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Space: The Final Frontier

D

Deku

Banned
Hootie said:
So does this imply that there is a high chance that the universe is brimming with life? I'm definitely not surprised, but it's great to know.
Click to expand...

Possibly, but complex organic compounds does not life make. Titan is a veritale soup of organic compounds, but it's too cold to do anything.
It does support the idea of panspermia, that the ingredients to life was delivered from the stars, and was part of the cloud of dust that collapsed to form our solar system and did not spontaenously originate on earth. One less thing for us to feel special about.


That said, astronomers have long speculated that Life is abundant (see Drake equation).
 
P

planar1280

Banned
The SUN, taken by a Camera, a Telescope and a High End Filter by Alan Friedman

Alan-Friedman-1.jpg


Alan-Friedman-2.jpg


Alan-Friedman-3.jpg


Alan-Friedman-4.jpg
 
P

PantherLotus

Professional Schmuck
planar1280 said:
The SUN, taken by a Camera, a Telescope and a High End Filter by Alan Friedman

Alan-Friedman-1.jpg


Alan-Friedman-2.jpg


Alan-Friedman-3.jpg


Alan-Friedman-4.jpg
Click to expand...

Quoting for the new page. Some of my favorites ever. It's easy to forget it's a giant ball of nuclear-fusion, creating the elements that will eventually end up in some other organism hundreds of light years (and millions of years) away.
 
E

Extollere

Sucks at poetry
PantherLotus said:
Quoting for the new page. Some of my favorites ever. It's easy to forget it's a giant ball of nuclear-fusion, creating the elements that will eventually end up in some other organism hundreds of light years (and millions of years) away.
Click to expand...

Hmmm I dunno about that for sure. Isn't our sun a second generation star? I'm pretty sure it doesn't have the mass to go supernova. A star like our own can only produce up to a handful of periodic elements AFAIK, the rest are produced in the fusion of the explosion when the star goes supernova. You need a more massive star for this. I think our sun was formed out of the remnants of previous supernovae. The cycle isn't exactly endless. Someone who knows a little more might wanna chime in on this though.
 
P

PantherLotus

Professional Schmuck
Extollere said:
Hmmm I dunno about that for sure. Isn't our sun a second generation star? I'm pretty sure it doesn't have the mass to go supernova. A star like our own can only produce up to a handful of periodic elements AFAIK, the rest are produced in the fusion of the explosion when the star goes supernova. You need a more massive star for this. I think our sun was formed out of the remnants of previous supernovae. The cycle isn't exactly endless. Someone who knows a little more might wanna chime in on this though.
Click to expand...

You know what, you're right and I knew that. Ignore me, I was talking in a dream state and not really about our own sun.
 
E

Extollere

Sucks at poetry
PantherLotus said:
You know what, you're right and I knew that. Ignore me, I was talking in a dream state and not really about our own sun.
Click to expand...

That's impossible with your avatar, and you know it.
 
W

williamsan

Member
Those Sun pics are breathtaking. They made my shit day significantly better, heh. I do love it whenever the Final Frontier thread is bumped :D
 
W

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
so that Mars 500 project is finally done, well almost. (5hrs from now) you will be able to watch the hatch open live here http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars500/SEMZ97LUBUG_0.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MARS-500
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars500/
520 days after being locked inside a fake spaceship in a Moscow car park, a six-man team of volunteer astronauts is about to emerge back on planet Earth.

The year and a half of isolation, dubbed Mars500 and run by the European Space Agency (ESA), was designed to see how real space crews would cope with confinement, daily activities and psychological stress on a lengthy trip to the red planet and back.

The all-male crew could only shower once a week, ate canned food and received emails on a delay, depending on how "far away" they are from Earth. Their living quarters are the size of a bus and, outside of a quick stint on mock Mars, they've spent two eight-month periods in total confinement.

But Patrik Sundblad, the human life sciences specialist at the ESA, says the simulation has proved a complete success. "Yes, the crew can survive the inevitable isolation that is for a mission to Mars and back," Sundblad stated. "Psychologically, we can do it."

"They have had their ups and downs, but these were to be expected. In fact, we anticipated many more problems, but the crew has been doing surprisingly well," Sundblad said. "August was the mental low point: it was the most monotonous phase of the mission, and their friends and families were on vacation and didn't send so many messages."

But as the spaceship started its virtual return to Earth and the artificial delay was reduced so that message flow slowly returned to real-time, the crew's spirits rose.

Cooperation between the crew (which represented four different nationalities) and teams back on Earth was essential, says Sundblad. "It is not only about the spacecraft and its crew, but also about close cooperation on Earth between all the teams and the international space agencies."

A real mission would have several more dangers. The Mars500 crew could leave at any time (though, to their enormous credit, they never did), while real astronauts would be completely trapped. Space debris, weightlessness, and radiation add to the challenges, and being far from Earth can create a sense of uneasy detachment.

