulated view of the dwarf planet Ceres from the spacecraft Dawn.

It's expected reach there by 2015. If you'd like to see other (simulated) views of Dawn in space. Go Here.

 

[lilbaby Jesus]

Simulated view of the dwarf planet Ceres from the spacecraft Dawn.

It's expected reach there by 2015. If you'd like to see other (simulated) views of Dawn in space. Go Here.

Nice! About two more years now.

 

[maquiladora]

This dazzling image shows the globular cluster Messier 69, or M 69 for short, as viewed through the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Globular clusters are dense collections of old stars.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/m69.html

The universe is incredible.

 

[Log4Girlz]

The Dyson Sphere might as well be expected have a cloaking technique. I think that as we look deeper into the sky and more precisely at these distant objects, we will find all sorts of neat stuff. It is a crazy [edit: read-cool] idea to build a structure around some star or other object. I can't wait for the James Webb and hope that I can see a couple more generations of telescopes gather data.

It would be so cool so see a star dim uniformly without explanation, well, other than a dyson sphere being erected in real time.

 

[SniperHunter]

The Dyson Sphere might as well be expected have a cloaking technique. I think that as we look deeper into the sky and more precisely at these distant objects, we will find all sorts of neat stuff. It is a crazy [edit: read-cool] idea to build a structure around some star or other object. I can't wait for the James Webb and hope that I can see a couple more generations of telescopes gather data.

yea I agree with this, if there is an ancient alien civilization out there, they probably made some sort of gigantic monolithic structure in space, so people for other worlds could see their greatness.

reading on dyson sphere's right now, seems very interesting!

 

[fallout]

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/m69.html

The universe is incredible.

Globular clusters are amazing telescope objects. It's really need to spend a long time looking at one. After awhile, your eye becomes more keen at picking out the individual stars. Eventually, you can see a ton of them as if picking out individual grains of sand on a beach.

 

[relaxor]

A SpaceX rocket is launching on a mission to the ISS tonight at 8:35pm EST assuming no delays

http://phys.org/news/2012-10-private-space-station-delivery-sunday.html

Lets hope all goes well!

Good luck SpaceX!

Here's a good video with Musk of SX and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden where the former gives a pretty good idea of his 'big plan'. Yes, it is blatantly to move thousands, maybe millions of people to Mars and set up a new America.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogJee-ys5Bw

 

[Partial Gamification]

Good luck SpaceX!
[...] millions of people to Mars and set up a new America.

mer'tians, grok! M-A-R-S M-A-R...

 

[Sec0nd]

Hey guys,

So I 'discovered' a youtube channel called SpaceRip which is insanely awesome. They have very awesome topics they discuss and have awesome animations. They come out with new video's insanely fast when something new is discovered (Even with the awesome animations!). It's definitely worth to take a look at some of their video's.

http://www.youtube.com/user/SpaceRip/featured

Sorry if it's old by the way.

 

[derFeef]

Yeah SpaceRip is excellent, everyone should subscribe to that channel.

 

[lilbaby Jesus]

Nice, almost gettin tired of recycling these old neil tyson talks.

 

[FACE]

Nice, almost gettin tired of recycling these old neil tyson talks.

Cool avatar bro.

 

[i-Lo]

Hey guys,

So I 'discovered' a youtube channel called SpaceRip which is insanely awesome. They have very awesome topics they discuss and have awesome animations. They come out with new video's insanely fast when something new is discovered (Even with the awesome animations!). It's definitely worth to take a look at some of their video's.

http://www.youtube.com/user/SpaceRip/featured

Sorry if it's old by the way.

I.. I love you bro.

One thing pertaining to the perception ranges of the telescope, I'd thought that James Webb was greater than Hubble (going from visible into mid-infra red), judging from this BBC webpage. But this video and wiki suggests that JWST goes from Orange to mid infra red, whereas Hubble's from ultra violet to visible to near infra red.

 

[NaM]

SpaceRip is by far the best YT channel.

 

[Agnostic]

Space X is launching a rocket within the hour if you're interested. It's a mission to resupply the space station.

http://www.spacex.com/webcast/

 

[lilbaby Jesus]

Cool avatar bro.

Thanks brah..I love it, don't think I'll ever change it now.

 

[Agnostic]

T-2 min

http://www.spacex.com/webcast/

 

[FACE]

1 minute.