Astronomy - Stargazing General Thread

General
45

I missed tthe firs 3 minutes because I was reading scrolling text.

Otherwise, this seems like a show I will definitely skip.

1 Like
46

This one was hilarious! I don’t think they miss any big clichĂ©. That’s like missing every single turn on the road, it’s kind of an achievement.

2 Likes
47

Happy Carl Sagan Day - 9th Nov

My two favourite Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot monologue’s set to video clips on the youtubes.

this one is longer and with more music

1 Like
48

Damn and I was just thinking about Sagan these last few days. I had no idea he actually had a day.

Shameless replug for Wanderers. Whenever I start to lose sight of what’s gorgeous in this verse I rewatch it.

If I remember right that speech is in the introduction to Pale Blue Dot.

4 Likes
49

First Interstellar Asteroid Wows Scientists

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=132&v=fbL1ZoAQgUU

1 Like
50
1 Like
51

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170201.html

A video of 4 Super Jupiter sized planets orbiting the star HR 8799.

One of the coolest things I’ve seen all month. On the website it loops so you can see it easier and they have a second video.

4 Likes
52

I find watching this totally mind blowing. Perhaps partially because I grew up being told that this would never be possible.

4 Likes
53

I had it looping for a few hours on my second monitor. Still gives me chills to see it. Whats better is HR 8799 is about 130 light years away. A cursory google top result tells me that there are at least 500 G-type(Our Sun) type stars within 100 light years so potentially 500 more systems we can image like this and see other planets. James Webb is built with that purpose so it’s going to be really really really exciting once it begins its science phase.

On that note, if anyone hasn’t seen the JWST deployment video it’s pretty cool to see the shit the engineers had to go through to be able to make this size and design of telescope work.

2 Likes
54

I shiver when I see that deployment sequence, it’s so complex something is bound to go wrong


1 Like
55

Fingers crossed right? That’s what all(some of) the delays were for. Test test test. You can’t test for everything but you can get close and the rest is hope it works. You can be sure they have a full size test article that is exactly the same that has tested every procedure.

I’m with you though, it never ceases to amaze me that despite all of the testing that any of our missions ever work. Hitting Pluto is a perfect example of holy shit we kind of know what we’re doing. Or the fact that on Cassini there was an innate gimbal error on it’s engines and orbit determination could detect that their actual velocity vector and their predicted velocity vector were off by only a degree. It’s the stupid little stuff like that that constantly amazes me that we can detect and account for. I wonder what unforseen issues JW will run into.

1 Like
56

What gives me hope is that this actually worked, it’s about as crazy as JWST.

1 Like
57

I totally forgot about the skycrane and you’re absolutely right. It even worked so well we’re sending another rover using the same system. I would kill to be a fly on the wall in the meeting where it was first suggested. I’m pretty ready for Europa Clipper as well. It’s a long way off but it’s a really exciting mission.

2 Likes
58

I want this to be how we view planetary systems around distant stars in a future Infinity:MMO

2 Likes
59

This is why I never understand people who say “this will never be a thing” to things that are within the realm of physics.

EMDrive? Never going to work as advertised. Rocket based global travel? The tech already exists.

60

Period.

I will happily be wrong but physics is physics.

61

Wow, I had no idea it was so complex. This thing makes the Hubble Space Telescope look like a baby rattle.

Not to mention so much has been learned about folding techniques to achieve such delicate unfurling.

1 Like
62

It will generate thrust, as it is unlikely it will emit photons from heat equally in all directions. It just won’t be anything but a REALLY shitty photon drive.

63

Yep, how is understanding dark energy coming along these days?

1 Like
64

Indeed. Physics is physics, but our current understanding of physics is far from complete.

2 Likes