The capsule door will finally open on 4 November at 10am UTC, and you can watch a live video of the event at the ESA website. The fake Martian heroes will stay in isolation for another four days to ensure they're not vulnerable to winter bugs.

http://arstechnica.com/science/news...o-real-earth-after-fake-trip-to-fake-mars.ars
Click to expand...
 
D

Deku

Banned
a176 said:
http://www.space.com/13501-nasa-mars-rover-curiosity-atlas5-rocket.html

new mars rover all finished, waiting for launch in about 3 weeks

ps skycrane fails, 2.5 billion dollars down the drain

skycrane:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=_KLxmGLZQSY#t=20s
Click to expand...


Power source
Curiosity will be powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), as used by the successful Mars landers Viking 1 and Viking 2 in 1976.[30][31] Radioisotope power systems are generators that produce electricity from the natural decay of plutonium-238, which is a non-fissile isotope of plutonium used in power systems for NASA spacecraft. Heat given off by the natural decay of this isotope is converted into electricity, providing constant power during all seasons and through the day and night, and waste heat can be used via pipes to warm systems, freeing electrical power for the operation of the vehicle and instruments.[30][31]

Curiosity's power source will use the latest RTG generation built by Boeing, called the "Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator" or MMRTG.[32] Based on classical RTG technology, it represents a more flexible and compact development step,[32] and is designed to produce 125 watts of electrical power at the start of the mission and 100 watts after its minimum lifetime of 14 years.[33][34] The MSL will generate 2.5 kilowatt hours per day compared to the Mars Exploration Rovers which can generate about 0.6 kilowatt hours per day.[14]
Click to expand...

Sounds totally radical. None of that solar junk and worrying about the battery
 
P

PantherLotus

Professional Schmuck
I wonder how effective that psychological test on that fake mars crew really is. It's one thing to be trapped in a bus in a russian parking lot for a year and a half, it's another thing to be trapped on a bus stranded LITERALLY millions of miles from anybody that gives a fuck.

surely the idea that a hot dog stand was outside altered the test, right?
 
X

XMonkey

lacks enthusiasm.
I kinda feel the temptation of being able to just end the simulation when I wanted would make it harder compared to the real thing. There's also that sense of duty (and amazement or wonder) you would lose from being in space on an actual mission to Mars to keep you going. At least from my perspective, I'd go on that mission in a heartbeat.
 
G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
Dunno if this is new or old, but it's a cool sounding idea.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2011/1105/1224307107470.html?via=mr

ASTRONOMERS HAVE come up with a new way to search for advanced life on distant planets: look for the light given off by their cities.

“This method opens a new window in the search for extraterrestrial civilisations,” say Abraham Loeb of Harvard University and Edwin Turner of Princeton University.
Click to expand...

The two astronomers believe big telescopes could help us detect artificial light coming from the dark side of these planets. They explain how in a research paper submitted to the journal Astrobiology. It might seem fanciful, but in fact we can already do this. Sunlight has a different signature to artificial light so would be easy to spot, they say.
Click to expand...

On why listening for radio signals could be problematic:

The astronomers point out, however, that if there is an advanced civilisation out there making use of radio technology, then the signal this technology bounces out into space may be getting weaker. This is happening on Earth, Loeb and Turner say. As technology changes our own radio signal is fading.

For this reason they believe we should develop ways to spot ET’s home planet by looking for artificial illumination.
Click to expand...

We will need bigger/better telescopes for this, though.

They admit finding any intelligent life would be “a long shot” and would probably have to wait until the next generation of more powerful telescopes.
Click to expand...
 
L

Lucky Forward

Member
gofreak said:
Dunno if this is new or old, but it's a cool sounding idea.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2011/1105/1224307107470.html?via=mr
Click to expand...

Light at night is a basic need so if there is any advanced life out there, it would be inclined to switch on the street lights. “Artificial illumination may serve as a lamp post which signals the existence of extraterrestrial technologies and thus civilisations,” they write.
Click to expand...

This is an interesting idea, but it really seems like a leap of logic to assume that intelligent aliens would have the same response to the day/night cycle that we do. Maybe they can see in the dark. Maybe they all sleep at night. Maybe they live underground, or a million other things.

Still, as this similar article in Science Daily points out:

"Looking for alien cities would be a long shot, but wouldn't require extra resources. And if we succeed, it would change our perception of our place in the universe,"
Click to expand...

I also found this interesting:

Loeb and Turner calculate that today's best telescopes ought to be able to see the light generated by a Tokyo-sized metropolis at the distance of the Kuiper Belt -- the region occupied by Pluto, Eris, and thousands of smaller icy bodies. So if there are any cities out there, we ought to be able to see them now. By looking, astronomers can hone the technique and be ready to apply it when the first Earth-sized worlds are found around distant stars in our galaxy.

"It's very unlikely that there are alien cities on the edge of our solar system, but the principle of science is to find a method to check," Turner said.
Click to expand...
 
P

PantherLotus

Professional Schmuck
Well there's obviously no alien cities at the edge of the solar system. The key is to be able to see artificial light around 25 light years away where we have the theoretical chance of actually reaching in a human lifetime (assuming we can propel a vehicle some fraction of the speed of light).

Still, fascinating idea.
 
W

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
Clevinger said:
Don't celebrate until it's 100% confirmed. The House is full of crazy Tea Party people.
Click to expand...
I'd be more worried about the democrats shooting it down, but this is gaf soo

AHHHH tea party
 
C

Clevinger

Member
Windu said:
I'd be more worried about the democrats shooting it down, but this is gaf soo

AHHHH tea party
Click to expand...

Feel free. But you'd be wrong.

No voters on this senate bill:

No voters
Kelly Ayotte (Republicn)
John Barrasso (Republican)
John Boozman (Republican)
Richard M Burr (Republican)
Saxby Chambliss (Republican)
Daniel Coats (Republican)
Tom Coburn (Republican)
Bob Corter (Republican)
John Cormyn (Republican)
Michael D. Crapo (Republican)
Jim DeMint (Republican)
Michael B Enzi (Republican)
Charles E. Crassley (Republican)
Orin G Hatch (Republican)
Dean Heller (Republican)
James M. Inhofe (Republican)
Johnny Isakson (Republican)
Ron Johnson (Republican)
Jon Kyl (Republican)
Mile Lee (Republican)
Richard G Lugar (Republican)
Rand Paul (Republican)
Rob Portman (Republican)
Jim Risch (Republican)
Mario Rubio (Republican)
Jeff Sessions (Republican)
John Thune (Republican)
Pactric J Toomey (Republican)
David Vitter (Republican)
 
Insane Metal

Insane Metal

Member
Those sun pictures look amazing. In one of them, it looks like a furry ball, lol.

About James Webb: I can't wait for its release. God. I felt the same about Hubble when I was young and it was worthy, what a wonder of the Human Race.
 
A

astroturfing

Member
the James Webb Telescope could be back on? awesome! i hope it happens.

even here in Finland we're excited about it. i took a course in Astrobiology and our professor was lamenting that the JWST is probably gone for good... looks like he was wrong, as he hoped he would be. the JWST would be fantastic PR for America. for me as a European who is often critical of USA (not any more critical than i am of my own country though), NASA is probably the number 1 thing i love about America. (gaming industry too :p)

DO IT AMERICA! lead the world in the exploration of our universe! there's no way it could be a bad thing in the long run, even if the expenses hurt right now..
 
P

PantherLotus

Professional Schmuck
did you JWT fans see that crazy YouTube fan video a page or two back? he was explaining how far out it actually was, and mentioned that it's at earth's Lagrangian point 2, which essentially makes it a satellite of the SUN, rather than earth.

the following is my attempt to show how far we're talking about:

hubble = *
earth = ( )
moon = o
JWT = X


( )....*......................o.................X

LIKE SERIOUSLY
 
N

Neverender

Member
I'm really itching for a good space/science documentary right now. Something along the lines of Jim Al Khalili's stuff, if anyone has seen them.
 
H

hirokazu

Member
PantherLotus said:
did you JWT fans see that crazy YouTube fan video a page or two back? he was explaining how far out it actually was, and mentioned that it's at earth's Lagrangian point 2, which essentially makes it a satellite of the SUN, rather than earth.

the following is my attempt to show how far we're talking about:

hubble = *
earth = ( )
moon = o
JWT = X


( )....*......................o.................X

LIKE SERIOUSLY
Click to expand...
Isn't it still a satellite of Earth as long as it orbits the Earth?
 
A

a176

Banned
PantherLotus said:
did you JWT fans see that crazy YouTube fan video a page or two back? he was explaining how far out it actually was, and mentioned that it's at earth's Lagrangian point 2, which essentially makes it a satellite of the SUN, rather than earth.

the following is my attempt to show how far we're talking about:

hubble = *
earth = ( )
moon = o
JWT = X


( )....*......................o.................X

LIKE SERIOUSLY
Click to expand...

there are many other satellites already there
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagrangian_point#Past_and_present_missions
 
3

3phemeral

Member
No other thread amazes me on such a consistent basis.

1) For the endless variety of breathtaking space images and crazy new information we have about the universe and

2) For how hilarious it is going through this thread and seeing what tinypic has replaced the original images with. You get things like:

Cassini imaging scientists used views like this one to help them identify the source locations for individual jets spurting ice particles, water vapor and trace organic compounds from the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus. Their study identifies eight source locations, all on the prominent tiger stripe fractures, or sulci, in the moon's south polar region. This false-color view was created by combining three clear filter images, then it was specially processed to enhance the individual jets that compose the plume. Some artifacts due to the processing are present in the image. The final product was colored as blue for dramatic effect. The images were acquired with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Nov. 27, 2005 at a distance of approximately 148,000 kilometers (92,000 miles) from Enceladus. (NASA/JPL-Caltech) #

2nsx3kx.jpg
Click to expand...

Or:

Saturn's polar region. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

oh370x.jpg
Click to expand...

Indeed.
 
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